Luke 13:10-16
On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.
Questions
• Who are all the characters in this story?
• Can you imagine the reaction of the woman?
• Why is the synagogue ruler so upset?
• Why do you think he addresses the people instead of Jesus?
• What is the response of Jesus?
Notice the mixed reaction this event receives: some are humiliated and some are delighted
What else is on your heart/mind this week?
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
16 comments:
Well, IU finally beat Purdue in football. I like it. I also like the fact that it came down to a kick. Austin Starr, the kid who won the game, is a student of Rob Pelphrey who runs Professional Kicking Services. Lester and I attended 3 of his kicking camps. Austin Starr was at one of them. I think Ben wants to be a kicker, so I may be going to more kicking camps in the future. I actually enjoyed them very much.
While speaking of sports, one of my boyhood memories died just a couple of days ago. Joe Nuxall was the radio color commentator for the Cincinnati Reds. I used to be nearly obsessed with the Reds. This was back in the days of the Big Red Machine. My parents were good enough to take me to several of the games back in those days, and the rest of the games I listened to on the radio. Did you know that Al Michaels was once the radio announcer for the Reds? I actually started out with him. Joe Nuxall, the old left-hander, was his side kick. Al left but Joe stayed and stayed and stayed.
Memories.
Hey, here’s a good article about Thanksgiving.
Hey, let’s bring the discussion about atheism back up for a little while. Donna was suggesting, I think, that it is a waste of time to concern ourselves with trying to convince or convert atheists. Right?
I’m not sure that we should back off so quickly, but my main concern is not converting them but being aware of their influence. There is a new move among them to aggressively “market” their views. In the past they have been fairly content to quietly believe what they believe. My concern, like Brent expressed last week, is the impact on children and people who are not too tuned in with what is going on.
Here is an example that I think is related. The other day at OCU-B I was talking about Hebrews 2, the part where it takes about the incarnation and the fact that Jesus, though sinless, was tempted like we are. After class a girl sheepishly asked, “Now, Jesus did sin, right?” I said, “no.” Then she added, “Well, I thought there was a movie or something that said that he did.” As I dialogued with her, we, she and I, determined that the movie was The Da Vinci Code. This girl is morally strong and considers herself a Christian, but she is weak in knowledge, not even knowing the fundamentals. [By the way, I see this a lot, even with kids who grew up in Bible-believing churches; it frightens me.] She heard enough stuff in the culture to impact her thinking. If atheism becomes trendy and we sit idly by, then don’t you think our kids are going to pick up on that too?
I think we need to spend a little time on it from time to time.
I believe that we have to be proactive to what we believe is the truth. The scariest thing that is going on now,in my opinion, is the thought that what anyone thinks is okay and we have to be tolerant with everything. Our kids will easily take this view on if we don't step in and talk truth to them. If we are believers then jesus and his ways are the truth. I think we have to be gentle and wise. Too many times we don't handle those who believe differant in a God honoring way. If we can't handle others with the screen of love then maybe we should be quiet until we can. But I don't believe we can stay quiet. I hate to be thought of as ratical but when I think about it many of christ ways are ratical. We are suppose to love, forgive and give grace to those who don't deserve it. The world doesn't think like that. They wouldn't believe in a God that you can't see. They wouldn't understand keeping a child when career and future might be at stake. They wouldn't believe in sex and marriage like God. What about selfless living. It just doesn't make sense to them { as in most of the world }. I do believe that we need to be sure we are living as Christ like as we can then with love speak up for what we believe with the thought of positively influencing others. I hope this reveals my heart in love and not harshness. God has freed us from the bondage of sin. That is what I am most thankful for this holiday! Jamie Yound
I agree w/Jamie completely when she says we need to respond to unbelievers in a loving, Christ-like, God-honoring way. I'm not suggesting for a moment that we hide our light under a bushel. We're charged with the responsibility and privilege of carrying the gospel into the world. What I don't want to do is repeat mistakes made in the past. In the 70's and 80's, a lot of good-hearted people (and a small number of loud-mouthed pinheads)got fed up with the turn the secular world was taking and got together in large numbers to try to redeem our society by involving themselves in the public forum. This accomplished nothing; at least, nothing good. "Taking on the atheists" would, I believe, be along the same lines. Unless I've misread scripture (entirely possible), we aren't going to redeem this culture. We aren't going to restore a morally-upright, God-honoring culture, in large part because one has never existed. Our job is to carry the gospel into the world, being a conduit God can work through to save those who will listen. We should speak truth, but never contentiously.
I sometimes wonder if Satan doesn't use what t.v. people call "hotbutton issues" (e.g., abortion, prayer in schools, gay rights, etc.) to distract us from the task of soul-winning. Anyway, I hope this clarifies my position a bit. I've already been labelled a Calvinist; I'd hate for people to think I was in sympathy with atheists! :)
Donna
Still more on atheism. It seems to be the hot topic presently.
