Jesus responds to this by lamenting the disbelief of this present generation. It is unclear whether this is specifically directed towards the disciples or if this is a general remark towards the crowd. While Jesus is moved by compassion to heal this boy, Luke seems to include this event here in his account in order to demonstrate Jesus' set apart, preeminent power. While Mark will include a statement on why the disciples cannot perform this act, Luke is unconcerened with the reason. Instead, he is content to make it clear that Jesus can and does where the disciples couldn't and didn't. Luke informed us that Christ would be delivered over to suffer and die, then he gave us an incredible display of Christ's glory. Now, he again gives us a remarkable demonstration of Jesus' power (over the spirits afflicting men and beyond the ability of men to deliver themselves). And concludes with another reminder that the Son of Man will soon be delivered into the hands of men to suffer and die.

In this event known as The Transfiguration, Luke seems to be making a few points abundantly clear. First, Jesus is NOT merely Elijah or one of the prophets. This has been the hypothesis put forward recently by the crowds. It is clearly not true since Elijah is here standing next ot him, and the voice of God is definitively declaring otherwise. Second, the cross of Christ and the glory of Christ are not at odds with one another. Just as Jesus responded to Peter's Messianic confession with a prediction of his death, so too does this moment of glorious rapture also center around a conversation about his departure. Even now, we are beginning to see that the cross will be the theatre of Christ's glory - not its obstacle. And third, Christ is about to accomplish something profound. The Law and the Prophets literally stand beside him to magnify his glorious exodus. A new exodus which will accomplish for his people what neither the first exodus nor the law and prophets to follow could.

And here, at this first prediction of his death, Jesus adds a fascinating revelation. Not only will the Son of Man be delievered over to suffering and rejection to be killed and then raised - so too will all who follow him. Jesus informs his disciples that he is going to the cross and that the cross is for any disciples who would follow. Indeed, he is clear on the matter; the only way to save life is to first lose it.

This has profound implications for us today. The invitation to follow Jesus is not a utilitarian path to better happiness and peace. Make no mistake, Jesus offers life! Abundant life! Life and happiness and peace and security and hope and flourishing and all of that! So much so that life apart from him isn't life at all but rather just death in disguise. But the invitation to follow Christ is one to take up his cross, to share in his sufferings, and to lay down our lives as we know them. The peace and life abundant is only on the other side of that. To those not following Christ, you need to know that's the deal! To those following Christ today in baptism, that's the reality that you are agreeing to put on display! And to those who belong to Christ, are you still taking up your cross daily? How? In what ways? Or are you growing tired of your cross? And is your gospel witness suffering because of it?

Scripture – Psalm 133

Scripture– Psalm 132

Scripture– Psalm 130

Scripture– Psalm 129

Illumination is a double-edged sword. Light makes it possible to see, but it also exposes what we may want to keep hidden. The advent of Jesus both illuminates the truth and exposes the darkness of sin. But what we often fail to realize or remember is that both the illuminating AND the exposing are life-giving. Praise God that Christ the True Light shined on the darkness - that he shined on OUR darkness! Without it, we would have no life.

Scripture– Psalm 128

Scripture– Psalm 127

Scripture– Psalm 125

Scripture– Psalm 124

Scripture– Psalm 123

Scripture– Psalm 122

Scripture – Psalm 121

Scripture - Psalm 120

The list of names that Paul gives is a sobering one. Some who have moved on in the ministry. Some who have abandoned the faith. Some who have actively opposed the gospel. And some who have faithfully laboured on. Even names like John Mark, who Paul once thought was unfit for a missionary journey - and now at the end of his days, Paul longs to see and affirms his usefulness. But one thing is clear; we don't follow Jesus in isolation. The Christian life is not lived in a vacuum. We will be hurt by those whose hearts cool and harden and become opposed. We will greive with joy over those who leave to spread the gospel elsewhere. We will be strengthened and grateful for those who stand faithfully alongside us. We will long to see those who go away and those who go to be with the Lord before us. But don't be deceived; we will be affected by one another. It is a myth to think that you can follow Jesus and not be bothered by what others do or don't do. We're all in this together.

May the Lord bring us safely into his Kingdom! To him be the glory forever. Amen.

This is what Paul has done, and he is now at the end of his race. He is so close to the finish line that he can taste it. He can glimpse the crown that awaits him. And he deeply desires that Timothy will lay hold of that same crown. That he too will be able to see it just above the horizon. That he will follow in his footsteps and preach the Word again and again until he joins the great company of all those who have loved and longed for Christ's appearing and lays hold of the crown of righteousness! You might often be told that Christianity is about doing what is right and giving no thought for the reward - never asking, 'What's in it for me?" In some ways this is true. In others, we should give much thought to the reward! Paul knows what is in it for Timothy. He knows what is in it for him. He knows what is in it for all who have loved Christ's appearing. And wants us to all know it too! So that we might preach and press on and finish the race!

Are you spending more time and effort looking to avoid suffering? Or preparing for it? Because those who follow Christ will be persecuted. How much time have you spent in the Word being equipped for that? There is no profit trying to engineer a suffering-free version of the Christian faith. There is much profit in immersing yourself in the Word so that you might be prepared for the suffering that will come.

Building from this analogy, Paul instructs Timothy to remain useful - to be pure and clean from that which is dishonourable so that he might continue to fulfill the task he has been set aside for. Doing so means fleeing youthful passions, avoiding irreverent quarrels, and treating one's adversaries with gentleness. If Timothy does so, it is even possible that the Lord might use his gentleness to soften the hearts of those who oppose him, even saving them and purifying them for an honourable purpose. But Paul goes on to warn Timothy that this is often NOT the case. And he gives a long list of cutting descriptions of those who will stubbornly keep to their dishonourable work. Even in this heavy and discouraging reminder, the apostle is not devoid of comfort for his young son. "Remember, Timothy - those dishonourable adversaries will not get very far. Like the fraudulent magicians of Pharaoh's court, they will soon be exposed and their folly made evident."

