SPEAK-UP FOR JESUS!

Anna spoke of the way found in Jesus, talking “…of [Jesus]” we learn in Luke 2:28 “…to all who were looking for… redemption (deliverance)…”

(Luke 2:28)

from the blinding, sandy, lostness of life.

• Sure – Anna was married at one time, and perhaps a mother (Luke 2:38).

• Sure – Anna was full of spunk, even though she was 84 years old (Luke 2:36).

• But Anna’s main identity, as

headlined in Luke 2:36, was prophetess (Luke 2:36) or prophet, which means literally “to speak out” or in Hebrew “to bubble forth, as from a fountain.”

One-fifth of all American adults, 46 million, have no religious affiliation.

Let Jesus ‘Show-Up’ On Ordinary Days

Anna never stopped seeing and acknowledging Jesus. Why Luke 2:37 notes that Anna “…worshipped [the Lord] night and day…” (Luke 2:37) -- apparently every day -- even on ordinary days.

Err Toward Grace, Not Pettiness

For as Hannah praises God in 1 Samuel 2:6, Hannah praises a generous God: “The Lord…makes alive…and raises up…” (1 Samuel 2:6)

And as Anna praises God in Luke 2:38 – Anna praises a redeeming God (Luke 2:38), best reflected in Jesus, described in Luke 2:40 as “…strong … filled with wisdom and… grace…” (Luke 2:40)

And so for the most part “…be merciful” Jesus notes in Luke 6:36 – be sympathetic, tender, responsive, and compassionate, even as your Father is [all these].” (Luke 6:36, The Amplified Bible)

Celebrate: We Are Family in Jesus

I mean right

before Anna’s

story, Mary

and Joseph

and Jesus appear in the temple encountering

the godly Simeon (Luke 2:21-35)

Right after Anna’s story, Mary and Joseph and Jesus appear in the temple encountering the Hebrew teachers.

But right at the end of Anna’s story, Mary and Joseph and Jesus, encounter Anna (Luke 2:38).

And so a sense of family, of family in Jesus, literally surrounds Anna, in a powerful, profound way.

“For...it was not with perishable things…that you were redeemed…but with the precious blood of Christ…Now that you have been purified….love one another deeply from the heart…”

(2 Peter 1:18; 19; 22-22).

• Jesus is relevant on laundry day –

• Jesus is full of grace –

• Jesus gives family, even when we have no family.

“...it was not with perishable things…that [we] were redeemed …but with the precious blood of Christ…[Thus] now that [we] have been purified ….[let us ]love one another deeply from the heart…”

(2 Peter 1:18; 19; 22-22).