REGISTRATION FOR VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL IS NOW OPEN! SIGN UP HERE
Their books are short. They have been labeled the “minor prophets.” And their messages are anything but minor. The prophets are sent to speak God’s Word, to be “loudspeakers” for God—not just in biblical times, but now!—confronting our sin and bringing us to repentance, in order to restore a right relationship with God. Luther doesn’t mince words about the importance of the prophets: “We Christians ought not to be such shameful, satiated, ungrateful know-it-alls, but rather read and use the prophets with earnestness and profit.” OK, then. Let’s get to it!
There are those who let life just happen around them and there are others who are more intentional about making plans, creating opportunities and finding community. We begin our Post-Easter teaching on something that has been deeply missed during this year of quarantine—community. We were not meant to go through life alone. We were designed to be in community with another. And as we ease the restrictions of separation, we intentionally look for ways to Find Community.
A life of faith leads us to share with others our hope and trust in God. It starts by meeting others where they are, their questions, doubts or fears. God sends each of us walk beside others. It begins by telling your own story those who are looking for hope, not with a spirit of timidity but of love. How will they believe unless they are told?
Can you imagine being an onlooker when the Day of Pentecost happened? What would you be thinking and feeling? A rush of wind, fi re all over the place, then all of a sudden, someone speaking YOUR language. The good news of Jesus Christ pouring all over you. Our job is to learn the language of others so that we can share the Gospel with them. How might God be calling you to share the gospel?
Each and every day, mid- and even pre-post pandemic, people lose track of what day it is. We get in such a rhythm that one day bleeds into the next. It’s the weirdest thing, but it’s happening, to pretty much all of
us. And yet, Jesus shows up on the road, and at the table, and in the regular, norm life experiences, too! Instead of letting each day bleed into the next, how can we reach beyond our norms to see Jesus at work, bringing life where maybe we just see routine?
Right before this scripture in Luke, Jesus sends out the 72. Miracles happen and lives are changed. And then, these verses in Luke appear. It’s by no accident that the sending out of the 72 is paired with the question, “Who is my neighbor?" This story helps us to understand that we must
care for our neighbor, even when they might be framed as enemy. The Samaritan cares for the beaten man with more than enough to cover the cost of his stay. That is how our heart is designed to work. We REACH BEYOND ourselves, even for an enemy, with abundance.