In addition to remembering Christ, Paul tells Timothy, "Remember me!" He recalls for Timothy the pattern of his own ministry. Even now, he is suffering - bound for the sake of the gospel. But like Christ in whom he believes, Paul is prepared to endure all things (including chains) for the sake of the elect - that they might obtain the salvation that comes with future glory!

Having reminded Timothy of this gospel principle (suffering now, glory to come) in the gospel of Christ and in his own life, Paul concludes by telling Timothy to remember the trustworthiness of this saying. Those who suffer and endure and die with Christ to the end will live and reign with him. But those who faithlessly deny and abandon will themselves be denied. For Christ will remain faithful to himself. He is the one true God; he cannot deny himself. Let us heed this sober reminder. Faithlessness cannot be rewarded. But let us press on faithfully with eager joy - following in the footsteps of Timothy as he followed Paul as he followed Christ!

The other reason that Paul must impress this on Timothy is because he has watched too many fumble the ball before the endzone. Men like Phygelus and Hermogenes have deserted. May we not be like these men who would not make it to the end. Let us instead look to the faithful example of Onesiphorus - who was not ashamed of the chains but remained faithful. So that on that day when Christ - who himself was faithful to the end - might allow us to share in the reward of Onesiphorus!

The Lord uses a plant that grows to provide shade but is destroyed overnight to illustrate Jonah's impropriety at resenting God's mercy. Should God not care more for this great city full of thousands of people he created than Jonah cares for a plant for which he did not labour at all? And yet, the book leaves Jonah's change of heart unresolved. Hopefully Jonah is in fact the author of this book and came to understand the point that God was teaching him and wrote this book that others might learn from his negative example! But the book concludes with Jonah indignant, feeling justified in his anger.

How about you? Do you feel angry at the hand the Lord has dealt? Frustrated by what he has done or not done? Offended by who he has blessed and who he has not? Angry about ways that his hand has moved and other ways is hand has been withheld? The lesson from the book of Jonah echoes a similar sentiment expressed in Job (although one in which the man of God demonstrates much less virtue). What gives you the right? Who do you think you are? To feel righteous indignation against the Lord? If this is you, be grateful for all the ways that the Lord has extended undeserved grace and mercy towards you! And whatever may come... wherever the chips may fall... whatever he wills or wills not to do... to whomever he wills to do or not do it... trust him and be satisfied.

If we've seen anything in this book, however, it is that the Lord's will and plans will not be frustrated. If Jonah can subvert God's plan to call Nineveh to repentance, then God can subvert Jonah's subversion attempt and use his sermon anyway! The greatest and most unbelievable miracle that we see in this book is not the action of the great fish swallowing Jonah, it is the reaction of an entirely wicked, pagan city to turn unanimously in repentance to the Lord! The king calls for sackcloth and fasting across the whole city - even for the livestock! Jonah preaches hoping that Nineveh won't repent... and the Lord leads even the cows to repent! Jonah preaches that the city will be overturned (imagining fire and judgment raining down), and the Lord does just that! He overturns Nineveh! But not with hailstorms of judgment falling down but cries of repentance going up!

The Lord will not be frustrated.

And while inside the fish, Jonah prays to God. Whether the psalm composed in verses 2-9 is actually the prayer prayed by Jonah from inside the fish or whether Jonah is the author of the book and later composed this psalm reflecting on his experience and included it here, either way we do see a partial change of heart being wrought on Jonah during these three days. He does express gratitude for the Lord's deliverance and agrees that fulfill the vow that he has made to the Lord. Unfortunately, this is not the character-changing moment that it should be in the story but instead sets up the great irony of the book. While Jonah gladly accepts the Lord's merciful rescue, he still withholds it from Nineveh. God's demonstration of mercy towards Jonah confirms the prophet's fears that he will also likely be merciful to them.

When the Word of the Lord comes to Jonah, he responds by running the opposite direction. He goes down to Joppa, down to a ship, and down into the belly of the ship - a repetition signaling his moral descent. The back-and-forth exchange that continues through the rest of the book sees the Lord respond by sending a storm on the ship. And Jonah responds to that by despairing of his life and asking to be cast into the sea. As we learn later in the book, the prophet admits that he would rather die than see his mission through. If he can't escape the Lord in Tarshish, maybe he will in Sheol!

Interestingly, the runaway prophet is contrasted with a crew of superstitious pagan sailors. Unlike Jonah, they are moved to fear the Lord. They cry out to him in their distress and offer sacrifices when he answers. This perplexing juxtaposition leaves us asking questions of our own response! Do we rightly fear the Lord? Do we attempt to dodge his notice? What about if he asks us to do the very last thing we would want to? If he upsets our status? Our comfort? The identity we pride ourselves on? Do we worship the Lord God of Israel and serve him only? Or do we treat him as a means to our own ends?

Scripture - Luke 9:10-17

A sermon from King's Table Church in Dartmouth, NS.

Scripture - Luke 9:1-9

A sermon from King's Table Church in Dartmouth, NS.

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In the meantime, Jairus' daughter has died. Ignoring the suggestion of some that he no longer need proceed to the house, Jesus insists to Jairus that (like the woman with the bleeding issue) he too only need believe. Upon arriving at the house, Jesus instructs the professional mourners to cease their wailing because the girl has only fallen asleep. (The laughter of the mourners in response seems to indicate that this display of grief was more customary than personal.) Jesus then demonstrates that under his authority, death is just assailable as sleep and raised the girl to life. While previously he took what was intended to be a hushed, secret act and draws it into the open, here he takes what could have been a public spectacle and instead tells the parents to tell no one (possibly meaning to send the crowds away) and get the girl something to eat. Just like the situation with the woman, this is an example of Jesus being mindful and attentive to the good and the practical needs of the person he's ministering to.

