Luke 2:1-20
God’s Answer to the Green Book Introduction: Let’s begin today by reading from the second chapter of Luke, verses 1-20: In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because…
Luke 2:21-52, Matthew 2:13-23
What Does a Perfect Child Look Like? Introduction: The Scriptures do not tell us much about the childhood of Jesus, but they do tell us something. I want us to turn to Luke 2 and read beginning in verse 21: On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived. {22} When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been…
Luke 3:1-20
A Voice from the Wilderness Introduction: The last time we heard anything about John the Baptizer, he had just been born, named, and blessed. In the last verse of Luke 1 we are told, “And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel.” The last we heard about Jesus was his visit to the temple in Jerusalem when he was 12 years old, recorded for us in Luke 2. Twenty years have passed…
Luke 3:21-4:13
Jesus Is Our Brother Introduction: Jesus is given many amazing titles in the Scripture. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Chief Shepherd, the Good Shepherd, the Great High Priest, the Cornerstone, the Almighty, the Bread Of Life, the Captain of our Salvation, Messiah, Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Lamb of God, Light of the World, Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Man of Sorrows, Morning Star, The Resurrection and the Life, the Rock, Rose of Sharon,…
Luke 4:14-44
A Prophet Without Honor Have you ever thought that if only Jesus were alive today, and you had the opportunity to hear him preach and to see his awesome miracles, your faith would be much stronger? I suppose it’s natural to think like that, but it’s probably not true. Faith, you see, is not generated by sight. Rather it consists of the simple recognition that God keeps his Word and is totally reliable. There is very clear evidence in Scripture that most great people…
Luke 5:1-11, 27-32; 6:12-16
Twelve Chosen Men Introduction: From time to time our church appoints a search committee to look for a new staff member, as do most businesses and organizations. I have been a member of a few of these committees, so I know a little about their work. The committees usually begin their work by hammering out a job description. After all, how do you know whom to look for if you don’t know what that person is supposed to do? The next step is generally…
Luke 5:17-26
Are You Forgiven, or Just Religious? Introduction: What is man’s greatest need today? You say, “Which man?” Everyone’s need is different. O.J.’s greatest need is for a job so he can pay his debts. Newt Gingrich’s greatest need is for humility so he can rehabilitate his reputation. What about you? What is your greatest need? You might say, “Right now it’s financial. I have a huge debt that is weighing over me.” “My greatest need is to get through school. Once I graduate, life will be a piece of cake.” “I have…
Luke 5:33-6:11
Clearing a Path for Grace Introduction: I know something about a good number of you. I know that many of you don’t think you are very good Christians. In your opinion, you don’t pray enough. You don’t tell others about Jesus enough. You don’t have enough quiet times with the Lord. You don’t serve enough or give enough. And if we pressed hard enough, we might find a significant amount of guilt over these matters. I know something else about a good number of you. I know that…
Luke 6:17-26
The Counter-Culture of the Kingdom Introduction: Friends, if you were asked to name four categories of people whom God loves and blesses, and four categories of people whom God hates and condemns, what would your lists look like? I tried it. My list of the top four kinds of people God blesses includes: people who pray a lot, people who serve faithfully, people who demonstrate compassion to others, and people who are generous. Now if I worked at it, I could come up…
Luke 6:27-36
Like Father, Like Son Introduction: Last week on TV I saw a man talking about a criminal who had brutalized a relative of his. “I would like to beat him to a pulp,” he said, “then tie him to the back of my truck and drag him through the streets.” Recently I read about a woman whose relatives were exterminated by the Nazis in a concentration camp. She said, “I hate them with a profound hatred. I will never forgive them, ever.” You know something? There’s…
Luke 6:37-49
Moving Past Judgment to Mercy Introduction: When I was skiing in Colorado three years ago, I was waiting in line for the ski lift and not paying attention to what I was doing. All of a sudden, I turned and looked over my shoulder just as the chair lift came around and clobbered me. I cracked a couple of ribs and to my utter embarrassment had to ride the ski lift down to the base of the mountain. If that wasn’t enough, the next…
Luke 7:1-10
Such Great Faith! Introduction: One of the most common words in religious discourse is “faith.” Everyone talks about it; in fact, everyone has faith, though certainly the objects of faith differ, as does the degree of trust that is exercised. Nevertheless, there is a lot of fuzzy thinking about faith, and few people seem to be able to define it very clearly. Often the best they can do is to offer synonyms like “trust” or “belief.” I found the following definition this week…