For the month of January, we are returning to the idea of what it means to be a Spirit-empowered community with our new series, Empowered Revelation. Each week, we are discerning a text together through the spiritual practice of Lectio Divina (learn more about this spiritual practice here).
Please read through this week's passage of Scripture using the following questions to guide you:
1) What images/words stand out as you hear the story?
2) What do you think the story means?
3) What do you think we should do based on what we’ve heard?
4) What is being revealed about God’s character through the story?
Luke 5:17-26 NIV
One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”
After prayerfully engaging with the text, either as a group or individual, please share your insights, questions, visions, or convictions with us! We want to know what you are hearing so that we can get a fuller picture of what Jesus is saying to our community.
You can fill out the form below, email info@spaconline or text us at 587-205-5852.