When you realize who Jesus is and the authority he holds, what kind of fear will you respond with?

So why do Christians sing? Paul tells the Ephesians that it's actually a very important part of how we walk. He tells them to walk not as unwise people but as wise. He says they need to make the most of their time! "The days are evil," he tells them. So they need to maximize - make the best use out of - the time they have been given! And where you would think he would say, "Get to work! Go evangelize! Go preach! Go fight; go build; go do." - instead, he contrasts two things. Don't get drunk. That makes sense. It leads to recklessness and foolishness. Not a good way to make best use of the time. But what he tells them they ARE to do is this: speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. When we think of maximizing the time, I don't think we would immediately think to sing together. But Paul obviously does! He tells them that this is the outworking of being filled with the Spirit. It means making music with our heart to the Lord, giving thanks to him always and for eerything, AND submitting to one another out of love for Christ.

Aren't all of these things major emphases of the Christian life? Glorify God? Give him thanks? Love one another? Be filled with the Spirit? Paul says that each of these are done when we speak to and encourage one another in our singing. Let us thank God for the hymns he has given us to sing! Let us be grateful for the brothers and sisters who submitted to their brothers and sisters, made music with their heart to the Lord, and left us rich songs to sing about his grace! The Lord has used them to be a blessing. And let's not just sing along rotely. Let's not be those who are chronically dissatisfied with music in the church because we're just always chasing some elusive sound or trying to recapture some mountaintop feeling or experience. Let us, instead, be those who regard our singing together as a vital part of walking wisely - and sing heartily to enocurage one another and give thanks to the Lord. Always and in everything, we sing.

We do not want you to be uninformed about the WHY behind our giving. There are many misconceptions about the money given to churches. Some perceive that this is just a cash grab - a scam run by big religion to take honest money from their unsuspecting sheep. Some regard giving as merely an obligation - a standard percentage that needs to be legalistically enforced and dutifully adhered to in order to receive good marks. Others may have rejected both of these and simply concluded that giving is no longer something to take so seriously - just an old by-product of past, stuffy days in the church. Besides, talking about people's money is kind of cringe.

All of these miss the point. God invites us to give (particulalry to give of our money) as an act of care for our souls. Our possessions tend to possess us. Giving regularly, generously, and cheerfully keeps our hearts from becoming entangled and bound to the idolatrous allure of riches. Similarly, it also guards us against the swing to the opposite side of the pendulum - an ascetic rejection of all "stuff" as fleshly and dirty. When we watch our gifts support and enable God's good work in the world, we can't help but remember that this stuff he has given to us is, in fact, good when it is used properly. Giving shapes us and forms us into good stewards - good caretakers of the world with which we have been entrusted. It helps us to feel and take ownership of the ministry God is doing through our local body, rather than seeing it as someone else's job. It forces us to depend on his provision rather than pursuing self-reliance. We think about "giving" as gifts that we give to God. And this is true. But first and foremost, it is a gift that God gives to us - because he knows just how desperately our hearts need this healthy practice!

We don't just serve because stuff needs to get done. Our serve teams are not just necessary evils because a church is an organization that needs people doing something in order to function. Our serve teams are not even primarily to provide a good or a service that supports the Sunday gathering. Serve teams are first and foremost about worshiping the Lord by offering ourselves as living sacrifices. After that, they are about loving one another and building up the body of faith. The service rendered is subservient to these primary goals. Therefore, let us commit ourselves to these things and do them with all generosity, diligence, and cheerfulness!

In our current cultural moment, there is a widely accepted lie that we can be virtually present. Kids growing up right now perceive very little difference between and move almost imperceptibly in and out of reality and the pseudo-space of the internet. The illusion of interconnectedness afforded by modern technology is reshaping the way that we think. And one of the primary ways that it has done this is to lessen in our minds the need to gather. Under the guise of opening up enitrely new avenues for presence and interaction - claiming to expand and add to the definition of what gathering can mean and can look like - what the world of post-modernity has actually done is to deform and debilitate the concept of "gathering." This is often the reality of the Enemy's deceptions. The promise to enrich a thing by expanding its definition - but in reality this "expanse" of definition is actually a loss of definition, unraveling the thing and stripping it of any semblance of coherence, leaving it not enriched but actually anemic.

The gospel does the exact opposite. The gospel brings clarity of definition. Not only do we gather, but we gather in the flesh - occupying space together. Not only do we gather together, but we do so to stir one another up to love and good works. We love and do good works because this is the outworking of holding fast to our confession of hope. We hold fast to that hope because the One who promised it to us is faithful. And even though we should by all accounts be unworthy, we can gather and draw near to this One who is faithful because the priestly work of Jesus has made that possible. This clarity doesn't stifle and restrict our gathering together; it actually infuses it with significance and frees it up to be everything that it was meant to be. The gospel makes things thicker - realer and healthier and more robust. Imitation gospels make things thinner - hollow and sickly and unable to hold or carry any real weight or substance.

On the other hand, Psalm 2 holds out for us another king. The Lord laughs and ridicules these petty puppet kings of the earth because He has installed his King on Zion. He has declared to his King, "You are my Son. And I will make the nations your inheritance and the ends of the earth your possession." This Psalm was true of David - the Anointed king of Israel who the Lord has adopted like a Father. The Lord made a covenant with David that should he walk in the statutes of the Lord (like we talked about last week - delighting in his Law) and not take counsel with the kings of the earth against the Lord, then he would make his kingdom forever. This Psalm is ultimately true of David's heir, Jesus - who is the Son, the Christ (the Lord's Anointed). He has been given the nations as his inheritance and the earth as his possession.

