There are many things in this world that can be purchased, like food, clothing, housing, and so much more. One thing that cannot be purchased is time. Our time on earth is precious and limited. As a result, we must treat it as limited and valuable as it is. We must prioritize where and how we spend each moment, knowing that our time is finite. One of the places where we must prioritize spending our precious, valuable time is the church.
Jesus set an example for us by the way He gathered at the synagogue, which was the place where God's people gathered to worship Him during Jesus' day. In Luke 4, Jesus had just faced temptation and was ready to begin His ministry on earth. Scripture tells us that when Jesus "came to the village of Nazareth, His boyhood home, He went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath" (verse 16). Jesus went to the synagogue "as usual." Going to worship and teach in the synagogue was a regular practice for Jesus because He understood the importance of gathering together in order to worship God the Father. Here, as Jesus gathered at the synagogue, He began teaching, reading from a scroll from the book of Isaiah and declared that He had come to “bring Good News to the poor” and proclaim “that the time of the Lord’s favor has come” (verses 18-19). He was doing something that would change the world forever.
The local church is a gift. The fact that we get to gather together every week with other followers of Christ for worship and teaching is a blessing from our Heavenly Father. May we never take the opportunity we have to worship our good, faithful God and gather with believers in church for granted!
Make attending church with us a priority. Plan to attend one of our weekend services this weekend. Invite a friend who needs the hope of Christ. As you worship together with other followers of Christ, you will find encouragement and hope to strengthen you throughout your week.
1Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.
3 Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”
4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’”
5 Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. 7 I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”
8 Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the Lord your God
and serve only him.’”
9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! 10 For the Scriptures say,
‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you.
11 And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”
12 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”
13 When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.
14 Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. 15 He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
16 When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. 17 The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
19 and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”
20 He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. 21 Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”
22 Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
23 Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’ 24 But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown.
25 “Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a foreigner—a widow of Zarephath in the land of Sidon. 27 And many in Israel had leprosy in the time of the prophet Elisha, but the only one healed was Naaman, a Syrian.”
28 When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious. 29 Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, 30 but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way.
