The Contagious Gospel: Jesus as a Friend to Sinners

The Contagious Gospel: Jesus as a Friend to Sinners

To finally put the last piece on this week’s series of posts, we need to go back to Luke 5.  It’s right after Jesus heals the paralyzed man who’d been lowered through the window.  And, as we saw, Jesus calls Levi away from his life as a tax collector to be a disciple...
From Leper to Love

From Leper to Love

His whole life had been defined by distance.  He was an “outsider,” they told him; a Samaritan.  To this day he still couldn’t remember all the reasons why he and the Jews would never really get along.   “Unclean,” they said, not because of anything he’d done, but...
Aphesis: The Gift of Shalom

Aphesis: The Gift of Shalom

The background of Jesus’ life’s work comes from the book of Isaiah.  In Luke 4:16-21, Jesus walks into the synagogue.  It’s no accident that the scroll of Isaiah is handed to Him.  Jesus unrolls it, and reads to His audience a few selections from the prophet’s...