The final instruction is now to the kings of the earth - those all those for whom a measure of authority has been apportioned here and now. Be wise. Don't take your stand against the Lord's King, but receive instruction! Don't look to throw off his bonds; serve him with reverential awe, and rejoice with trembling. You rulers on the earth have two options: stage a rebellion like the kings of the earth usually do and perish in the rebllion - or - pay homage to the Son. Rule under his rule. To the ones who do this, they will be happy. So in these first two Psalms, we have been told two things that lead to happiness - to a blessed life: delighting in his Law and taking refuge in his King.

Do you struggle to be happy? Do you feel steady or chaotic? The reason you feel so tossed about may be that you are not delighting the law of the Lord! That you are not fully walking in his ways and finding the blessing he has placed along those paths! The Psalmist tells us that those who don't walk in the Lord's ways are like chaff that the wind blows away. Their roots are shallow. They are susceptible to the changing breeze. If your life feels more "tossed about" than "rooted and bearing fruit," let that give you pause that it more resembles the path of the wicked than the righteous! Don't continue walking in that way because the wicked will not stand up in the judgment. You have been given Christ - who stands us in the assembly of the righteous! Therefore, walk in the way of the righteous knowing that the Lord watches over you. And beware neglecting his law for other paths because they all lead to ruin.

Scripture - 1 Peter 5:6-14

A sermon from King's Table Church in Dartmouth, NS.

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Scripture - 1 Peter 5:1-5

A sermon from King's Table Church in Dartmouth, NS.

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Scripture - 1 Peter 4:7-11

A sermon from King's Table Church in Dartmouth, NS.

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Scripture - 1 Peter 4:1-6

A sermon from King's Table Church in Dartmouth, NS.

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Scripture - 1 Peter 3:13-22

A sermon from King's Table Church in Dartmouth, NS.

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Scripture - 1 Peter 3:8-12

A sermon from King's Table Church in Dartmouth, NS.

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Scripture - 1 Peter 3:1-7

A sermon from King's Table Church in Dartmouth, NS.

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Scripture - 1 Peter 2:11-17

A sermon from King's Table Church in Dartmouth, NS.

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What a gift this belonging and inclusion and peoplehood we share! Do we rightly appreciate what that means? In an increasingly individualistic society, have we lost our grasp on just how important this is? Are you hurting and lost and alone? Come find meaning and purpose and belonging in Jesus and his people! Are you a Christian who primarily sees their relationship as a personal matter between you and God? Come dive into the deep, refreshing waters of our corporate identity in Christ. Are you frustrated that "the church" is losing its political clout in the West? Take comfort in the reminder that we are a house built up into the model of our Cornerstone - rejected by men but chosen and honoured by God.

Is a greater love for your brothers and sisters being produced in you? Or do you find it really difficult to love people unless you find them lovely? Growth in holiness must lead to a greater love among believers. Similarly, do you reject holiness and "soften doctrine" because you want to love people? Peter says that's not how it works! It's actually growth in holiness that produces greater love! Not the setting aside of holiness! If you have tasted that the Lord is good and you want to grow in brotherly love - then desire the word of God.

Is this how we conduct ourselves? Does our conduct more closely resemble the holiness of the One who called us or the inhabitants of the land in which we live as exile? For some reason, holiness has become a word that we look down on. We spend more time and energy and effort making sure to convince people that we aren't holy nor do we presume to be holy. When we think about holiness and righteousness, we cringe and equate them with smugness and hypocrisy. This should not be the case. We should strive to live holy lives. We should cherish holiness and spur one another on to righteous living. These are good things. Peter says it is the only right way for obedient children who have received so great a salvation to live.

It is a privilege to receive and anticipate the revelation and salvation of God. The prophets testified about this from a distance. Angels themselves long to catch a glimpse. Peter's readers - despite their temporary trials - actually get to experience. Do we cherish and appreciate the testified, announced, and preached Word of God? Or do we take it for granted? Do we say things like, "If only I could have lived back then and witnessed God's miraculous activity in the lives of his people firsthand, then I would believe. Then I would have confidence." Do we lament the days that we are living in - complaining that it is harder now than ever to follow and believe? Peter asserts quite the opposite. You occupy a very privileged seat in redemptive history - to sit on this side of the cross and experience the long-awaited salvation of Christ. Will you take this for granted?

And it is here that he introduces another major theme: future hope. Because of God's mercy in salvation, we have been born into a new and living hope - hope in a future inheritance that is right now being guarded for us in Christ. Just as we are being guarded. And the purpose of that guarding - of both the inheritance and the elect - is that they might be revealed in the last time (hence, the future hope). And Peter locates our rejoicing here, in this future revelation. What does that mean for believers in the present? For chosen exiles now? It means that you can suffer grief in various trials. These trials refine your faith like gold; you are being kept and purified just as the inheritance is being kept undefiled and unfading. And all this is being done that it might result in praise and glory and honour bursting out at the revelation of Jesus Christ and the day of salvation. That is the goal and the reward of your faith.

This point is corroborated by a second incident on a Sabbath day. When Jesus encounters a man with a shriveled hand in the synagogue, he heals him. Luke tells us that the Pharisees are watching closely, looking for reasons to object to Jesus. And this is it. They again consider him doing something unlawful on the Sabbath. But Jesus puts the true law of God into perspective: "Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath? Or to do evil? To save life? Or to destroy it?" Jesus is exposing their rules and regulations to be what they truly are - not the law of God - but actually a kingdom that stands diametrically opposed and incompatible with the Kingdom of God. This fills the Pharisees with rage and they begin plotting to be rid of Jesus. It is here that we see the clash of kingdoms clearly. (Like the moments in the Star Wars prequels where you begin to see the dark side of Palpatine, and he is revealed to be the Sith Lord that he actually is.) This group of well-respected, religious, pious men are reduced to mustache-twirling schemers hatching murder plots in the shadows.

