Luke 13: 1-2, Repentance

These are the notes that I made during the 11:30 am service at Hillfields Church in Coventry yesterday, Sunday 21st May. I usually only take notes during a church service when I really like the service and feel it applies to me, and will help myself and others, and I took lots of notes duruing this service! I really liked it and so want to share it with you:) They're in bullet point form, and I haven't changed that because I feel like it's not necessary here.

• What can you be certain about in your life? Death. You will die. That is probably the most certain thing in your life. What have you done to prepare?

• V3 & 5: ‘No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish’. Repeated twice. Repentance is important; it is essential.

• V1-5: Repent or Perish

• Repentance is not feeling sorry or guilty for what you have done, and asking for forgiveness from God

• It is a complete change of life

• It is a change that needs to be seen

• It is when the change of heart that God has given you in forgiving you, can be seen on the outside

• It is about not doing that sin again

• V6-9: The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

• You need to produce the fruits of repentance in your life

• It needs to be seen that you are in a relationship with God

• The people in this passage were just like this barren fig tree- they kept lots of religious laws, but they hadn’t repented

• Not just that you need to repent, but you need to repent now, it is urgent

• If there are no fruits produced, the tree will be cut down

• V10-17: A Woman with a Disabling Spirit

• Verse 15: Luke calls him Lord here, not Jesus as before - probably denoting that Jesus is speaking with authority

• One fruit of repentance is compassion: means you are now kind to others

• Does your life show that you have repented?

• Are there fruits of repentance hanging from your branches?

• V18-21: The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

• Don’t dismiss Kingdom glimpses

• If you’re not a Christian, if you haven’t repented get, don’t dismiss glimpses of the kingdom

• E.g. healing the bent over woman

• With this woman, we have a tiny glimpse of the whole, of what the kingdom will be like