Hi! My Name Is Jesus! Friends!

Watch the sermon online.

Hi! My Name Is Jesus! Friends!       

Luke 5:17-26          1-10-21

Bottom Line: To get to Jesus we sometimes need friends who will carry us to him.

Introduction:

 A. The little girl video quoting the 23^rd Psalm – “The Lord is my shepherd and that’s all I need.”

 B. What is your favorite part of that Psalm?

   1. Everyone loves the first four verses.

   2. Disconnect at vs.5

 C. Preparing a table for me in the presence of my enemies! Why? What does it mean?

   1. Honored guest seat – anoint w/ oil, perfume & olive oil, cup overflowed! Oil = reward; cup = provision bounty

   2. Lord’s dinner – vindication & honor before enemies

 D. Surely goodness and love will follow all me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

   1. God is greater than our enemies

   2. They don’t control who or what we are.

 E. Jesus had enemies stalk him wherever he went.

   1. Did he live in fear or was he intimidated by them?

   2. Did he allow them to change his mission?

 F. A favorite story in Luke 5 teaches us several things about Jesus and not allowing enemies to affect his mission. Luke 5:17-26 has three principles about Jesus

1. Teaching the teachers, vs.17

 A. It was obvious opposition: not hiding, just waiting to pounce on anything he did or said.

 B. Our enemies must not change us!

   1. Use wisdom & discretion but not controlled by fear and intimidation

   2. Integrity requires courage of convictions!

 C. “The power of the Lord was present”? God’s plan and God’s presence!

2. Touched by loyalty and love, vs.18-20

 A. Friends carrying a friend = love; “He ain’t heavy…”

 B. A burden, a barrier, and a Plan B!

   1. We often need others to get to Jesus!

   2. Sometimes we need to adjust & improvise to receive his healing.

 C. Jesus saw their faith and responded immediately, vs.20

3. Tuff truth declared, vs.21-26

 A. Jesus knows what troubles our hearts!

 B. Jesus has the power to heal both spiritual & physical illnesses!

 C. The man went from being carried to being a carrier!

   * Everyone praised God but the critics!

Conclusion:

A. How do you go from paralysis to praise? Faithful friends and Jesus!

B. In this story there are Carriers, Carried & Critics! Which are you? All need Jesus!

—————————————–

Bible Study for Sunday, January 10, 2021

A Jesus Study: Luke 5:17-26

1.  What is your favorite part of the 23^rd Psalm?

2.  What does it mean to you that the Shepherd prepares a table for you in the presence of your enemies?

3.  How do we allow our enemies to affect what we do and what we say? How do we let others control us?

4.  How did Jesus deal with those who opposed him?

5.  In Luke 5:17-26, Jesus had many Pharisees and teachers of the Law present as he taught. What can we learn from how he taught, in spite of their presence?

6.  What do you think it means that “the power of the Lord was present”?

7.  What can we learn from the men lowering their friend through the roof to get to Jesus?

8.  How did their actions impress Jesus? Who had faith?

9.  What did Jesus mean by saying there was no difference between forgiving his sins or healing him? How are they alike? What does it say about Jesus?

10.Do we ever get distracted with semantics and miss the greater good? When? Why?

11. In this story there are the carriers, the carried, and the critics. Which do you most identify with? Why?