From Scripture

Luke 4:21 - 30, Live the truth
From the time God promised a Messiah, his people imagined a triumphant king with extraordinary abilities who would defeat Israel's enemies.  They didn't expect someone ordinary, or even familiar, like Jesus.
Still, his friends and neighbors had heard reports about his amazing deeds and were excited when he read Isaiah's prophecy about the Messiah and announced its fulfillment in him.
All of that changed when they heard the tough message Jesus had for the children of Israel.  They wanted a comforting message from him, not one that reminded them of how often they failed God.  And when Jesus mentioned God's grace to the Gentiles, a people they thought were inferior to themselves, they became angry and threw him out.  They forfeited his blessings because they rejected his word.
There is no substitute for the truth, even when it is hard to hear.  Turning our backs on the truth will close the doors to the kingdom to us.  For a follower of Jesus, living the truth of the Gospel is the only way to fully enjoy God's blessings and grace.


Luke 13:1-9,  Sin is a tragedy
In Jesus's time, it was thought that physical suffering and death were the punishment for sin.  If someone suffered, neighbors wondered what he did to deserve his ill fate.  Jesus explained that tragedy and death are part of life and he referred to two senseless tragedies to illustrate.
In the first, Pilate's soldiers killed Jews offering sacrifices.  The second tragedy was a collapsed tower.  Jesus explained that not every tragedy signifies a sin.  The real tragedy, Jesus pointed out, would be if the people had died without repenting for their sins.  Life is temporary .  Heaven is eternal.
God is always ready to offer forgiveness to repentant sinners.  Jesus told a parable about a barren fig tree.  A tree without fruit should be cut down but it was given more time at the gardener's request.  Jesus said that God, like the merciful gardener, wants to give us more time to repent and follow him more faithfully.  The tree may still respond to care.  While God's love, grace, and mercy are freely given to us, they should not be taken for granted.