As I said last week, I have always enjoyed Barbara Brown Taylor. I have read many of her sermons and books. She is a wonderful thinker, writer, and speaker. I recently finished her latest work Leaving Church - A Memoir of Faith. It’s good, though I was a little disappointed about some of her conclusions.
I like this following quote. It is consistent with what we talk about “entering the story” of Scripture. It also reminds me of what we discussed a few weeks ago about reading Scripture through a relationship with The Word who became flesh.
I know the Bible is a special book, but I find it as seductive as any other. If I am not careful, I can begin to mistake the words on the page for the realities they describe. I can begin to love the dried ink marks on the page more than I love the encounters that gave rise to them. If I am not careful, I can decide that I am really much happier reading my Bible than I am entering into what God is doing in my own time and place, since shutting the book to go outside will involve the very great risk of taking part in stories that are still taking shape. Neither I nor anyone else knows how these stories will turn out, since at this point they involve more blood than ink. The whole purpose of the Bible, it seems to me, is to convince people to set the written word down in order to become living words in the world for God’s sake. For me, this willing conversion of ink back to blood is the full substance of faith.
Wow!
We’re headed to Alabama later today, trying to beat the unbelievably heavy traffic that will slowly flow tomorrow. We will return Saturday. Usually I would not return until Sunday evening, taking the day (the only one I work, you know) off. But since I am going to soon having 12 Sundays off, I thought I’d better not push it!
I am really looking forward to being in Alabama. I like Huntsville a lot. I hope to spend several (cumulative) hours over the next few days up on the Mountain Mist 50K trails. These will be good tapering training runs in preparation for the Tecumseh Marathon on December 1st. Tony, Ryan, my cousin Brent, and I are all going to run it. Should be fun!
While in ‘Bama, I always get a lot of reading done. Teresa B. has given me a couple of really good (big, thick) volumes on Russian history. I think I’ll get started on those in the next few days.
I really wanted to take my smoker with me to Huntsville, but Kedra gave me one of those looks that indicated that I probably would be advised just to let it go now. It wasn’t an unkind look at all; it was just... Well, you know.
Hey, any thoughts on the passage?
What enslaves you?
For clarification.
I am not Allens' cousin and I don't run unless something is chasing me.........like a bear or lion or something.
Brent
We are set free. I think the part of the passage that stuck out to me was the phrase. 'And they became indignant because'.... While I was watching the news last night I saw a report on Gleaners Food Bank and other charitable orginazations that are preparing for food distribution at this time of the year and there are many. I spoke with a good friend of mine Jeannie Lee last week about the article in the newspaper about the tree that she and her grandsons decorated for the yearly LIFE Fantasia on Saturday. Many hours and much love went into her efforts and her little grandsons learned from the experience about sharing. When I worked at Keach & Grove, we always decorated a tree for the sale and one year the theme was the nativity and I made a mostly hand sewn, velvet tree skirt. When I went to purchase the fabric at JoAnns in Bloomington the clerk asked me what it was for and I told her and she was touched by this because LIFE had helped her during a very difficult time in her life and to to show her appreciation she gave me a discount on the expensive fabric which I was grateful for since we donated all items. I think we need to be careful about viewing the methods and means by which others give not becoming indignant that it was not done as we would have done it or how we feel it should have been done. Any effort to help others, from our food pantry at church to a simple good deed to a neighbor who may have been forgotten in the rush is seen by God and He blesses the doers of good. If the heart of the person sharing is compassionate and caring and it is not done for selfish reasons God blesses the effort. A good friend of mine wrote in a recent letter. It doesn't matter who gets credit for the work, the important thing is that we together get the job done. By the way, Jeannie's grandsons won first place in youth division for their tree. We live in a generous country. So many good deeds are done at this time of the year. I think we should look at each and say Thank You for giving to the Lord, I'm a life that was changed. (Ray Boltz-Thank You-Song) Grateful hearts remember and want to return the acts of kindness given them. I am one of them. God bless you all this Thanksgiving. Sherron
Pretty amazing commitment. Metaphor?
Runner Breaks Leg, Crawls to Finish Line
We're in Alabama. I am getting ready to head to the mountain for a run. I need to run a little extra today in anticipation of tomorrow's feast.
Anybody want to share what you are doing tomorrow?
allen
so did you tear up when you read that article and watched that video? wow. tough.
my thanksgiving ritual is get up early, go into town and meet some buddies for an early morning run. we run rain, snow, shine whatever. a couple of years ago it was 39 degrees and pouring rain. people were blowing their horns at us. i told my wife we were probably the talk of a lot of dinner tables and she said we would be the talk of our dinner table. ha.
my oldest goes to her grandma the night before and helps her make dinner, my youngest goes to the other grandma and makes dumplings. we go to both parents, one for lunch and one for supper.
everyone have a great one!
rr
Post a Comment