Henry stumbled into Church on Sunday morning, with bed head, looking like he slept in his clothes. Everyone knew him as trouble and kept their distance. He sat though the service with a worried look on his face.
When it came to prayer time and the preacher asked for prayer requests, Henry raised his hand and said, “I need help right now. I got arrested last night for domestic battery. Darlene and I got into a huge fight and I pushed her down. I got arrested and I spent the night in my car out here in the parking lot. I’ve been arrested before, but this is serious. I think I’ve lost my wife, my house and possibly my freedom.”
The preacher looked and thought for a moment, and said “I’m thinking.” After another minute, he said, “Come stay with me and my family, until everything gets worked out.”
Right after Church, one of the elder’s wives said to the preacher, “You live in the parsonage, shouldn’t we put that up to a vote?”
“The Church property is holy, set aside for God’s purposes,” replied the preacher.
“That’s exactly what I mean,” said the elder’s wife.
Jesus found himself in another controversy with the Pharisees, who were following him around, trying to catch him making an error so they could discredit him.
Luke 6:1-6
1 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. 2 Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
3 Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” 5 Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
The Pharisees accused him of working on the Sabbath, and Jesus made a brilliant defense.
1. 1. It was ok for David to eat the ceremonial bread, and I’m greater than David.
2. 2. I am the Son of Man, sent to bring Salvation to Israel
3. 3. Salvation is physical as well as spiritual
4. 4. The Sabbath Celebrates Salvation
Jesus is our savior and we tend to focus on spiritual salvation, but there were plenty of times when Jesus took care of a person’s physical needs before he took care of a person’s spiritual needs. The truth is the Good News should be good news and when we talk about holiness and heaven to a person who is struggling to put food on the table, raise their kids, pay their bills, and keep their marriage together, our words can fall on deaf ears. So the Good News should be able to make a present day physical difference in a person’s life.
