Tag Archives: Gospel of Luke

Freely You Have Received; Freely Give

Public Reading: Luke 11:37-54

The Story:

•    Jesus had just finished warning the people that they needed to hear and obey the word of God when a Pharisee (one of the religious leaders in the community) invited him to dinner
•    When Jesus got there, the Pharisee noticed that Jesus did not wash his hands before sitting down

o    The interesting thing about this is that it was owner of the house’s job to make sure his guest washed up
o    Yet this Pharisee seems to have been “surprised” that Jesus did not wash up
o    While I’m not sure, it could have been that Jesus refused the water and oil and sat down simply to make a point
o    If so, then his actions would have been a lesson just as much as his words

•    Cleaning the inside and outside (vs. 39-42)

o    Jesus uses his actions to point out to the house owner and everyone else that cleaning the outside is not as important as cleaning the inside
o    If our insides are “full of violent robbery and wickedness” then what we do does not matter that much
o    Jesus came not to make us act ok – or to give us a new method of living – Jesus came to radically clean our inside

•    This may sound strange or hard for some of you so I want to dive into this for a moment

o    First off, know this – God the creator created each of us and love each of us

*    We do NOT have to change in order to gain or keep His love
*    He loves each one of us and is pursuing a personal relationship with each of us!
*    This is a fact!!

o    With that said, if we are honest with ourselves, there are things about ourselves that we don’t like

*    I’m not talking about being short, tall, thin or big, loss of hair or any of that

•    That is all outside stuff

*    I’m talking about pieces of us that don’t really belong…

•    Getting angry and snapping at your spouse or kids…only to afterwards think “why did I do that? I’m not like that…that isn’t me!”
•    That piece of us that pulls and drags us into eating that item we wish we wouldn’t….having that last drink of alcoholic that we know we shouldn’t….getting out that item that you know will cause heartache later, but at the time it’s all you can think about..

*    These are the pieces of us that we don’t like to talk about….the pride, the un-forgiveness, the bitterness, the pain, the brokenness of life….
*    These are the things that Jesus came to clean and repair!!!

3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. –Titus 3:3-6

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Hearing and Obeying

Old medicine boxes found deep in the Hells Canyon Wilderness

Public Reading: Luke 11:16-34

The Story:

•    Demons

o    We live in a spiritual world

*    There are demons around us as we are in a war between God and the evil one

o    The good news is that Jesus wins! I’ve read the end of the story!
o    In our culture people will typically do one of two things

*    Deny the battle and the forces of evil
*    Focus too much on them

o    In reading the Bible, I see Jesus and His followers holding to a third way

*    They recognize the battle
*    Yet they are secure in the fact that God wins and that they are walking with Him
*    i.e. don’t focus or be scared of demons or the forces of evil, if you happen upon them, just hold fast to Jesus and exercise the authority Jesus gave you through His Spirit

•    Mute demon

o    Note all mute people are demon possessed
o    Yet in this case, a the forces of evil had rendered a man mute
o    Jesus cast out the demon and the man begun to talk

•    Critics

o    The critics didn’t like Jesus
o    So they said that he did things via the power of evil

•    Kingdom divided

o    Jesus responds with some simple logic
o    A house cannot stand divided
o    Satan cannot cast out Satan

•    Finger of God

o    This is very important theological statement!
o    Jesus is saying that if the things that he is doing is from God Almighty, then the rule and reign of God that was long hoped for has come.
o    The end of the world was upon them
o    This is important because it is because the fact that the Kingdom of God has come that we have the Holy Spirit inside our hearts.

*    It is the reason we have been set free from evil, sin and death
*    It is the reason for the cross (i.e. the life Jesus prepares the way for the cross, resurrection and ascension into heaven – not to mention Pentecost.)

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Intimacy with God

Public Reading: Luke 10:38-11:13

The Story:

•    Introduction

o    The last few weeks have been interesting…
o    We looked at how Jesus sent out the 72 just like the 12 and how the progress of the Scriptures show how each of us are sent out in the same manner
o    Then we looked at how all the signs and wonders in the world are useless unless you allow Jesus’ compassion, mercy and love to flow through you and change you.
o    Today we are looking at the root of this love, mercy and compassion

*    We are going to be talking about having intimacy with Jesus
*    About having a deep and personal relationship with Him.