Jesus is making it clear that the newness of the Kingdom cannot be simply poured into the vessel of the Pharisees religion. These are not two garments that can simply be patched together. The one who lives as a true citizen of the Kingdom (as Jesus has been doing) will not be a good Pharisee. And the one who holds to the legalism and adds to the law of God in the way that the Pharisees have done - they will not be able to handle the Kingdom. We have seen this principle play out in the previous clashes with the Pharisees. If you are unable to draw near to the leper, you won't understand the Kingdom of God. If you try to pour the Kingdom into a vessel that does not allow for the forgiveness of sins, it's not going to work. If you are more worried about making up rules that you are living under Jesus' kingly rule, these two things just can't fit together. Both will be torn.

Are there things that you are trying to mesh with the Kingdom of God that are just incompatible? Every attempt to syncretize Christianity with something else has perverted the gospel (and really hasn't actually held to the tenets of the other either). Are you trying to live by two competing ideologies at the same time? These Kingdoms are clashing. Not running on parallel tracks.

The Pharisees counter this response by wanting to know why Jesus' disciples eat and drink at all! While others demonstrated their devotion and piety through fasting, Jesus' followers are found regularly around the table eating and drinking. Jesus doesn't diminish fasting; he actually says that there is a day coming when his people will regularly fast as well. But he flips the conversation and reframes our perspective, reminding us of the celebratory nature of the gospel - the good news that the Bridegroom has come to purchase his Bride! Surely as the recipients of that good news, it is right to be a feasting people!

How about us? Do we use our tables like Jesus? Do we regularly share it with sinners - using our table to bring those far from Jesus near and invite them to repentance? When you eat, do you eat in celebration of the bridegroom?

From the beginning of his gospel, Luke has been making Jesus' divine Sonship unmistakably clear. And this theme continues to develop here. The Son of God in fact is God and has all the authority and power of God - even over sin. Throughout chapters 4 and 5, Jesus has been healing and freeing men and women from all the effects of the curse - sickness and disease and death and enmity with the serpent and his unclean spirits. And now Jesus demonstrates that he doesn't only have authority over the effects of the fall but actually over the very source and cause of the fall to begin with - man's sin.

The clash of the Kingdoms is coming to a head. We're now getting to the root. This is what the Son has come for - to deal with the problem of the sin of man. This is the good news of the Kingdom of God. But the kingdom of the world (and the devil) stand in opposition.

Have you understood and believed the truth that this leper has learned? That if he is willing, Jesus can make you clean? Or do you still feel at times like you are too far gone? That if he only knew what you had done, he would draw back in disgust? Do you look on from the outside assuming that Jesus' pardon and healing is for others whose lives are mostly put together and just need a little touching up - but certainly not for a mess like you? No matter who you are and where you come from and what you've done, he can make you clean. Come to Jesus and hear him say, "I am willing. Be clean." He is not afraid to come near you. He's not going to catch what you have. You'll catch him, and it will turn you upside down.

Luke continues demonstrating Jesus' absolute authority. He has authority in teaching, over sickness and disease, and even over the demonic forces. And now, we see that he also has complete mastery over the natural world. What life-long fishermen could not do all day, Jesus does with ease. When we truly glimpse Jesus' authority, we should also have a similar response to Simon's! To confess our own unworthiness and to drop everything to follow him. That's where discipleship begins.⁠

The crowds seem to want Jesus to stay with them because it will be for their advantage. A guy who can cure sicknesses and cast out demons is pretty handy to have around. But Jesus will not be reduced to a good luck charm. Like we saw earlier in Luke's gospel with Jesus in the Temple as a boy, he is very clear on the purpose for which the Father has sent him. Are there times that you think about Jesus primarily in terms of what he can do for you and neglect the proclamation of the good news of the Kingdom for which Jesus came?⁠

What areas of our life cry out with a similar objection - wanting to know what right Jesus has over them? Are there aspects of your life that you would say, "What does Jesus of Nazareth have to do with that?!" All things - seen and unseen, both material and immaterial, physical and spiritual - are under the authority and jurisdiction of Jesus.⁠

Sadly, this reception of Jesus and his Kingdom is far too often true of us. We are happy to observe and speak well about and even praise Jesus. Hypothetically, Jesus and his Kingdom have our full support. Until the message becomes personal. Until Jesus steps on our toes. Until the Kingdom of God clashes with us. Then we become enraged. We justify and defend and wonder, "How dare he?!" We storm off to find a new church. We reject orthodoxy altogether and cobble together a version of Jesus who clashes with the things we don't like and endorses (or at least tolerates) the things we do. But that's not really Jesus. If we make that move, we are no longer loving, praising, and following Jesus. We have thrown him off a cliff and thrown our lot in with the devil.

The clash of the kingdoms is upon us. That means it will frequently clash with you. What will you do when it does?

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In what ways have the kingdoms of the world been rolled out before our eyes like a buffet? What have we been promised in exchange for a little of our worship? How have we allowed our hungry appetites to dull our trust in the goodness of God? We face these same dilemmas. We are posed these same questions. Do we come out looking like Jesus - or more like his predecessors, Adam and Israel? Praise God that Jesus was faithful when tempted in our place! May we follow his example!⁠

So the Lord reminds them of the dire straits he called them out of. He reminds them that their crops would not produce - that their land was struck by drought and disease. And that all of this was at the disciplinary hand of a good Father. Therefore, he says - "From this day on, think carefully." Tread wisely. Because the seeds and the vines and the figs and the olive trees have not yet produced! But they will. "From this day on, I will bless you," promises the Lord. So walk wisely in those blessing and don't let your heart stray. Even nations and kings will be overturned and stand no chance to circumvent the Lord's plans to bless.

