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Sermons

July 7, 2019

The Devil is on the Prowl
Pentecost 4,
Year C
Becky Robbins-Penniman

Demons. Satan. The Devil. Evil spirits. What a lesson for a summer morning! Remember, though, 1 Peter says that the devil is on the prowl like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. [1 Peter 5:8] In other parts of scripture, Jesus, Paul, and James all take for granted that Satan works through people, that, evil and unclean spirits and demons actually possess people and make them do some pretty bad stuff.

Earlier in Luke, the devil tempts Jesus. Specifically, the devil takes Jesus to a high place to show him ALL the kingdoms of the world. How high? I’ve been at 39,000 feet (Mt. Everest is only 29,000) and you can’t see all the kingdoms from there. The devil would have had to take him to, well, heaven, to see ALL of them.

The devil’s claim was that these domains had been entrusted to him, and he can give them and their glory to anyone he wanted to; he’ll give them to Jesus if Jesus will worship him.
NOTE that Jesus doesn’t argue with the devil’s claim about owning the earth; Jesus simply says he’s going to worship only God.

Then Jesus sets out to do his ministry in a world owned by the devil…

Read the full sermon text HERE.

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