Rated PG - Thoughts on Luke 4
March 12, 2026
To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. - Luke 4:19
Jesus was sent to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Jesus used the words of the prophet Isaiah to remind us that God desires to bring good news to the poor. When Jesus proclaimed this at the beginning of his public ministry I do not think that we was saying that this next year would be a year of the Lord’s favor, but rather that this was the beginning of a new understanding of how God would interact with the world.
Every new year we should consider how we will bring good news to the poor, and how we will usher in God’s favor. We are sent to be the messengers, and to actively participate in bring God’s favor to those who need it the most.
God, help me to proclaim, in word and in deeds, your favor to the poor.
This devotional series explores key moments in church history, divided into thematic and historical sections with several parts. It is a long and winding story that began on Pentecost and continues to be written by us and by the Holy Spirit today.
SECTION 1 – The Church of the Holy Spirit
The church began with breath. A violent wind filled an upper room and scattered ordinary people into the world with extraordinary news. From that first Pentecost morning, the Spirit has been the church’s constant companion, guiding, correcting, and surprising us through twenty centuries of imperfect faithfulness.
The devotions in this section explore pivotal moments when the Spirit moved through imperfect people to shape the church’s story. From Paul’s dramatic conversion to the Council of Jerusalem’s radical inclusion, we see the same God who breathed life into the first disciples still breathing life into us today. We are part of this continuing story; inheritors of a wind that refuses to be contained.
Nate Preisinger
Bethany Lutheran Church
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Click to watch video
Today is the Third Sunday after PentecostWe encourage you to join in for worship at Bethany this weekend either in person or through our livestream.
For an additional devotional reflection, we invite you to watch this reflection from Pastors Gary and Nate on the Feast Day of Peter and Paul last year.Peter the humble fisherman. Paul the privileged Roman citizen. Two wildly different origin stories, yet both were rescued, transformed, and called by God to lead the early Church. Pastors Nate Preisinger and Gary Sandberg reflect on the shared feast day of Saints Peter and Paul and what their lives teach us about grace, redemption, and purpose. Through shame and denial, pride and persecution, God rescued Peter and Paul, not just for their own sake, but for the sake of the Gospel. And that same story of rescue continues today. In baptism, in forgiveness, in community, we are rescued too.
365 Daily Devotional
Bethany Lutheran Church
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