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| Summary: Physical, political and spiritual temptations come along every day, and we are challenged to resist them by focusing on the word of God and the nature of God. Like Jesus, we can always say no, a clear choice that reveals something very positive about us
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| Summary: Luke’s account shows that even after Jesus had rejected the devil’s offer of world power. Jesus’ temptations continued all the way to the cross. As we begin Lent, we’re reminded that temptations will continue through life, that we will sometimes fail and that because of Christ’s faithfulness we can get back up when we fall. |
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| Summary: Just as the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to confront the evil forces, so the Spirit leads the church into the wilderness of the world’s evil. Jesus’ temptations were appetite, prestige and security. Jesus conquered these temptations. The church faces the temptations of appetite, prestige and security as distractions from the ministry to which it is called. |
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| Summary: Whenever we choose God’s will and God’s direction, we will find that we are rewarded in many ways. No fidelity to God and his commandments goes unrewarded. |
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| Summary: God can use temptations as a test, to prove and strengthen us. |
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| Summary: Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness models for his followers a faithful obedience rooted in God’s mission and fueled by a knowledge of the Scriptures. |
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| Summary: Just as Jesus was tempted in the wilderness to give up his mission, so Satan will tempt us to quit. What we need is the vision to give God a chance and defeat the enemy at his own game. |
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| Summary: By reading only the first part of Jesus’ sermon, we learn that the promises of the Spirit, the good news, release and healing, come from God before we respond. God’s offer does not depend on our correct response. |
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| Summary: In matters of the spirit, we can get lost in the past or the future; it’s only in the present that we encounter God.
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| Summary: Jesus wants the oppressed to go free, and for our eyes to be opened to his will for our lives. His mission is challenging and dangerous work, then and now.
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| Summary: The body of believers in a local congregation must, by necessity, work as a unit. If one part of the body suffers, the whole body suffers. If one part of the body succeeds, the whole body benefits. There are many distinct parts or roles that Christians can play within the church. When each of these roles are fulfilled in ways that honor God, the local congregation becomes an effective, life-giving “organism.” God not only appoints people to certain roles, but gives them the desire and ability to fruitfully play those roles out. |
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| Summary: Most of our focus as Christians ought to be on today: daily work to do, daily benefits to receive and daily tending to perform. But we also need to keep our todays linked to God’s tomorrow. |
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| Summary: Jesus was not afraid to correct misconceptions, especially when they were in regard to his identity. Jesus knew how to balance affirmation and challenge when addressing would-be and existing followers. As we see in Jesus’ example, it’s important to speak the truth in love, even when we expect the response to be hostile. |
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| Summary: We begin with two short stories about a man who refuses to accept a doctor’s diagnosis and a woman who refuses to participate in the general confession in church. The response of the people of Nazareth to Jesus in today’s gospel is similar: They refuse to hear his words about healing and liberation because they don’t think they’re sick or bound. But acceptance of the bad news of sin makes it possible for us to hear the good news of forgiveness, and to rejoice in the scope of God’s saving work. |
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| Summary: Although God’s radical love for all people sometimes surprises or even shocks us, we depend on God’s forgiveness and love for our relationship to him. Others do not deserve God’s love, but neither do we. Feeling anger at God’s surprising grace may show us where we need to grow. |
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| Summary: Jesus’ visit to the town he grew up in is not a sentimental journey he makes to bask in his success. He has a message for his hometown audience that he knows will be hard for them to hear. That message is: “It’s not about us. We were not called and chosen and set apart to enjoy God’s life-giving energy and keep it for ourselves. We are called to bring the love of God to the world, to join God in calling all people to be the People of God.” |
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| Summary: The people of Nazareth were impressed when Jesus told them that biblical promises were fulfilled in him. Their attitude quickly changed when Jesus suggested that those who were not from God’s chosen people might be the first to benefit. They had forgotten that Israel was chosen to be a blessing and light to all nations. Christians today should be reminded not to make the same mistake, and to remember that they are called to be the ones through whom the light of Christ is given to all people. |
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| Summary: The fact that God loves all people has not always been well received. But because of God’s love for us, we have a responsibility to grow into maturity, including healing our emotions. |
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| Summary: Jesus launches his public ministry with an audacious claim that immediately calls us to evaluate who he is and to decide how we will relate to him. He also invites us to embrace his vision of God’s kingdom as open to all, on the basis of God’s sovereign grace, not because one group is more worthy or entitled to it than others.
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| Summary: Jesus’ encounter with the citizens of Nazareth reminds us that people who fail to live up to the expectations of others run the risk of disappointing them, or even making them angry. It is the price we sometimes are forced to pay for living a life of faithfulness to God. |
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| Summary: In this Gospel of Luke, we catch a glimpse of what the public ministry of Jesus was like. We follow Jesus on what might have been a fairly typical day for him, a very busy day at that. |
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| There are 21 sermons in your results. |
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