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An Embrace from the Church Family
In the late 1990s, the youth of First United Methodist Church of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, were burdened Read More
James E. Magaw Sr. | Read Luke 13:14-17
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Sign Up TodayWhen visiting relatives, I went to the public library to do some work. I failed to notice a sign that restricted parking and pulled into a parking space provided for those with accessibility needs. The envelope left under my windshield wiper made me an offer I couldn’t refuse: a hundred-dollar...
Thank you, God, for parents, teachers, pastors, and friends who have helped us understand the rules of life. Help us now, as friends of Jesus, to rise above the law and do what love compels and requires us to do. Amen.
The Luke text portrays the healing that Jesus has just performed as a call to decision, a call to “repentance and changed lives.” Hebrews proclaims to the readers that they “have come . . . to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem . . . and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant.” For Luke, Jesus and his wonderful works signal the accessibility of God’s transforming power and thus signal also the time for repentance. The accessibility of God’s transforming power is evident in the lessons from Jeremiah and the psalm, although Jeremiah has no choice! And amid opposition from the wicked, the psalmist af rms what Jeremiah had been told by God—that his life from its very beginning has belonged to God.
• Read Jeremiah 1:4-10. God offers light to a world covered in darkness. Where do you see God’s light in your life? How can you offer this light to others?
• Read Psalm 71:1-6. When in your life have you turned to God for refuge? How did trust in God help the situation?
• Read Hebrews 12:18-29. We belong to a kingdom that cannot be shaken. How does that realization help during dif cult times?
• Read Luke 13:10-17. How do the limitations we experience turn us to the power and grace of God?
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“Discovery Weekend was an incredible opportunity and a great learning experience. I got to see the kingdom of God work within all the kids, which showed me how present Christ is throughout our lives and the amount of love and forgiveness that can be found in others.”
