FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY
Jesus Came to Change our Hearts
CRAFT: Several years ago we made some dolls that had a black heart that could be changed to a red heart. The idea is to present how when we don't listen to Jesus we have a black heart and when we listen our heart is pure.
SNACK: We need to have hearts made of (like biscuit dough) and sugar cookie hearts.
LESSON PLAN: Jesus went to the place He should have been openly received, and found hostility. The same is true of our hearts. We were created in the image of God, and as such should be able to receive Christ and His Word. As it is we need the help of God in the person of the Holy Spirit, to break through our hard and stubborn nature, to allow us to have Faith in Jesus.
MEMORY WORK: Luke 4:32 They were amazed at His teaching, because His message had authority.
FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY
Jesus Came to Change our Hearts.
We will learn to identify characteristics of God's Love.
We will understand that our response to God's Love may bring hostility from the world.
We will thank God that for Christ's sake God forgives us through His Love and motivates us to share His Love with others.
Preliminary considerations: The overall theme for today is the fact that sin keeps us from doing the right things, while Jesus motivates us to do the right things (the things of God -- specifically Faith.) The Introit tells us that righteousness comes from God but wickedness is rejected by God. The Collect shows us that our hearts are black with sin but with God we have hearts made pure by Him The Old Testament Lesson is the call of Jeremiah. He is frightened, but God assures him of His Love and constant care. The Gradual speaks of God's Love toward us, and our response of praise. The Epistle Lesson reviews some of the Spiritual gifts. Without using these gifts for God they are useless. The Gospel Lesson presents the time Jesus proclaimed God's Love to His hometown folks. They rejected Him which has become our salvation.
THE OLD TESTAMENT LESSON: Jeremiah 1:4-10
As a prophet of God at a time when many did not what to hear God's Word, Jeremiah had a difficult time. At times it was so discouraging that Jeremiah cursed the day he was born and espoused grave doubts that anything good could come out of the message. Our lesson is the time of Jeremiah's call to be a prophet to the nations even those beyond Israel. God assures Jeremiah that He is Loved. God explains that He knew him in the womb. God saves. God calls the saved to be His. God sends them to the Gospel. God equips them with the desire and power to spread His promise of salvation. The Word of God will destroy and overthrow sin, and build up and plant righteousness.
THE EPISTLE LESSON: 1 Corinthians 12:27--13:3
This is known as the "Love" chapter in the Bible. This really doesn't have anything to do with wedded or friendship love. This is a continuation of the discussion of Spiritual gifts. God's Love is what gives the Spiritual gifts their power. Love is described positively and negatively. These attributes point to God's nature and His Love for us in Christ Jesus. God is Love and nothing can separate us from God's Love in Jesus Christ. Paul is responding to problems the Corinthian congregation is experiencing in regard to gifts of the Spirit. The remedy for division is God's Love lavished on us in the work and the person of Jesus Christ our Savior.
THE GOSPEL LESSON: Luke 4:21-32
Jesus, the native Son, returned to His Synagogue. He read a well-known section of the prophet Isaiah, a place that described the special task of the promised Messiah. Then He gave them the connection between that Scripture and Himself. It is interesting that while Jeremiah complained about the rejection of the people, Jesus seems to have expected it. He had a ready and honest answer to their rejection of the Gospel and of Him. God is not sidetracked from His work of bringing salvation to the world. He is not sidetracked by our sin or our rejection. He continues to call the saved from every tribe and every nation to join us in the gift of Faith He established in His Son.
STUDY SHEET
The heart is a curious muscle. The guys on the radio were arguing over whether the heart is the strongest muscle or just the busiest. I don't know if it is the strongest, but I do know that it is an extremely vital muscle. Christopher Reeves became a quadriplegic when he fell off of his horse. None of his muscles will respond to commands from his brain, well, except the heart. Although everything else is paralyzed, and he breaths because of a machine, his heart continues to pump.
We often speak of a heart when we talk about love. We often speak of our heart when we talk about our Faith. Perhaps because our Faith as with our heart, is so vital to our life.
Jesus presented Himself as the Messiah. He reached out to the hearts of His hearers because their brains couldn't understand how this person they had grown up among them could be the Christ. Their hearts were made black by sin and they couldn't believe. God comes to us with a special blessing for our heart. In the water and the word of our baptism God set Himself in the person of the Holy Spirit to make our hard hearts soft and red. Able to receive the wonder of His Word and wisdom for our salvation..
1. What was the complaint of Jeremiah?
2. How did the people receive Jeremiah?
3. What was the promise of God for Jeremiah?
4. Paul describes some of the gifts of the Spirit. What is the appointment of the gifts?
5. Who is the most important in the list of recipients of gifts?
6. What gift is greater than all of those listed?
7. What happen when Jesus declared Himself the fulfillment of Scripture?
8. What did the people try to do?
9. How did Jesus get away?
10. What was Jesus' reaction to the rejection of His hometown folks?
11. What does Jesus' reaction tell us about how we can face our discouraging days?