1. ‘ Good News for the Needy’ ICEL, Leuven February 8, 2015 Pieter Boersema

2. ICEL 1. Introduction New format for preaching at ICEL:New format for preaching at ICEL: Four scripture references: two O.T. incl. one Psalm, two N.T. incl. one from the Gospels.Four scripture references: two O.T. incl. one Psalm, two N.T. incl. one from the Gospels. Isaiah 40: 21-31 Comfort for God’s People.Isaiah 40: 21-31 Comfort for God’s People. Psalm 147: 1-11 How good it is to sing praises to our Lord.Psalm 147: 1-11 How good it is to sing praises to our Lord. 1 Cor. 9:16-23: Paul has to preach the gospel.1 Cor. 9:16-23: Paul has to preach the gospel. Mark 1:34: Jesus healed many who has various diseases.Mark 1:34: Jesus healed many who has various diseases. For today the theme of the sermon is:For today the theme of the sermon is: ‘Good news for the needy’. ‘Good news for the needy’.

3. ICEL 2. Preaching the Gospel What is the Good News? Jesus Christ, who is risen from the death, is the Saviour of the world. Who are the needy? The preaching of the Gospel is for ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’. Paul his urge to preach the Gospel of Jesus The summary in John 3:16 ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life’.

4. ICEL 3. Jesus preaching and healing Jesus is the example in preaching the Gospel, the Kingdom of God, an overall message: Matthew 9:1-7: Some people brought to Jesus a paralytic man, lying on a mat……. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven”…Get up, take your mat and go home”. Matthew 9: 12-13. It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. Jesus said vs 13: ‘I desire mercy not sacrifice’.

5. ICEL 4. ‘Christ preaching ’ We all are sinners, we all are the needy. A picture can bring many different aspects (many stories) together. ‘Christ preaching’ (1643). The ‘honderdgulden print’, an etching (engraving) of Rembrandt van Rijn. Referring to the painting of Raphael: The school of Athens (1509): ‘Wisdom and Justice’. What do we see in this picture of Rembrandt?

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7. 5. The connection between the Gospel stories Matthew 9:1-7: Some people brought to Jesus a paralytic man, lying on a mat. Matthew 9: 27-34 Jesus heals the Blind and the Mute. Matthew 19: 13-15. The little children brought to Jesus. Matthew 19:16-22 The rich young man. Matthew 9, John 8:1 and many other verses: The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees.

8. ICEL 6. The two daughters of Israel Matthew 9:16 No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Pure and Impure Matthew 9:18-26 The daughter of Jair. Matthew 9: 20-22 The woman who was bleeding for twelve years.

9. ICEL 7. Jesus between the Torah and the Gospel John 8:1-11: The Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. Punishment is Civil Law, debt forgiveness is the law of the Kingdom of God. Matthew 13: 45 The parable of the pearl. Matthew 19: 24 It is easier for a camel to go through an eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. In the middle is the Virtue: a pillar (Courage) with a cloth (Caritas: the cloak of love).

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11. 8. Preaching the Good News is New Life 1 Cor. 9:16 (Paul) Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. The Gospel stories are about God’s mercy and grace. Witness of the Gospel is to observe the commandment of Jesus in word and deed. There is always a tension between the ‘word’ and the ‘deed’ but both are one in Jesus ministry.