Have we displaced Jesus from his lordly place of being our rescuer and deliverer from all afflictions, the world, our own sin, and the Devil’s schemes? In our meditation on the Gospel reading, Luke 4:31-44, may the Spirit of God expose the vulnerability of the sinner and comfort that sinner with the protection of Christ! Jesus brings rescue from our foe.

During this season of Epiphany, we are using the idea of unwrapping a gift. Jesus is of course the gift to us, given at Christmas and Epiphany is when we get to unwrap it slowly, marveling at each facet of this gem. But this series is also looking ahead – toward the fulfillment of God’s promises in Holy Week and Easter. This series will ask what this gift means for us.