Following Jesus: Proclaim

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Proclaim - I

Usher in the Kingdom

MEMORY VERSE

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19).

REFLECTION

Jesus came to proclaim good news, which included salvation but went beyond that. To proclaim the good news meant making a dramatic difference in the lives of people, not only spiritually, but socially and economically. He reminded His listeners that the good news was to be proclaimed to the poor, the brokenhearted, the prisoners, the blind, and the oppressed. Jesus prayed, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt.6:10). He is calling us to join Him in ushering in the kingdom. The kingdom begins when you become totally surrendered to Jesus Christ. Then you work to transform this world into the kind of place God wants it to be.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

How would you describe what God’s kingdom on earth should look like? What issues should we be addressing as we proclaim the good news in our day?

ACTION STEP FOR THE WEEK

Tony Campolo is a Professor, Sociologist and Pastor. Listen to this very challenging and inspiring message online called The Kingdom of God is a Party. Pray about what God is calling you to do.

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Making PROGRESS in Following Jesus

Welcome to the "Following Jesus" blog at PEER Servants! Jesus continues to say to each of us those two simple words "Follow me". If we're willing to give up everything and follow Him, a very fulfilling life of adventure and purpose awaits. We will become a means through which Jesus' vision can be realized - "thy Kingdom come." We will become a means through which many others near and far will be blessed.

We've developed "PROGRESS", an acronym at PEER Servants to capture key aspects of following Jesus. In the weeks and months (and years?) ahead, we will add periodic posts to this blog about some PROGRESS aspect of following Jesus. There will be a verse we'd encourage you to memorize, and occasionally some suggested action steps to make the concept and the verse (taken from the NIV unless otherwise noted) applicable to extending the Kingdom Jesus was always talking about.

What are the key aspects captured in PROGRESS?

P - Proclaim
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Luke 4:18-19

R - Remain
"Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself, it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." John 15:4

O - Obey
Jesus replied, "Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them." John 14:23

G - Give
"In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples." Luke 14:33

R - Receive
"From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another." John 1:16

E - Evangelize
"Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." Mark 16:15

S - Serve
"Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Matthew 20:27-28

S - Shepherd
Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep." John 21:17

Please join us on this great adventure of making PROGRESS in following Jesus!