1. Kingdom Manifesto “And he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up”

2. Scripture readings Isaiah 61 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

3. As our Saviour taught us, so we pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen. The Lord’s Prayer

4. Scripture readings Luke 4 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor”

5. Scripture readings Luke 4 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph's son?” And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself. ’ What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.

6. Scripture readings Luke 4 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went away

7. To be heralds of this Kingdom we need to: Be people of the desert (tested) Experience the power of the Spirit Open our mouths Know our scriptures

8. To be heralds of this Kingdom we need to: Have a bigger view of the gospel Not a personal ticket to heaven A relationship with the Living God, your Heavenly Father Experience transformation and be a transformer Herald of a Good News that’s truly comprehensive - expansive Good news to the poor Liberty to the captives Recovering of sight to the blind Liberty for the oppressed The Year of the Lord’s favour

9. To be heralds of this Kingdom we need to: Be prepared to see things differently Jesus read all the scriptures and while he knew of God’s love for Israel he saw further His Father wanted to liberate the world, not just the Jews You would have thought they would say “Yes that’s in the Holy Scriptures so let’s reflect on the generosity and largeness of YHWH our God No - they took offence !!!

10. God loves an idolater YHWH loves Sidon Sidon was the source of idolatry, especially the abominable Baal worship Sidon was the home of Jezebel, the scourge of Israel and YHWH’s prophets Some would say if Sidon starves it is judgment on them YHWH wanted to keep his prophet alive and bless a poor widow and her son YHWH loves widows and orphans in Sidon our enemy YHWH brings them salvation

11. God loves a warlord YHWH loves Syria Syria was the sources of much pain for Israel They were cruel and ruthless They were vengeful and not to be crossed YHWH had a heart for a Syrian general who had raided Israel Some would say his leprosy was a just punishment Not the heart of God YHWH brings Naaman new skin and a new life YHWH had a follower in Damascus Within 10 years the coast and Damascus were to be central in the spread of the gospel of the kingdom in a way they could not have imagined in that Nazareth synagogue.

12. We have the scriptures at the heart of what we do if…. they act as a window to see the true magnitude and greatness of the the love and saving powers of our God, the greatness of his heart for all mankind, the bigness of his works. they take us out of our comfortableness they cause us to see others as our Father sees them If we don’t we will get angry and want to drive out, to throw over the cliff. Finally

13. “For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations”. Isaiah saw it