We saw last week how this blessing has come true in Jesus! He is the true and better Zerubbabel and Joshua - the king and the high priest. Christ is the Lord's signet ring - the Chosen One. And under his rule, the land will produce. Under his rule, no powers or thrones or kingdoms can circumvent the blessing of God's people. So let us think carefully about our ways! Let us tread lightly and walk wisely lest our hearts also stray from the humble worship of our God! Lest we begin to believe that blessing is the fruit of our labour and the work of our hands! Rather than the gracious outpouring of a sovereign God to be humbly and gratefully received!⁠

This promise will most certainly come to pass! Jesus identified himself as the fulfillment of this promise. He identified himself as the Temple of God - one that would be torn down and rebuilt in three days. In Jesus, we see the glory of God revealed! The full glory - even greater than the veiled glory of God in Solomon's Temple! And in Christ, God has indeed shaken the heavens and the earth! And he is gathering to himself the treasures of the nations. You are the treasures of the nations that he has reclaimed and purchased and bought back in Christ! We are a house. Built on Christ the Cornerstone. And this church - this Kingdom - is a house with a future glory. So let us do exactly what the Lord instructs the people to do: Work! For he is with us.

The Lord then makes a declaration to them. "I am with you." Recalling similar declarations made in the past to Moses, Joshua, David, and others - the Lord reminds the people of his faithfulness in their newly rediscovered zeal for faithfulness themselves. The Lord rouses their spirit, and the good work begins!

Let us ask the Lord to rouse our spirits! May our response be as swift and obedient to remember and fear the Lord. Within 3 weeks of receiving the prophets message, the people have already dropped what they were doing, organized the labour, secured the materials, and begun construction on the house of the Lord. Have our hearts been swift to repentance when provoked by the Spirit? Or do we often operate more like large cruise ships, requiring a big, long, sweeping turn radius to get going in the other direction? When the word of the Lord hits us, let's act swiftly and accordingly. Why? Because our God is with us. ⁠

"Is it time for you to live in houses while the Lord's house is in ruins?" he asks. The Lord continues to question the people through the prophet, "Why do you think you have planted so much and harvested so little? Why do you think you are never satisfied?" He compares them to a worker who earns their wages but puts them in a bag with a hole in it. The Lord is the one who brings increase. And yet they have neglected him. How can they expect return on their labour when they are neglecting the one from whose hand it comes?

Are we living our lives like those who put their wages in bags with holes? Do we spin our wheels tirelessly for what feels like ever-diminishing returns? Maybe this is because we are putting our time, efforts, money, affections in all the wrong places. The God that we are so prone to neglect - so likely to treat as an afterthought to be squeezed into whatever margins we have leftover - He is the only source and giver of the peace and the security and the physical/mental/emotional/relational wholeness that we find so elusive! It eludes us because we fail to prioritize its true Source. If your life feels like a bag with a hole in it; it's because you value your wages too little, not too much. You value them too little to actually put them in the right place.⁠

 This is the salvation of God! This is the good news our hearts have waited for! Let our eyes, like the heavens, open as we witness Jesus' baptism so that we might declare, "I have seen salvation!" We, who so desperately wish that we could be found pleasing in the sight of God - who inescapably cannot be found pleasing in the sight of God because of our sin - have been given in our place the one in whom he is well-pleased! He is the only one who can play this part - the only one who can stand in this gap. Why? Because he is both Son of Adam, Son of God. Jesus, your brother, is Jesus, your God, which means he can and should be Jesus, your Saviour and King.⁠

What type of people will we be? One who is quick to hear and receive and repent? Or one who is quick to bristle and reject and take offense? This message of John is the message that the prophets have been preaching for centuries! And the message that Jesus will preach himself. You have broken the covenant and must repent. If you don't repent there will be judgment. But even in judgment, there is hope in a future restoration.⁠

Even as a boy, Jesus demonstrates for us the single-minded devotion that we should have towards matters of the Kingdom. It is necessary for all of us to be in our Father's house, in our Father's world, about our Father's business. How many other things are we prioritizing above this? And how much is that stunting our growth? How destructive is that? Because obedience leads to flourishing! We can be about our Father's business because Jesus was. Jesus' obedience didn't end in childhood; he was obedient all the way even to death on a cross. And his obedience leads to our flourishing! ⁠

It is really interesting that these two immediately recognize the Messiah, his arrival, and its significance - especially when many others do not. And there are a couple things they have in common: 1 - They both intimately walk with the Lord. 2 - They are both anticipating the Messiah and his redemption. This is contrasted with the rulers of Israel and its religious leaders who are blind to the Messiah's advent. They do not walk intimately with the Lord, and their pride has swelled with their own political clout causing them to lose interest in anticipating Jerusalem's redemption. They'd rather keep Jerusalem and its balance of power right where it is.

Which begs the question - are we likely to recognize or miss the Lord working and moving? Do we walk intimately with him? Are we anticipating the redemption of his Kingdom and the return of Christ? Or are we comfortable, hesitant to have our apple cart upset, and distracted by other concerns?⁠

This announcement of good news is for you. It wasn't made to kings or scribes in palaces or mansions or temples. It was made to ordinary shepherds in a field at night. We preach an extraordinary gospel that is for ordinary people.⁠

The question for us today is, "Will we make the same mistake?" Your King has come. The very sustenance of life has come and presented himself to you. Will you esteem him? Or do you also have no room? Like the rich young ruler, will you walk away sad because the rooms of your heart are too occupied by other guests?

