Editor’s note: You’ll hear in the audio an explanation of the variance from our usual format this week, including a “Prayer for Peace in a Time of Unfolding Conflict.” We will share the full text of that prayer after the sermon summary.
We don’t always know someone’s real story. Often, we only know what shows on the outside—or worse, we only know the label others have given them.
In this week’s sermon, we looked at the man in Luke 8 who had been cast out from his community, living among tombs, tormented, and known only by what possessed him: “Legion.” His real name? We never learn it. Just his diagnosis.
But Jesus saw more.
He didn’t recoil. He didn’t look away. He asked the man his name, not to quiz him, but to recognize him.
As we explored, “Jesus restores his personhood not by renaming him, but by giving him back to his community with dignity and with voice.” That’s what real deliverance looks like—not just being freed from torment, but being sent into purpose.
Jesus sent him home. Not to shame him. Not to test him. But to heal a community that had once feared him.
“He who once had no name, only a diagnosis, becomes the first missionary to the Gentiles in Luke’s Gospel.”
That kind of healing calls for more than comfort. It calls for courage. To see those who have been labeled. To listen to the stories behind the silence. And maybe, to tell our own.
Here is the map we reference in the sermon:
Prayer for Peace in a Time of Unfolding Conflict
Pastor: God of mercy and justice, we come to you this morning with heavy hearts. Overnight, the world has changed again. Violence has erupted, lives have been lost, and fear is rising in many places.
People: Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Pastor: We do not pretend to know the full truth, or what the right course of action should have been. But we know this: Every act of war is a sign of our human brokenness. Every life taken, every home destroyed, every child left afraid grieves your heart.
People: Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Pastor: So we pray now, not for victory, but for peace. Not for domination, but for understanding. Not for vengeance, but for compassion.
People: Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Pastor: Surround those in danger with your protection. Guide the leaders of nations with your wisdom, even if they do not know they are being guided. And soften the hearts of all people, everywhere, to see each other not as enemies but as your children, bearing your image, worthy of dignity, worthy of love.
People: Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Pastor: We confess that we are tempted to despair. But we turn again to you, the source of our hope. Make us instruments of your peace, starting right here, right now. In the strong and gentle name of Jesus we pray. And let all the people say,
People: Amen.
An invitation
We’d love to see you in person at Lincoln Park-Lynnwood United Methodist Church, 3120 Pershing Street, Knoxville. Come as you are. We’re not in the judging business. We’re in the welcoming business.
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