The Passage

•    Everything in this passage points to knowing and spending time with Jesus
•    In the story of Mary and Martha you have two people caught between social norms and Jesus

o    One chooses to continue with the social norms of the day and works at preparing food and what not
o    The other choose to sit at the feet of Jesus
o    Jesus praised the later

•    This doesn’t mean that work is bad or that we should stop following any social norms

o    What it means is that we need to be willing to shift our lives around to find time to be with Him
o    It is a lesson in time management and priorities

•    The disciples felt the same pressure

o    They came up to Jesus and asked, begged no less, for a prayer to follow

•    Why did they do this?

o    Because John the Baptist’s followers had a ‘special’ prayer as did other groups…
o    So they wanted one too

•    Jesus decides to give them a prayer to pray

o    Why the way, this really isn’t the “Lord’s Prayer” but the “Disciples’ Prayer”
o    The Lord’s prayer is the one he prayed in the garden before he died

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The Power of Love

Public Reading: Luke 10:25-37

The Story

•    With four biographies about Jesus, a lot of the stories are repeated

a.    However, there are two unique stories in Luke that are very interesting
b.    We looked at the first one last week

i.    The sending out of the 70.
ii.    When coupled with the book of Acts we see the following theme

1.    Jesus proclaimed and demonstrated the Kingdom of God
2.    Sent out the 12 to do it
3.    Sent out the 70 to do it
4.    Peter did it after Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension
5.    Paul did it
6.    We are to do it

c.    The second unique story follows the first

i.    The story of the Good Samaritan
ii.    I think there is a reason they are next to each other

•    The 72 is about going out in power

a.    Power to proclaim and demonstrate the kingdom
b.    Sometimes we can get so focused on signs and wonders we forget about the ‘rest of the story’

•    The story that follows is one focused on love and compassion

a.    Love…..love it normally considered weak and wishy-washy in our culture
b.    We talk about loving each other usually in the sense that we can each do what we want
c.    John Lennon talked about love

i.    “all you need is love”

d.    Let me tell you that we have under estimated the power of love

•    Love does NOT mean that you can do what you want

a.    It means that you love a person enough to tell them the truth
b.    It means that you call them out when they are wrong
c.    It means that you care so much about their welfare that you are willing to walk with them through the pain and sorrow of this life
d.    Love is a decision that powerful

•    John 3:16 shows the power of love:

“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.”

•    Love is why Jesus died on a cross

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The Mission of Jesus Followers

Public Reading: Luke 10:1-24

Audio Sermon can be downloaded from the PRV website.

The Story

•    70/72 => does not really matter

o    Loosely refers to the number of gentile nations in world as seen by the Jewish people at the time

•    Passage only found in Luke

o    Why is that?
o    What is Luke trying to tell us?

•    A deliberate progression throughout Luke and Acts (which is just ‘Luke’ part two)

o    Jesus comes announcing and demonstrating the Kingdom
o    The 12 are commissioned and do the same things
o    The 70/72 are commissioned and do the same things
o    Peter does it after the death and resurrection of Jesus
o    Paul does it
o   The concept is that we are next!!

•    Parallels between Peter and Paul (taken from Derek Morphew’s “The Mission of the Kingdom: The Theology of Luke-Acts”)

•    As we read this passage, we need to keep in mind that we have the same mission as the 72.

o    We have been commissioned by Jesus to:

*    Love God
*    Love others
*    Heal the sick
*    Raise the dead
*    Cleanse leapers
*    Cast out demons
*    Proclaim the Kingdom of God

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Practical Life

Public Reading: Luke 9:46-62

The Story

We have been following the life of Jesus and studying both his teaching and his actions. He is our example – God himself came down to earth and showed us the way to live – the way to live under his rule and reign.

Some folks think that perhaps this way of living is rule of do’s and don’ts…yet as our journey through the book of Luke has been telling us, the way of Jesus is anything but a list of rules. It is a way of life governed by a personal relationship with the Creator God; a life build upon listening and hearing him.

Yet, as we will learn through today’s passage, it is a life of choices. Do we really believe and trust Jesus? Do we really want to follow him? What happens when we are faced with the hard decisions? What do we do? What choice we will make?

Not questions to be easily answered.

Nor ones to be dismissed as the day is coming; nay the day has arrived when we will have to make a decision. Do we follow Jesus in the good and bad days or just the good?

Let us turn to Luke chapter 9 verse 46.

The Greatest

46 An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. 47 Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. 48 Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.”

The disciples had recently just acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ, the Coming One of God, who was to usher in God’s Kingdom. Right after that Jesus went up on a mountain with Peter, James and John and talked to Moses and Elijah.

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Listen to Jesus

12th century icon of the Transfiguration

Public Reading: Luke 9:28-45

The Story

•    Eight days (six in Matthew and Mark) after visiting Caesarea Philippi, Jesus takes Peter, John and James up to the top of a mountain

o    Traditionally this was Mt. Tabor (since the 3rd Century) just south of the Sea of Galilee
o    However, some scholars now think that the location might have been at Mt. Herman in the north

•    While at the top of the mountain, Moses and Elijah appeared and started talking to Jesus

o    God is the Lord of the living and the dead

*    Elijah => Carried away into heaven by a whirlwind
*    Moses => Died in the desert and was buried by God Himself

o    Jesus fulfills everything

*    Elijah => the prophet coming at the end; represents the Prophets
*    Moses => the Law, given to the people of Israel by God

o    The conversation

*    They talked about what Jesus must do

•    His death, torture, and resurrection

*    It must of given Him hope and strength to keep going

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An Alternative Way of Doing Life