Should we not live in a manner that the same could be said of us? What sort of people are these? They are the fulfillment of God's promise to ransom a people for his own possession from the nations! They are evidence that God remembers his covenant. They are witness to the redemption provided by God on meritless sinners! They testify that salvation has been raised up in the house of David - a reminder that God deals mercifully with his people. They are a people who walk in the Lord's ways and prepare hearts to receive him! They give people knowledge of God's salvation! Glory to God for he has visited us and shined on our darkness!⁠

Do you leap for joy when you think about Jesus? Does your soul magnify the Lord and your heart rejoice greatly in all that he has done? If the gospel is not a source of deep and overflowing joy - if it does not cause sheer exuberance - then we are missing something! Luke writes to Theophilus because he wants him to know the certainty of these things - but that is not just a cognitive knowing. He wants him to experientially know the joy of the Messiah's advent! How can we cultivate the uncontainable joy of Christ in our hearts?⁠

Do we often forget on this side of the Messiah's advent the weight of promises fulfilled in which we stand? Is it easy for us to look back and think that Jesus came to save us from sin and think something along the lines of, "Oh, that is nice." - but failing to be in awe of just how incredible this reality is? If our eyes are truly to see his salvation - if we are to really know and appreciate the certainty of the things about which we have been instructed - we must consider the ages of answered hopes and prayers that have come true in Jesus!⁠

We all share in the human tendency to grow forgetful. Like Israel, the cares of today drive the truth of yesterday from our hearts and minds, and the evidence of God's Kingdom faithfulness fades as we drift into sleepiness. But here in Luke 1, we have the opportunity to have our hearts stirred once more. To lean in and find hope. Hope in a God who patiently persists and stirs the hearts of a sleepy, forgetful people.⁠

As we begin our study in Luke's gospel, we are not asking you to check your minds at the door. We want to carefully investigate these things! To study them hard! To ask questions and to look at them from different angles. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is the evidence for our faith - the faith that has been passed down from the apostles. As we examine the life of Jesus of Nazareth, we grow more assured of this gospel we are being instructed in. We see the Kingdom of God unfold in him. We see the standard we strive and grow towards in him. We see the assurance of God's mercy towards us in him. Let us commit ourselves to the task of studying Luke thoroughly - so that we may know thoroughly and with certainty the hope we have been given. 

Ever since the church began, false prophets have infiltrated congregations, leading others astray by denying Christ’s power and abusing God’s grace as an opportunity for immorality. In his epistle, Jude made sure his readers would be able to recognize “these people” by issuing three charges against them: they pollute the flesh, they reject authority, and they slander God’s truth. We need to heed Jude’s warning, acknowledge the danger, and keep the faith by trusting in Christ, our eternal fixed point and the only one who can save us, shepherd us, and preserve us.⁠

John is going to expound on this even more in chapter 3. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved! This echoes Paul's gospel proclamation in Romans 8 - There is now no condemnation for those in Christ. What the law could not do - God did. As you contemplate the beuatiful mystery of the Incarnation this Christmas season, do not forget that the Word who took on flesh is full of grace and truth! He isn't just gracious; he possesses every perfection of grace. So that you might receive from his fullness!

Why? The early church fathers help us see this answer to this question: "For that which he has not assumed, he has not healed." (Gregory of Nazianzus) This is the same answer given by the writer of Hebrews in chapter 2. He took on flesh not to reach out and help the angels - but to the rescue of Abraham's offspring! He dwelt among us so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest, being tempted so that he might help those who are tempted! What is it that you are struggling with today? What plagues you? What sufferings have you endured? Christ has too! He has assumed all of your humanity - taken on all of your flesh. So that he might be your faithful and merciful high priest, well acquainted with your sorrows. He carries your flesh to the altar on the cross, so that in him and by him, all of you might be redeemed! This is the depth of beauty wrapped up in "dwelt among us"!

But he was rejected so that we might be received. To those who received him he gave the right to be children of God - not children born of natural descent or made so by the strength of their own effort (the will of the flesh) or any contrived approach (the will of man). We are made children only by the gracious will of God. (Received by the one rejected in our place!) He gave you the right to be made sons - and if sons, then heirs to the promise! You are no longer a slave.

Do we exult in Christ this way? Do we comprehend his majesty? It is good and right that we remember Christ as friend - as a close companion in times of struggle. He is near like a brother. But let us not allow his familiarity to cause us to forget his glory! If we really want to behold the wonder of the Incarnation - the mystery of the Word made flesh - we must begin by being awestruck at the matchless glory of the Eternal Word!

Similarly, we know that the full restoration of the creation will not be complete until Christ's return. Even as we rebuild walls - bringing the gospel to bear on the brokenness of a world affected by sin - we can only do so looking forward to the inhabitation of the New Jerusalem. In that city, further reforms won't be needed. Covenant infidelity won't creep its way back in. The joyous celebration of Jerusalem's walls rebuilt is tinged with sorrow - only temporary. Our joyous celebration here east of Eden as we glimpse a foretaste of restoration is also only in part - joy flows mingled with grief. But all with the hope of the Coming Kingdom of Christ - Jerusalem Rebuilt and Eden Restored.

Israel's story is our story - one of repeated rebellion alongside God's repeated faithfulness. He is righteous in all that he has done. We have acted wickedly; he has acted faithfully and redeemed us by the work of Christ. And we find ourselves now very much in the place of v36 - slaves in the land given to our ancestors. The earth was given that we might enjoy its fruit and its goodness, but because of our sin, we still experience the pain and the effects of its brokenness. In fact, some of us are still enslaved by it. And all of us - even those who have been set free from the rule of sin by Jesus - cry out for the foreign intrusion of sin to be wiped away and the land returned to its rightful purpose. If you are "in great distress" - know that the invading oppression of sin's rule will soon be brought to an end in the Kingdom of King Jesus.

