Luke
Luke 1:1-4
Introducing the Gospel of Luke Note: On December 1, 1996, I began an exposition of the Gospel of Luke at First Free in St. Louis, which lasted for almost 18 months. I do not recall exactly why I started that series in verse 5 of chapter 1, but I think it had to do with the desire to get through the birth narratives during Advent. Regardless of the reason, in retrospect I believe it is important to examine these first five verses because…
Luke 1:5-25, 57-80
Introducing the Introducer Introduction: Today I want to begin a new preaching series that will probably take us through the entire year of 1997 except for a couple of short interruptions. The series will be on the life of Christ. The recent preaching Paul and I have done on a few of the parables of Jesus whetted my appetite to dig deeper. We are going to use the gospel of Luke as the basis for this series, though we will borrow from Matthew and…
Luke 1:26-38
Introducing the Savior As we launched a new series on the life of Christ last Sunday, we were introduced to John the Baptist, the one whom God called, even before his birth, to introduce Jesus to the Jewish people as their Messiah. He would be the voice of one calling in the wilderness; he would come in the spirit and power of Elijah; he would turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of…
Luke 1:26-56
Holy Mary, Mother of God? Note: This sermon was preached by my colleague, Paul Stolwyk. As Paul grew up Catholic, I believe he has a unique perspective to address this important issue. Introduction: The cover story to this week’s Life magazine is entitled “The Mystery of Mary.” The byline reads, “Two thousand years after the Nativity, the mother of Jesus is more beloved, powerful and controversial than ever.” I may be adding to the controversy this morning. Before we get started, I would like to know, how many…
Luke 1:26-56
A Mother Without Peer Introduction: Do you know the origin of Mother’s Day? It’s not a biblical holiday, of course, though the honoring of mothers and of motherhood is certainly a biblical idea. Mother’s Day was first celebrated in 1908 in a little church in Grafton, West Virginia. Anna Jarvis wanted to honor her own mother, which she did by declaring the day “Mother’s Day.” Today it is a widely recognized opportunity to express our love and appreciation for our mothers, mothers-in-law, and grandmothers. I…
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…