Ruins of the Temple of Pan near Caesarea Philippi (Courtesy of Wikipedia)

Public Reading: Luke 9:18-27

The Story

•    Jesus takes this disciples to the region Caesarea Philippi

o    Gentile city 26 miles north of Capernaum
o    It was an administrative city with various government functions
o    The city of Caesarea Philippi was built on top of an enormous rock 100 feet straight up and about 500 feet wide

*    It was enlarged and rededicated by King Philip to honor the Caesar in Rome.
*    Caesar considered himself a god and King Philip was eager to please him.

o    On the edge of the city was a cave out of which a flowed a spring

*    The spring feed the Jordan River

o    temple to Pan build on the edge of this cave

*    god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, nature, of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music, and companion of the nymphs.
*    He has the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat, in the same manner as a faun or satyr.

o    The area as called the “gates of hell” as the ancient Greeks and Romans thought that underground rivers lead to hell or hades

•    Who is Jesus?

o    While in view of this huge moment to the gods of Caesar and Pan, Jesus asks the disciples who the crowds thought he was

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.” -Luke 9:19

o    Then he asked who they thought he was

Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” – Luke 9:20b

•   The danger of such a statement

Continue reading An Alternative Way of Doing Life

To Touch Jesus

Illustration from the Catacombs of Marcellinus and Peter of Jesus healing the bleeding woman.

Public Reading: Luke 8:40-56

The Story

•    This is a story about two women who needed a touch from the Living God

o    While their stories and ours may be separated by time and distance
o    I believe their experiences with Jesus can influence and change our lives

•    The first women

o    She don’t know how old she was, but we do know that she had been bleeding (internal hemorrhage) for twelve years

*   During that time she had spent all her money on doctors
*    Yet no one was able to find a cure

o    Because she was bleeding, she was concerned ‘unclean’ by Jewish ritual rules (Lev 15:19-30)

*    Everything and everyone she touched became ceremonially unclean
*    Meaning that she was most likely on the outside of the social structure.

•    Someone living on the edge of society
•    In all likelihood, seeing how Capernaum wasn’t that big, folks know about her without ‘knowing’ her

o    Being ‘unclean’ would normally prevent her from contact with anyone else

*    Especially those who were religious (non-religious people where more likely not to care about ceremonial cleanliness
*    Yet on this day, she pushes into a crowd of religious people trying to see Jesus

o    Why?

*    Because she had heard about Jesus and the miracles he had done

•    Most likely the ones he did before crossing and re-crossing the Sea of Galilee

*    Both Mark and Matthew record her saying that “If I only touch His cloak I’ll be healed”

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Jesus Is In The Boat With Us

Preaching in DryBuck in an old church building

Public Reading: Luke 8:22-25

The Story

Today is special. Once a year we embark on a pilgrimage to this small outpost of Jesus hidden in the mountains. Some folks may ask why we do it as it is a lot of work to shift locations – people may forget and not show up – we may miss visitors, etc…

Yet in the midst of all the challenges there is something incredibly special, amazing, phenomenal, pick your adjective, in shifting our schedule and traveling as a group into the mountains to meet Jesus. This is not to say that Jesus is not in the valley nor that he doesn’t show up at other times (far from it!). It is just that this little church is a ‘thin place’ – a place where it seems that the fabric of heaven and earth, physical and spiritual is thin…a place where we see God show up….

In our passage today we see Jesus and his apostles traveling as well. Yes, they did this often as Jesus was rarely still, but moved from one place to another pronouncing and demonstrating the Kingdom of God. This time, however, was different.

Jesus had asked his followers to cross the Sea of Galilee and enter into a predominantly Gentile area. Seeing how relationship between the Jews and Romans were constantly straining, I could see some of the twelve wondering if Jesus had lost his mind. Simon the Zealot most likely had the hardest as he had given his life before meeting Jesus to fighting and killing the Romans…Matthew the tax collector most likely didn’t mind too much…

But they both knew – they all knew – that there was just something about Jesus that made you want to stay as close to him as possible. Laying aside their misgivings – and trusting to the boating skill of their fellow apostles – or, shall I say, Peter, Andrew, James and John – they climbed into the boat and started sailing.

Part way across the boat a violent wind came upon them and sought to sink their boat. The Scriptures states that they “were in great danger.”  Think about that for a moment, ‘great danger.’

A bunch of these apostles were fisherman who grew up on that sea. They knew it like the back of their hands! And they were scared! Very scared!

Looking around they found Jesus asleep.

Asleep!

Can you image that? He must have been pretty tired if he was able to sleep from a storm of that caliber. Yet, there he was sleeping away…

The Twelve awoke him and in their fear, questioned if he carried about them. To me, I don’t think they were looking for Jesus to calm the storm – they most likely just wanted another man to help bail out water or pull on the sails. It was an ‘all-hands-on-deck’ kind of storm!

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