This is how we too - in Christ - respond to the law and the Word of God! We behold the holiness and goodness of God, and we fall down, worship, and weep! (Like Isaiah before the throneroom or John in the Revelation, our own unworthiness floods over us.) But our strength and our hope and our joy is not in our merit but in Christ's! Today is his, and he is holy! In him, there is fullness of joy! In Jesus, our weeping finds its end (its culmination), and our hearts are turned to dancing. So we eat and drink what is rich and sweet! And we do so with unbridled generosity. Because, after all, we rejoice because the generosity of God has been poured out on us - that generosity must spill over!

The church is no stranger to invented rumours. In early Rome, Christians were accused of eating babies (by those who heard bits and pieces of the Nativity and that the church observed the Lord’s Supper). Those who oppose the Kingdom will invent outlandish things in the hope that Kingdom work will be abandoned. Have you slacked off in the work because you fear invented rumours? Have you maybe even started believing that the rumours might be a little bit true and softened or changed your faith in certain doctrines because they have become culturally uncomfortable? God, strengthen our hands!

Are we guilty of the same? Do we hope and pray for revival and restoration of our churches while keeping grudges and withholding forgiveness from one another? Do we wish for our country to turn from its secular idolatries and remember the Lord – yet ignore the responsibility to set the pace in caring for the poor and standing in the gap for widows and orphans? Are you wanting to see the Lord rebuild the walls but too lazy to walk in obedience?

Jesus sent his disciples into the world in Matthew 10 predicting a very similar thing. “Look, I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves.” Through Christ, the Lord is rebuilding Eden’s broken walls. He is putting our decayed hearts back together. But we are still surrounded by the brokenness and decay of sin. That sin will inspire hostile opposition to the gospel in the hearts of others. What does it look like for us to be alert without being fearful? To be on guard without being defensive? How do we “carry a sword” (Luke 22:36-37) and put on the full armour of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) without foolishly wielding it like Peter did in the garden (Matthew 26:52)?

We have been commissioned by God, the King, to push back against the effects of the fall. This was modelled for us in the ministry of Jesus – to mend what has been broken, to begin to restore what has been lost. As we labour for the prosperity of the Kingdom, there will be many who are greatly displeased – mocking and even despising. Be about the work anyway and start building – they have no share, right, or claim on the Kingdom.

This mirrors our story – exile from the Garden, creation in a state of ill-repair, plagued by sin-induced grief. The glory of Eden has been lost – and we rightly lament and long for its return. But the primary reason for grief here in exile with the land in ruin is the glory of God obscured.

When we gather as the church, we gather as the hors d’oeuvres of this coming feast. We anticipate it’s arrival; we eagerly look froward to the day when Jesus and his people spend forever together in a Kingdom where all things are made new. But that also means that our gathering – in our homes around our dinner tables and in our church around the communion table – should have the pleasing aroma of that day! Our life together should be the sweet morsel that whets appetites for the greater meal to come. Is your life a fitting aroma? Do you smell like the Kingdom? How do we live together as a corporate body that offers a small taste of what’s to come?

In what ways are we in danger of misapplying the table? In what ways are we prone to these two abuses or others like them?

When you plan your meals and arrange your calendar, don’t call impure what God has called clean! He has given repentance that results in life to all types of people. Don’t let your table be more selective than the kingdom of God. Who is the person you would least likely suspect to be a candidate for belonging to Jesus? Invite them to dinner and see what God does. You are sitting at the table right now because he included us unlikely Gentiles.

We are a feasting people. It is also good that we fast (as Jesus says we will do when he goes away). But as those who know the Bridegroom – who both await his return and celebrate his victory – we practice rhythms of fasting and feasting. And we always use our table as Jesus used his – sharing it generously with all types of people. Your table is not a private retreat; it is a battlefield hospital.

This is what the Lord offers us – the peace of Christ in the midst of the chaos that characterizes life east of Eden. This is also what the church is meant to be – a table set in a chaotic world (the hors d’oeuvres of the coming feast)!

How often do we think of our stuff as ours? Our home, our family, our time, our money, our resources… they don’t belong to us. They belong to God. They have only been given to us to steward. And God has given them to you for the good of others. When you “glean to the edges” – that is embezzlement. God has apportioned and ear-marked your time, money, home, etc as provision for others. Are you leaving it for them or are you stealing it?

We find ourselves wondering if the things we want and need might be found back in the land of bondage – that dabbling in sin might take the edge of our appetite. But real satisfaction is only in Jesus – and only in daily dependence on Jesus! So, we pray with Proverbs 30:8, “Give me neither poverty nor riches.” We give because we recognize that our possessions have a tendency to possess us. And it is sweeter to live in daily dependence. We cherish what the Lord gives us, and we steward all of it knowing that it is not ours but his. We bring in to send out – and when we send, we send our best.

The Passover is a commemorative feast. We also observe commemorative holiday feasts (like Thanksgiving or Christmas), and we know that intentional preparation is warranted. How many of you just throw some haphazard last-minute plans together for what you’re going to eat on Thanksgiving? Maybe just what drive-thru you’ll swing by? No, we prepare weeks in advance who will bring what and what needs to be cooked what way. When we come here – when we gather around the Lord’s Table – we should come with no less intentionality. By all means, come as you are with your pain and your brokenness – this is not a performance center. But what we gather to do together has weight and gravity to it; we don’t gather haphazardly or flippantly.

This is God’s Story. All things come from him. Everything we have, we receive from him. We aren’t creators; we are recipients. Our job is not to chart the course but to cultivate what we’re given. And God is a good giver! His Story (and his world) is one of joy! We don’t despise the ordinary beauty of things like food; we cherish them and let them lead us to cherish Him more! Sitting down to eat God's food at God's table is what it means to be human.