Luke 22:31-62
The Steps to Peter’s Defection Introduction: Today we continue our examination of the last week of Jesus’ earthly life, as recorded for us in the Book of Luke. We have noted his triumphal entry on Sunday of passion week; on Monday he cleansed the temple of the corrupt money changers; on Tuesday he went back to the temple to teach, only to find the religious leaders trying to trip him up with a series of difficult questions, each of which he answered…
Luke 23:26-56
Showdown at the Cross Introduction: During Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness, Satan tempted him to accept glory without suffering. Any one of us would have caved at that choice, but Jesus didn’t. In saying no to Satan, Jesus chose to live for the day of his death. He chose to accept a crown only after carrying a cross. At one point, Luke records that “Jesus took the twelve aside and told them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written…
Luke 22:63-23:25
“I Find No Fault in Him.” Introduction: We are literally hours from the crucifixion as we open Luke 23 this morning. Last Sunday we followed Peter from the Last Supper to the court of the home of the high priest as the first part of the trial of Jesus was conducted. Though there are many key figures involved in this travesty of justice—Annas, Caiaphas, Herod, Barabbas—the one I have chosen to focus upon this morning is Pilate. Not only was he more involved in…
Luke 23:50-24:12
Gone! Introduction: It’s great to be back with you on this glorious Easter morning. Some sharp, creative realtor came up with the idea and scores followed suit. I refer to the practice after the sale of a house of placing one word, four simple letters, over the “for sale” sign. The old word which was used to indicate that a buyer had been found was the word “SOLD.” The emerging new, more picturesque word in vogue in some areas today is “GONE.” It is direct,…
Luke 24:13-35
Heart Burn: The Answer to Spiritual Depression Please turn with me to Luke chapter 24, verses13-35: Now that same day (Easter Sunday) two of them (i.e., Jesus’ disciples) were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing together…
Luke 24:36-53 and Acts 1:1-11
Mission Accomplished Introduction. Since December we have spent most of our time on Sunday mornings studying the life of Christ from the gospel of Luke. We were first introduced to the Messiah’s forerunner, John the Baptist. We learned of the annunciation of Jesus, his birth to a virgin named Mary, his early life at Nazareth, his baptism in the Jordan, his temptation in the wilderness, his calling of Twelve unlikely disciples, his ministry in Galilee, his ministry in and around Jerusalem, his signs…
Revelation 2:1-7
SERIES: Letters from Jesus to Eight Churches To Ephesus: The Church that Had Everything Right Except the Main Thing We’re going to begin a new series today from the book of Revelation. Yes, you heard me right, Revelation! But don’t get too excited, because the portion of Revelation I want us to study for the next two months is not the part filled with strange prophecies and weird symbolism, but rather chapters 2 and 3, where Jesus sends personal letters to the seven…
Revelation 2:8-11
To Smyrna: A Dangerous Place to be a Christian Today we look at the second of eight letters from Jesus, seven of which are found in the 2nd and 3rd chapters of Revelation. I would suggest you pick up a copy of last week’s sermon if you were not here, so you can get Pastor Mike’s excellent introduction to this important series of messages. Located a little over 30 miles north of Ephesus, the city of Smyrna, was on the Aegean coast of modern Turkey. Smyrna, known today as Izmir, is Turkey’s third largest city. In the New Testament period this city had a population of more than 100,000 people. A fine roadgave it access to the…
Revelation 2:12-17
To Pergamum: The Too Free Church Freedom is one of the greatest words in the English language. It’s also a great biblical term. Paul wrote in Galatians 5:13, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.” And one of my all-time favorite verses is this: “If the Son makes you free, you are free indeed.” I really believe in Christian freedom, which I would define as the liberty to make my own doctrinal decisions and lifestyle choices under the boundaries of Scripture and under…
Revelation 2:18-29
To Thyatira: The Church of Compromise Just ten days ago on June 6, 2001, there was a feature story in U.S.A. Today entitled, “Protestants face annual sexual divide.” The subtitle was “Same-sex unions, gay clergy, female leaders divide faithful.” Listen to the opening paragraphs: Forget how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. How many views on gender, sexuality and church authority can fit under one church steeple? Should gay clergy be ordained? Are same-sex unions blessed before God the same as the marriage…
Revelation 3:1-6
To Sardis: Do You Worship in a Mausoleum? How many of you have traveled outside the U.S.? If you ever get the opportunity to go on a tour or on one of the short-term mission trips our church sponsors, I encourage you to go. It really broadens your horizons and can have a tremendous spiritual impact. I have been privileged to do a lot of foreign travel, some of it for pleasure and some for ministry. I have actually been to thirty countries on…
Revelation 3:7-13
To Philadelphia: The Church of the Faithful Witness In our series on Revelation 2 & 3, we come today to the sixth letter Jesus wrote, the one to the church at Philadelphia. This is the only one of the seven churches whose name we recognize immediately. Maybe some of you are wondering why Jesus would write a letter to Philadelphia and not to Boston or New York or Kansas City. Well, this Philadelphia is not in Pennsylvania but in Turkey. It is the second-to-last…