Sermons on Luke (Page 3)
He Was Called Jesus
Jesus’ birth narratives are fascinating, and they’re loaded with powerful statements about who Jesus was and what he came to do. Unfortunately, these important teachings are sometimes obscured by the Christmas season as the birth of Jesus is romanticized and sanitized (or ignored). Of all the gospel writers, Luke includes the most historical details about Jesus’ birth, and Sunday we’re going to study and reflect on his version of this beautiful story. Last week we studied his account of John…
A Voice Crying in the Wilderness
The way Luke chooses to begin this chapter is fascinating . . . he sets the stage by listing the most powerful people in the world, starting with the Emperor of Rome and narrowing in on the local secular and religious leaders. And then he takes us to John, an eccentric character who receives God’s word in the wilderness. Tiberius reigns in Rome, but Luke wants us to see what God is doing in the backwater region of Judea: he’s…
On These Two Commandments
This is the last of the sermons I’ll preach in 2018 on the theme for the year: Love God. Love People. Change the World. I will try to wrap it up, summarizing the theme as we end the year and look toward a new one. There’s plenty of evidence around us that loving God and the people he created will need to be a continual emphasis of Christians everywhere. We’re surrounded by hate and violence and political division. What the…
God’s Covenant With You
At the end of 2017, I preached two sermons on key concepts that help us see the Bible’s storyline more clearly. The first focused on holiness and the second on glory. In this sermon, we will study a third idea: covenant. In one sense, a covenant is easy to understand—it’s similar to a contract that two parties make with each other, each agreeing to fulfill his side of the agreement. In biblical contexts, though, it’s different, and significantly more important.…
Gratitude and Grace
The nine healed lepers probably had several reasons to keep them from turning around and thanking Jesus. They needed to see the priest, who would officially pronounce them clean and admit them back into the community. And they had families they hadn’t seen in months, maybe years. Who would blame them for wanting to hug their wives and kids as soon as possible? But Luke focuses our attention on the one who thought to turn back. Consistent with his emphasis…