No Longer Welcome

When Jesus announced that he was the promised Messiah to the people of his hometown, they became angry and tried to kill him. Their reaction sounds extremely harsh, but we also renounce Jesus when we honor him as little more than a great, moral teacher. Join us as we talk about all that Jesus offers in this week’s sermon.

Scripture: Luke 4:16-30

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”

“I tell you the truth,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed – only Naaman the Syrian.”

All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.


Renewing Reflections
It is our prayer that Renewing Reflections will be a blessing in your life this coming week. This quote is taken from the sermon What Is Jesus' Mission? delivered on Christian Crusaders September 14, 2003.

We want to remain healthy so we can have an abundant life. We visit our doctors regularly, take their pills, and submit to their treatments of one kind or another to improve our health. God wants us to care for our bodies, which He calls the temple of the Holy Spirit. However, many people enjoy the best of health and yet are restless and looking for something more. I believe we should give ourselves an A+ for the effort. Yet, having done these good things, something is still lacking. That newness comes in Jesus Christ. Happiness, which brings the abundant life, comes from within. Life may be hard, and we may cry through our tears, but deep in our soul there is happiness when Christ is our Savior.


News About Christian Crusaders.org
People are more likely to tune into a Christian radio program if it is suggested by a friend or relative. Perhaps you have an aunt in Phoenix, a granddaughter in Minneapolis, or a cousin in Portland who might enjoy listening to Christian Crusaders on their local radio station. A complete list where Christian Crusaders broadcasts its program is found on our Radio Station Listing page of ChristianCrusaders.org. Follow the link to find a station near you or someone you know, and suggest they listen.


On the Light Side
One day the zookeeper noticed that the orangutan was reading two books: the Bible and Darwin’s Origin of Species. Surprised, he asked the ape, “Why are you reading both those books?”

“Well,” said the orangutan, “I just wanted to know if I was my brother’s keeper or my keeper’s brother.”