Does the story of Jesus speak to our struggle for hopeful living in today’s world? Maybe, but we must think about how. It may not be as obvious as pious Christians make it sound.

This morning, I presented the fourth in what will be a series of 13 sermons on why we pay attention to Jesus.  This one is called “To Turn From the Abyss.”

In this sermon, I focus on Jesus’ beginning proclamation according to Luke’s Gospel (4:16-21). I suggest that hopeful living will stem from embracing that Jesus’ message of jubilee—good news to the poor, release to captives, sight for the blind, and liberation for the oppressed.  We must simply believe that this message is true and begin to live as if it is true.