Cradle to the Cross in Five Days

In one paragraph

On the Sunday before Christmas, Pastor Mark walked through five scenes from the Gospel of Luke, tracing a single thread from the birth of Jesus to the cross. Each scene carried the same word - "today" - and he used that word to press the question of what Jesus is doing right now, in this room, in this season. Pastor Mark opened at the manger. The angels' announcement to the shepherds was not...

Read together

1. John 3:16-17 read by the Findlay family during the Advent candle lighting
2. Luke 2:8-14 the nativity, shepherds and the angel announcing Christ's birth, day one
3. Luke 4 Jesus returning in the power of the Spirit to Galilee and teaching in synagogues, day two
4. Isaiah 61:1-2 read by Jesus in the Nazareth synagogue, quoted in Luke 4, day two
5. Luke 5 the paralyzed man lowered through the roof, Jesus forgiving sins and healing him, day three
6. Luke 19 Zacchaeus climbing the sycamore tree, Jesus calling him down and declaring salvation, day four
7. Luke 23 the crucifixion at Golgotha, Jesus praying for forgiveness and promising paradise to the criminal, day five
8. 2 Thessalonians 3:16 spoken as the closing benediction

Talk about it

1. The pastor walked through five days in the life of Jesus, from the manger to the cross. Which of the five scenes struck you most, and why?
2. When Jesus read from Isaiah 61 in the Nazareth synagogue, he stopped before the line about 'the day of the vengeance of our God.' The pastor said Jesus was opening a new time period wide open for everybody. What does it mean to you personally that Jesus left that door open rather than closed?
3. The paralyzed man's friends tore through a roof to get him to Jesus. The pastor pointed out that we don't know anything about the man himself, only that his friends believed Jesus could help him. Have you ever been carried to Jesus by someone else, or have you carried someone else? What was that like?
4. Zacchaeus made his own effort to get to Jesus, climbing a tree just to see him. The pastor contrasted that with the paralyzed man whose friends brought him. Which of those two pictures better describes where you are right now in your relationship with Jesus?
5. The pastor closed by saying the thief on the cross did nothing to earn paradise except recognize Jesus' innocence and his own guilt, and ask to be remembered. He also said some people hold on to 'I'm a pretty good guy, I'll take my chances.' Where do you honestly find yourself between those two responses?