STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART

Sermon Notes, November 18, 2012

Pastor Jan Sinozich

Pastor Jan’s sermon was titled “Straight from the Heart,” and her scripture reference was Luke 17:11-19.   We’ve all had God-Moments, when God does something for us that can’t be explained any other way.  The story of the ten lepers found in Luke 17 tells of a God-Moment.

In verse 11 Jesus was going along on the border between Galilee and Samaria, on his way to Jerusalem.  In verse 12, as he was going into a village, ten people with leprosy called out, from a distance, “Master, have mercy!”  They were begging, which was their only means of survival, along with handouts from the villagers.

In those days, leprosy was a death sentence, incurable and contagious.  Lepers were required to wear rags and call out “Unclean!” whenever anyone approached.  They were considered to be ritually unclean as well.  There were only two healings of leprosy mentioned in the scriptures: Miriam, Moses’ sister, after she’d spoken out against Moses because he’d married an Ethiopian woman (Numbers 12); and Naaman the Syrian general (2 Kings 5).

In verse 14, Jesus told the lepers to go show themselves to the priest, who was the one who decided whether or not a person had signs of leprosy.  On their way, the ten were cleansed.  In verse 15, one of them turned back, praising God.  He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him.  He was a Samaritan.  (Samaritans were looked upon as the scum of the earth in those days.)

This was a God-Moment, when Jesus healed them all.  The one who returned brought glory to God, through Jesus, God’s Son.   He received a blessing.  Jesus was his Savior as well as his Master.  Jesus bridged the gap between him and God. 

Who are we?  We’re like the ten lepers—all sinners who need a savior.  We are headed for death, physically and spiritually, until we accept Jesus as our own savior.  He bridges the gap between us and God.  And we are called to action: give God thanks, straight from the heart, and share what we know.