#disciplemaking
#adventcalendarday4
#willyoujoinme

Hi everyone, read chapter 4? (There’s so much in each chapter!!!)

Remember yesterday Luke was carefully explaining that (John wasn’t but) Jesus was the son of God. A very big claim – “prove it” you might well say. So in this chapter Luke begins to back his claims but the picture is not of some all-conquering, super-hero. For the rest of the book, the main questions should be along the lines, “What does the son of God actually look like?” (Ie if God came to earth what would he do and say?) and “How should I react and respond?” (How can I relate to Him?)

Is he (Jesus) seduced by self-interest, power or identity-confusion (the need to prove himself)? In his confrontation with the devil, Luke says “no”.

Does he mince his words or try to play to the crowd (win popularity)? In his time in the synagogue at Nazareth, Luke says “no”.

Will he be a man/God of his word? In the unfolding narrative, Luke says “yes” as Jesus quotes from the prophet Isaiah (Lk 4:18-19) then goes about driving out demons and healing people (setting the oppressed free).

• Is there something in your life that is oppressing you? Have you ever asked Jesus to set you free from it (or heal you)? Luke says, if you ask Jesus, he will do it.
• Noting Simon’s mother-in-law, is there some way of serving Jesus in response to what he’s done for you?

#disciplemaking
#adventcalendarday3
#willyoujoinme

Hi everyone, if you haven’t already, read Luke chapter 3

First thing to notice is that Luke places the life of Jesus squarely within history, again reminding his readers that his account is accurate. (NB the Herod mentioned here is the son of Herod the Great, who was king at the time of Jesus birth).

John the Baptist bursts on the scene (and makes me look like a rose petal!) and his message is clear – “everyone needs to repent to be forgiven their sins”.

“Repent” means to stop doing things your own way and start doing things God’s way
“Sin” refers to the same thing. If we do things our own way we become independent or separate from God which is what the Bible calls sin.

His message is so strident he ends up in jail but prior to that he is literally preparing the way for Jesus’ own message of salvation. Note that being born into the faith is no guarantee of belonging to God. Each individual must live an accountable life to God. To John, repentance looks like fairness and generosity because that matches God’s own heart and character.

Luke then carefully points out that John was not the long expected Messiah . . . But Jesus was, because he was born of not just of Royal lineage (note v 31 & 32 – “Son of David”) but also from God.

Here’s a question or two: if John had such a good effect on so many people, why did Jesus need to come? Is living a good life (ie fairness and generosity) enough? Is repentance enough?

How can you “prepare the way” for other people to meet Jesus?

#disciplemaking
#adventcalendarday2
#willyoujoinme

(Read Luke chapter 2)

Just like that we read all there is to know about Jesus’ childhood! But it doesn’t matter how many times I read this it still captivates me. Can you imagine the faith of Joseph and Mary? Mary’s been told she’s going to give birth to the saviour of the world. . . Joseph is going to marry her even though the child is not his . . . Ordinary people trusting in God for the sake of everyone else!

And just so we’re clear, there’s nothing in the text to suggest it was a last minute journey. (V6) “while they were there”. And what you can’t tell in English but is clearer in the original Greek is that the word “inn” really means “guest room” and was usually at one end of the house. Because of the census that room was already occupied so the family had brought Joseph and Mary inside the main house to be with them. You see the manger was not out the back somewhere but actually in the main living room of the house! (Probably a hole in the ground filled with straw. The animals were kept at a lower level of the far end of the house so that when feeding from the manger they were standing below the floor level of the main room but could reach across with their necks to the manger).

Jesus was born among ordinary folk (extended family) who loved him and welcomed him in their home. If you had the chance, how would you welcome Jesus into your home?

Then again, it’s the ordinary (very – considered unclean by most) shepherds who get the good news first, albeit by extraordinary messengers. And given the good news, they first go and check it out for themselves, like ordinary people would, then once they’ve verified it, they tell everyone else.

It’s very normal (and even expected) to check out the extraordinary claims people make about Jesus for yourself and then it’s equally normal to tell others about it when you’ve verified it – after all it’s good news!

• Is there something you still need to check out about Jesus?
• Is there something you’ve learned about Jesus that you’d love to tell someone else about?
• Anything stopping you? 😉