Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith
Religion & Spirituality:Spirituality
The divine rescue - of which the ministry of Jesus is the decisive act - is not merely to be understood as the securing of a heavenly afterlife for the faithful, but the restoration of a fallen creation. To be "saved" is to be set free, to be healed and to be counted a citizen of the "kingdom of God."
But such freedom recognizes there we are presently captives, subjects of a hostile regime. There is an enemy that must be defeated. But identifying that enemy - the actual enemy - can be quite difficult.
In this episode we turn to the story of Jesus's "temptation" in the wilderness as Matthew helps us see that this is Evil's attempt at a negotiated victory. Why not accept some comfort here, some glory there and a whole lot of earthly power? All that is required is to let Evil continue it's work behind the scenes...
It's an offer Jesus managed to refuse..., but one we are quite often willing to accept in an instant. And the thing about deals with the devil is...there is never a deal.
It can help to follow along visually, so the text for this sermon can be found here --> Matthew 4:1-11 (NRSV)
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God, Self & Other - Luke 24: Releasing the Fantasy of Easy Victory
God, Self & Other - Luke 23: The Feeding of the 5,000 and Other Acts of Miraculous Provision
God, Self & Other - Luke 22: Stealing Grace? (Jesus Heals a Woman with a Hemorrhage)
God, Self & Other - Luke 21: The Kingdom Invades New Lands
God, Self & Other - Luke 20: Interpreting Parables and the Story of a Sower
God, Self & Other – Luke 19: Women, Fishermen, Sinners, Tax Collectors and at Least 1 Murderer (i.e., The Future Leaders of Christ's Church!)
God, Self & Other – Luke 18: The Heartbreaking Difficulty of Believing in a Truly Loving God
God, Self & Other – Luke 17: We Were Expecting Someone More...Messiah-y - Luke, Part 17
God, Self & Other – Luke 16: Jesus and Christian Ethics (Sermon on the Plain, Part 2)
God, Self & Other – Luke 15: Blessings and Woes (Sermon on the Plain, Part 1)
God, Self & Other – Luke 14: Healing on the Sabbath??? (When Love Breaks the Law)
God, Self & Other – Luke 13: Dinner with a Tax Collector (Jesus Calls the Apostle Levi [Matthew])
God, Self & Other – Luke 12: “We Have Seen Strange Things…” (Resurrection, Part 1 – Jesus Heals a Paralytic)
God, Self & Other – Luke 11: Love Beyond Every Boundary (Healing a Man with Leprosy)
Losing Faith, and Finding God after “God”
God, Self & Other – Luke 10: How Honest Faith Begins (Calling of Peter, James and John)
God, Self & Other – Luke 09: Jesus 1, Captivity 0 (Miracles in Capernaum)
God, Self & Other – Luke 08: The Enduring (Un)Popularity of Prophets
God, Self & Other – Luke 07: The Temptation to Other Loves (Jesus in the Wilderness)
God, Self & Other – Luke 06: Love, Repentance and John the Baptist
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