Sermons on Luke (Page 6)
As we jump into the third chapter of Luke this morning, we are re-introduced to Zechariah’s son, John, who became known as John the Baptizer (or John the Baptist). John’s ministry was eccentric and unconventional. He did not teach in the synagogues like the other rabbis (or teachers) of his day. He did not dress like them or even eat the same kinds of food. He was definitely different! The message that John proclaimed was also different. It’s not that it had never been preached before, but no one at that time was preaching it. In fact, it had been centuries since any of the Lord’s prophets or leaders had focused on the truth of this message. John’s message was a message of repentance. He focused his teaching on an individual’s need for repentance and personal, spiritual transformation.
Every year, we have an opportunity to reevaluate our walk with the Lord—to make adjustments to our daily routines and recommit our lives to Him. I want to encourage you to make a plan for your daily disciplines with the Lord. If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail. How will you invest time with the Lord in 2022? The final section of this second chapter of Luke focuses in on an event that happened when Jesus was twelve years old. As was their custom, Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem during the feast of Passover. But as they left, Jesus did not leave with them. Let’s take a look at Luke 2:41-52 to discover just what He was doing and why He was doing it. From His example, we will learn what our priorities should be when it comes to spiritual growth.
One of the things that I hope to go see one day is the world’s most famous geyser, Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park. This geyser faithfully erupts about 20 times a day. As we think about the concept of faithfulness, I want us to think about how that no matter what is going on in your life, if we want to truly be faithful to the Lord then we need to be faithful in every situation. In Luke 2:22-40, we will spend some time looking at each of the characters in this story to see how they demonstrated their faithfulness to God.
Luke 2:1-21 is probably the most popular book of the Bible during December because it is the story of Jesus being born. It also mentions another authority, an earthly authority named Caesar Augustus. Through conflict and struggle, Augustus ascended to the title of Emperor, while offering the world his version of peace and joy. God sent His only son Jesus to the world as a baby, bringing true joy and true peace.
Each time when God’s messenger spoke to Mary and then to Joseph, he told them that the baby’s name would be Jesus. Why Jesus? Matthew 1:21 gives us some insight into this, but the name Jesus simply means “Jehovah is salvation.” When we sing the song, “Jesus Saves,” we’re being redundant—that’s what Jesus means. Our text picks up immediately after Mary has encountered the angel, Gabriel, and been told the news about her older cousin Elizabeth becoming pregnant and God’s plans for her to conceive as well. Join us as we study Luke 1:39 to see what happens next.
After the return of the Jewish people to Judah from captivity in Babylon, there was a period of almost 400 years where God did not speak to His people through His prophets. This is known as the “Silent Period” between the Old and New Testaments. This “Silent Period” continued until sometime around 7-6 BC when the Lord sent an angel to proclaim the coming of the Messiah and His forerunner–these are the stories of Zechariah and Elizabeth and Mary.
This morning, we will begin by looking at the prologue to this gospel. In this prologue, Luke offers several clues about his purpose in writing this book. This will be the focus of our message this morning—what is the purpose of this gospel. What makes it unique? Why did Luke write it? How did Luke know what to write? We’ll take some time to answer these and other questions to help us get a clearer understanding of this book we’re about to study.
Paul wrote to the believers in Philippi, “…but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6). Prayer is a theme that runs throughout his writings—and throughout the entire Bible. This morning, I want us to focus on Paul’s first letter to his disciple, Timothy, as we seek to understand its importance in the work of evangelism.
The overall theme of this psalm is the promise of God to protect those who have trusted in Him—in whom the Holy Spirit dwells. Next week, we will focus on what these promises are and how they relate to life in a world threatened by a global pandemic, but the questions that we want to consider today are: “How do we understand God’s promises in Psalm 91? How do we interpret these promises in light of the teaching in the rest of Scripture?”
I want to invite you to join us online this Thursday evening—December 24th at 5:00 pm—for our Virtual Christmas Eve service. The service will be premiered on both Facebook and YouTube. We have spent the last couple of weeks capturing video of many of you guys so you might want to watch to see if you make the final cut! One of the highlights of the service will be getting to see the Christmas Story through the eyes of some of our children here at Temple Rogers. Again, it is helpful to consider the “Age-Old” story from different perspectives from time to time. That is exactly what I would like to do today—I would like to consider the role of the shepherds in this narrative. Who were they? What did they do? How do they contribute to the overall story? Why were they included?