This weeks Text: Luke 4:14-28, Isaiah 61:1-4, Psalm 126 (Secondary Text - Acts 2:1-4)
This weeks Theme: The clear mission of Jesus, imparted to every follower of Christ and the power to change the world.
The weeks Title: The Last Temptation of Christ - The Temptation to be normal
Keywords or phrases: Making old things new, beauty for ashes, sow in tears - reap in joy, sent with good news, Joy, renew, make new.
In a nutshell:
This week we will end our series "Into the wilderness," arriving at the culmination of the temptation event in the desert. Jesus returns home to his village in Galilee, go's to Temple and is asked to read the scriptures to the Temple goers. He could have chosen any passage from the book they handed him - the book of Isaiah - but, instead he chooses Isaiah 61, a passage about the long awaited Messiah - the savior of the people.
In reading this text, Jesus clearly communicates his mission on earth, a mission that anyone following Jesus today shares in. He also defeats one last temptation - the temptation to return to life as usual - to live a normal life. Jesus recognizes just who he is and what he is called to do.
As I said, we share in this mission and calling, but we lack the power of God to accomplish it on our own. That is the beauty of the event that we will celebrate this Sunday - Pentecost - the day of the coming of the Holy Spirit into our world to empower Christ Followers to live out "Shalom," peace between God and Man, between man and man, between culture and faith.
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