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Small Hands, Open Hearts
Scripture:“People were also bringing babies to Jesus… but the disciples rebuked them.” (Luke 18:15)“Let the little children come to me… for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” (Luke 18:16) The disciples try to manage access. They rebuke the parents, as if Jesus is too busy for children. Luke doesn’t treat that as…
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Mercy is Outsider Language
Scripture:“The Pharisee… prayed… ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people…’” (Luke 18:11)“But the tax collector… said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’” (Luke 18:13) Luke contrasts two prayers—one polished, one bare. The Pharisee’s prayer sounds religious, but it’s really a speech about himself. It’s a prayer that builds a wall:…
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The Connection Between Persistence & Justice
Scripture: Luke 18:1-8One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute…
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When Healing Looks Like Standing Up
Scripture:“There was a woman… crippled by a spirit for eighteen years… Jesus said, ‘Woman, you are set free.’ … Immediately she straightened up and praised God.” (Luke 13:10–13) Luke gives us a woman who has been bent over for eighteen years—eighteen years of pain, limitation, and likely invisibility. Jesus sees her. He calls her forward.…
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Daughter, Not a Diagnosis
Scripture:“A woman… had been subject to bleeding for twelve years… Jesus said, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.’” (Luke 8:43–48) Luke tells this story with tenderness and tension. The woman is suffering physically, yes—but also socially. She’s spent years with a condition that isolates her, drains her resources, and makes her feel…
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The Hand That Doesn’t Flinch
Scripture:“They were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus… Jesus said… ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He did so, and his hand was completely restored.” (Luke 6:6–10) Luke shows Jesus healing a man with a withered hand—and it happens in the middle of controversy. The religious leaders aren’t asking, “How can we help?” They’re asking, “How…
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“Lowered Through the Roof!
Scripture:“Some men came carrying a paralyzed man… they went up on the roof and lowered him… When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.’” (Luke 5:18–20) Luke tells this story like a holy interruption. A room packed with religious insiders. Teaching underway. And then the ceiling starts coming apart—because love is…
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Jesus Says, “I Want to…”
Scripture:“A man with leprosy… begged him, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’” (Luke 5:12–13)“And the news about him spread all the more…” (Luke 5:15) There’s a question hiding inside the leper’s request: Can I hope…
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Grace-First People
Scripture:“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:36)“Do not judge… forgive, and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6:37) Luke doesn’t let mercy stay abstract. He turns it into a community practice: “Be merciful.” Not “feel merciful,” not “agree with mercy,” but be it—embody it, enact it, make it visible. The Gospel of outsiders…
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The Theology of “Welcome Home”
Scripture:“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion… and ran to his son.” (Luke 15:20) Luke 15 is not a morality tale about how to behave so you can earn your way back. It’s a revelation of who God is. The Father runs. That’s the…
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Weekday Word w/ Eric 