Proclaiming Jubilee: Jesus’ Gospel for the Vulnerable

And yet, it was in this petri dish of urban misery that the laboratory of gospel grace flourished. In '90 in in January, what what may have been the first recorded occurrence of the smallpox epidemic that devastated Rome. All the Roman doctors fled the city into the safe countryside. Christians. Christians went into the city not only to tend to their own, but to tend to their neighbors. Christians were the ones in the early century in a time where there was no social safety net. They invented the hospital. They invented social security. [01:06:38] (54 seconds)  #GospelCare

What's the gospel? Of course. The gospel is about the forgiveness of sins that offer everlasting life. Without the forgiveness of sins through the death of Christ, we cannot hope for the resurrection of a new life. The gospel of the forgiveness of sins, it's true. It's necessary, but it's not all that is entailed in the gospel. Certainly, in in the work that I seek to do at the NAE, I seek to recover the fullness of all that is entailed in the gospel. [00:53:24] (31 seconds)  #FullGospel

And then visiting the village and seeing farm plots and fishing ponds and discovering that there is curriculum based in Genesis on creation care and sustainable farming practices, microfinance classes, early literacy classes, adult education classes done in the name of Jesus, not simply making credible the gospel, but irresistible and compelling. Chieftains were having the Jesus film shown. And in two weeks there, it it it there was a showing. Dozens were coming to Christ. Right now, there's a quiet awakening with thousands of Muslims having come to know Jesus. [01:11:38] (53 seconds)  #HolisticMission

And what I walked away with was this realization that because of the good news of Jesus Christ, every one of us, as abled or disabled body we may be, whatever gifts you may have or don't think you have, whatever liabilities that are in that column that make you feel unworthy and unable, every single one of us has a place at the table, and every single one of us gets to be a host to invite others at that table. [01:14:38] (48 seconds)  #EveryoneAtTheTable

So Jesus, son of God, could have introduced himself any way he wanted to to the world. So in this mic drop moment, in this zoom in camera moment, Jesus chose Isaiah 61 to introduce himself to the world. Who he is, why he came, and what he would wish for us to be doing and being in this world. And in the person and mission of Jesus, we have a gospel that does what only God could do, this paradox. We have a gospel that both expands our imagination and focuses our attention. [00:48:03] (40 seconds)  #Isaiah61Reveal

After the spirit descended in Acts chapter two, breaking down racial and ethnic boundaries and building a people of God that seemed so utterly different and impossible, what did did the early disciples do? They break bread, they pray, they sell their possessions, and give to anyone who had need. The gospel actually did proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. What does it mean that God has focused his attention upon you so that you could focus your attention upon someone else? [01:02:34] (44 seconds)  #RadicalGenerosity

Jesus modeled this. You ever notice, if you read through the gospels, how often Jesus stops the crowd to pay attention to a singular person? This whole processional from Jericho to Jerusalem, as they're making their way for this big feast, he stops the entire parade because Bartimaeus, blind beggar, is crying out, son of David, have mercy on me. Or Preston, this crowd, this woman who has struggled with an issue of blood, suffering in silence. We don't even know her name. [00:55:56] (40 seconds)  #JesusSeesYou

There is probably someone in your life that you have thought about uncharitably. What would it look like for you to begin to pray that God's grace would be poured out upon that person and that you yourself might be the agent of that gospel grace. The origin story of Jesus, it's in fact our origin story. The origin story of radical gospel that forms a missional people and sends them out with a transformational impact. [01:03:18] (44 seconds)  #AgentOfGrace