This week's scripture is the story of Jesus' last visit home to Nazareth.  Jesus has recently been baptized and then spent 40 days being tempted by Satan in the wilderness.  Now, he returns home and begins his ministry.  At first, he is received eagerly, but soon things will turn ugly.

¹⁴Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. ¹⁵He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. ¹⁶When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, ¹⁷and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ¹⁸"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, ¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." ²⁰And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. ²¹Then he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."  Luke 4:14-21

·         In the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven Covey encourages people to write a mission statement to help them as they decide their priorities.  This passage contains Jesus' mission statement.  What does Jesus believe the Spirit of the Lord has anointed him to do?

·         Have you ever felt "filled with the power of the Holy Spirit"?  How did that feel?  What did that power enable you to do? 

·         At first, Jesus is praised by the crowds.  How do you think Jesus felt about their praise?

o   If we continue reading this chapter, we discover that their praise quickly turned to condemnation.  How do you think Jesus felt about the crowd turning on him and attempting to kill him?

o   What-if anything-does this passage say to Christians about their lives in the world?

§  How often do you do something for the sake of being praised?

§  How willing would you be to do something that would anger those around you?

·         Notice that it was Jesus "custom" to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath day.  What does that tell us about the importance of weekly worship?  Is it your custom?

Just a few thoughts as we prepare for Sunday!