Call to worship:
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
2 O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleas for mercy!3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared..Psalm 130:1-4
Gathering Video
Questions for reflection:
What do you notice about the triune God in the baptism of Jesus?
Jesus deals with temptation and the devil directly. What do we learn about dependency and fighting temptation?
What tools and resources did Jesus have in connection with the Spirit that are available for us today?
Corporate Prayer:
Our Father in Heaven,
We thank you for the gift of salvation found in Your Son Jesus. We're grateful that your plan includes a Helper in the Person and work of the Holy Spirit. Would you graciously grant us that power promised, to filled and sent with your truth and love to the world around us.
In the name of Jesus we pray,
Amen
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Notes//Quotes//Slides:
Luke 4:16-30 - Mike Reading
Aren't you, like me, hoping that some person, thing, or event will come along to give you that final feeling of inner well-being you desire? Don't you often hope: 'Maybe this book, idea, course, trip, job, country or relationship fulfill my deepest desire.' But as long as you are waiting for that mysterious moment you will go on running helter-skelter, always anxious and restless, always lustful and angry, never fully satisfied. You know that this is the compulsiveness that keeps us going and busy, but at the same time makes us wonder whether we are getting anywhere in the long run. This is the way to spiritual exhaustion and burn-out. This is the way to spiritual death. - Henri Nouwen
Stones into Bread
The Fountain thirsts, the Bread is hungry here The Light is dark, the Word without a voice. When darkness speaks it seems so light and clear. Now He must dare, with us, to make a choice. In a distended belly’s cruel curve He feels the famine of the ones who lose He starves for those whom we have forced to starve He chooses now for those who cannot choose. He is the staff and sustenance of life He lives for all from one Sustaining Word His love still breaks and pierces like a knife The stony ground of hearts that never shared, God gives through Him what Satan never could; The broken bread that is our only food.
The Kingdoms of this World
‘So here’s the deal and this is what you get: The penthouse suite with world-commanding views, The banker’s bonus and the private jet Control and ownership of all the news An ‘in’ to that exclusive one percent, Who know the score, who really run the show With interest on every penny lent And sweeteners for cronies in the know. A straight arrangement between me and you No hell below or heaven high above You just admit it, and give me my due And wake up from this foolish dream of love…’ But Jesus laughed, ‘You are not what you seem. Love is the waking life, you are the dream.’
On The Pinnacle
‘Temples and Spires are good for looking down from; You stand above the world on holy heights, Here on the pinnacle, above the maelstrom, Among the few, the true, unearthly lights. Here you can breathe the thin air of perfection And feel your kinship with the lonely star, Above the shadow and the pale reflection, Here you can know for certain who you are. The world is stalled below, but you could move it If they could know you as you are up here, Of course they’ll doubt, but here’s your chance to prove it Angels will bear you up, so have no fear….’ ‘I was not sent to look down from above It’s fear that sets these tests and proofs, not Love.’
John 14:15-17
John 14:25-26
John 16:7-15
“You can have all the right notions in your head without ever tasting in your heart the realities to which they refer; and a simple Bible reader and sermon hearer who is full of the Holy Spirit will develop a far deeper acquaintance with his God and Savior than a more learned scholar who is content with being theologically correct.” JI Packer