I am Eric Glover, the creator of this site and the leader of the Doubtless Living Bible study group at ClearView Baptist Church in Franklin, Tennessee. I am married to Tina Glover and we have two grown children and one wonderful grandson. I have taught Bible study classes to adults of all ages for more than 25 years and teaching God’s Word is one of my greatest passions in life. I am an ordained Southern Baptist minister and I attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. I have served churches in many capacities over the years, but I am called by God to teach His Word and that is what I love doing most of all. Professionally, I serve as the Vice President of Retail Operations for LifeWay Christian Stores, one of the largest Christian retailers in the world with 160 stores across America. I have a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Connecticut and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from Missouri Southern State University. I am also a Certified Public Accountant, although I have not practiced public accounting for many years.
I am Eric Glover, the creator of this site and the leader of the Doubtless Living Bible study group at ClearView Baptist Church in Franklin, Tennessee. I am married to Tina Glover and we have two grown children and one wonderful grandson. I have taught Bible study classes to adults of all ages for more than 25 years and teaching God’s Word is one of my greatest passions in life. I am an ordained Southern Baptist minister and I attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. I have served churches in many capacities over the years, but I am called by God to teach His Word and that is what I love doing most of all. Professionally, I serve as the Vice President of Retail Operations for LifeWay Christian Stores, one of the largest Christian retailers in the world with 160 stores across America. I have a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Connecticut and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from Missouri Southern State University. I am also a Certified Public Accountant, although I have not practiced public accounting for many years.
The Rise of Opposition: Four Controversies – Part 1 (Luke 5:27-32)
Jesus’ early ministry
in Galilee, especially his work in Capernaum, was already drawing lots of
attention. After being rejected in his
home town of Nazareth, Jesus began to teach in the surrounding synagogues. His teaching had authority and power and His message
was magnetic. The crowds began to swell
as word began to spread beyond the region about this man who claimed to be the fulfillment
of Isaiah’s prophecy.
Perhaps the thing
that attracted the most attention was that Jesus’ ministry went beyond just
words and proclamation, He demonstrated great compassion on the people and
ministered God’s grace both physically and spiritually. He cast out unclean spirits, healed
paralytics, touched and cleansed a leper, and boldly proclaimed sins were
forgiven.
Word about Him
spread to Jerusalem and scribes and Pharisees began to follow Him, but with
different intent. Their curiosity soon
gave way to doubt as they took exception to His methods and questioned His
motives. Jesus had faced down opposition
from Satan directly in the desert, now he was beginning to see opposition arise
from men. Over the next few weeks, we
will look at four controversies that arose during Jesus’ early work in
Capernaum and the surrounding area.
In this week’s
study, we’ll examine Luke 5:27-32 to see that Jesus didn’t flinch at upsetting
tradition. His primary concern was the
spiritual condition of those He met.
Jesus sought out and intentionally associated with the outcasts of
society as part of His mission. He saw
the outcasts as an opportunity for God to show His grace and love.
This passage
exposes the deeply personal character of Jesus’ mission and challenges us to be
more like Him! It challenges us to be
deliberate in our discipleship efforts to seek out and minister to those who
have been neglected and ignored by others.
As Jesus taught us in this passage and many others, association with
outcasts is part of outreach, isolation from sinners is not the call of the
disciple.
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