The

UPSIDE

DOWN

Kingdom

Luke 6:20-26

image: Dustin Quasar

God Gives Us His Words of Eternal LifeLuke 6:20-26

Found on page 862 in our guest Bibles.The text is also printed on page 5

in your worship folder.

Today’s Scripture:

“...the good news of the kingdom of God...”

The

UPSIDE

DOWN

Kingdom

Luke 6:20-26

image: Dustin Quasar

1 Transforming hope

2 Sobering warning

Be on the lookout for...

And he came down with them and

Luke 6:17-18

stood on a level place, with a greatcrowd of his disciples and a greatmultitude of people from all Judeaand Jerusalem and the seacoast ofTyre and Sidon, who came to hear

...him and to be healed of their

Luke 6:18-19

diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits werecured. And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out fromhim and healed them all.

And he lifted up his eyes on his

Luke 6:20-21

disciples and said: Blessed are youwho are poor, for yours is the king-dom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who

...weep now, for you shall laugh.

Luke 6:21-23

Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you andrevile you and spurn your name asevil, on account of the Son of Man!Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy,

...for behold, your reward is great in

Luke 6:23-25

heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received yourconsolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.

Woe to you who laugh now, for you

Luke 6:25-26

shall mourn and weep. Woe to you,when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the falseprophets.

Leader: This is the Word of the Lord.

Unison: Thanks be to God!

And he lifted up his eyes on his

Luke 6:20

disciples and said: Blessed areyou who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God....

“He was not pro-nouncing a blessing

on humanity in general, but on his

followers. He wanted them to know that in spite of their present poverty, they were in

possession of an everlasting kingdom.”

Blessed are you who are hungry

Luke 6:21

now, for you shall be satisfied....

If we consider the unblushing promises of

reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our

desires, not too strong, but too weak. C.S. Lewis

“The Weight of Glory”

We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered

us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is

meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are

far too easily pleased.

C.S. Lewis“The Weight of Glory”

“So we do not lose heart. Though our

outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this light

and momentary affliction is preparing

for us an eternal weight of glory

beyond all description.”

~ The Apostle Paul2 Corinthians 4:16-17

Blessed are you who are weep

Luke 6:21

now, for you shall laugh....

Blessed are you who are when

Luke 6:22

people hate you, and when theyexclude you and revile and spurnyour name as evil, on account of the Son of Man...!

“Remember the words I spoke to

you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they

persecuted me, they will also

persecute you.”

~ Jesus of NazarethThe Gospel of John, 5:20

Suffering, then, is the badge for true

discipleship. The disciple is not above

his master….

Dietrich BonhoefferThe Cost of Discipleship

Discipleship means allegiance to the

suffering Christ, and it is therefore not at all

surprising that Christians should be called upon to suffer. In fact, it is a joy and a token of His grace.Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The Cost of Discipleship

Rejoice in that day, and leap for

Luke 6:23

joy, for behold, your reward is greatin heaven; for so their fathers didto the prophets....

“…and when [the Sanhedrin] had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.”

~ Luke, in Acts 5:40-41

But woe to you who are rich,

Luke 6:24

for you have received yourconsolation....

“But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many

senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the

love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have

wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”

~ 1 Timothy 6:10

But woe to you who are full now,

Luke 6:25

for you shall be hungry....

But woe to you who are full now,

Luke 6:25

for you shall be hungry.Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

“Jesus knew that some people never do get

serious about spiritual things… What a sad way

this is to live, because people who never get

serious about Jesus will never inherit eternal life. For them there will only

be ‘weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

Woe to you, when people speak

Luke 6:26

well of you, for so their fathers didto the false prophets.

The upside down kingdom of Jesus Christ will turn everything right side up.

Countthe Cost

1

image: Regan Walsh

As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to

set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly

provides us with everything to enjoy.

~ The Apostle Paul1 Timothy 6:17-18

They are to do good, to be rich in good works,

to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up

treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is

truly life.

~ The Apostle Paul1 Timothy 6:17-18

Rememberthe Cost

2

image: Dennis Cross Photography

“For Christ also suffered once for

since, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring

us to God….”~The Apostle Peter

1 Peter 3:18

Regan Walsh: http://www.flickr.com/photos/74199783@N00/3864920883/

Dustin Quasar: http://www.flickr.com/photos/80672516@N00/5222604185/

Dennis Cross: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ldcross/2263958871/

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