Zacchaeus

SUNDAY 'S TEXT

Luke 18:31-19:10 - Zacchaeus

SERMON NOTES FOR DISCUSSION

Sunday Recap of the week... by Elaine Pierce

It's March 21  Easter is two weeks away. Since early January, we have been reading through the book of Luke - twice. And I have been devoting the Sunday Worship Blog to summarizing the chapters that we have read throughout the week. These chapters - 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 - contain what I am going to call 'famous sayings' of Jesus: words that most people would probably recognize as coming from the Bible, even if they aren't regularly reading their Bible or going to church.  

• He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
• No servant can serve two masters...You cannot serve both God and Money.
• Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
• How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich an to enter the kingdom of God.  
• What is impossible with men is possible with God.

I suspect I could find "famous sayings" each week, but as I prayed about what to write about, I was drawn to these 'sayings.' Jesus makes it abundantly clear that following him is the only path to eternal life. And he knows that we will struggle with worldly enticements:  money....power....greed. He knows that many people will choose the world - he will not force us to follow him. The first saying- He who has ears to hear, let him hear - makes that clear.  

Paul says it well it 2 Timothy 3:16-17: All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.  

As we continue through the season of Lent, I would encourage you to soak in God's word.  Billy Graham said, "I am never lonely when I am reading the Bible. Nothing dissolves loneliness like a session with God's Word." Whether or not you are lonely (and many of us have experienced loneliness this past year, haven't we) or not, I can tell you that God will meet you as you ask the Holy Spirit to reveal his will, and you spend time in the scriptures.  Take heart, Jesus has overcome the world!