Archive / Gospel of Luke

The Only Sinners Prayer that Saves Souls – Luke 16:14-17

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?? Maybe you’re wondering what this title is all about? What do I mean, “the only sinners prayer that saves souls”. Is that suggesting that there is a type of sinners prayer that does not save? It should be common sense that repeating a set of words at an altar call could no more save a soul than chanting “I’m warm, I’m warm, I’m warm” over and over after being dropped off buck-naked in the Arctic in 90 below temperatures could keep you from freezing. I grew up in the church and quite frankly it can be one of the most dangerous places to grow up. If the Gospel doesn’t take genuine roots at an appropriate age (and I don’t mean repeating a prayer when you’re 3 with your mom) but genuine repentance and faith in Christ, then you can grow up with the idea that you [...]

Wasted Life on Wasted Wealth – Luke 16:1-13

Opening Thoughts: I honestly cannot tell you how many times I have heard Sunday talks on money, nor how many times it has been followed directly with a call to give. I think we have all been there, maybe some of you have even preached these messages with hopes that it would encourage more people to give. Perhaps some of you after hearing messages or a series of messages on this topic only caused you to clench your fist tighter around your hard earned cash. Whatever the case may be, if the heart of the issue is not dealt with, those listening and those preaching will both lose. The hope behind this post is not to show anyone up and not to point fingers at certain churches or people, but to speak to you from a heart of my own conviction, my own lack of giving and my own foolish [...]

Size Doesn’t Matter! – Luke 17:5-6

What Pleases God? The Bible is very clear about faith being the only thing that pleases God. In fact it states that without faith it is impossible to please Him. Why is that? Faith in what? The answer is that it’s faith in Christ as the “Passover Lamb”. In the end of time Christ will come in Judgment bringing a swift end to all who trusted in their own good works as a means of salvation and to those who failed to depend on Him for His. Trusting in Christ as the “Passover Lamb” is to believe that although you have never pleased God, and as a result of your sin deserve His wrath, Jesus’ perfect life and selfless obedience to the cross trumps that; therefore, if you apply His blood to your life through faith in His finished work your sins will be remitted and you will be saved. In our text [...]

Unworthy Servant – Luke 17:7-10

Servant Or Slave? Some would argue that it’s not at all a good nor reasonable thing to refer to a Christian as a slave of Christ. The word slave after all can invoke some rather negative feelings. What we associate with slavery is harsh masters, cruel conditions, poor treatment and regarding human life as an equivalent to that of an animal or perhaps even lower. Slaves were purchased and ripped away from their homes, carted off to far away lands and abused, they were purchased and used solely for the purpose of their master’s gain. Christ on the other hand is just the opposite. We were slaves to sin through our own evil and corrupt nature, like Adam and Eve we dove in head first lapping it up by the mouthful unknowingly, being shackled to its demands. Sin commanded us to do and we did. Sin abused us and we would grieve often times over the outcome and the consequences that ensued, [...]

You MUST Forgive!

Overview: Luke 17:1-4 is the text I will cover in this post and it deals with the following subjects, temptation, sin, offenses, rebuke, forgiveness, judgment and repentance. I will briefly be looking at all of them, however the one I really want to zone in on is repentance and forgiveness. When someone does us wrong we have a tendency to hang by the neck awaiting for an apology, then when it finally does come along, depending on how close the relationship is, we often want to punish the offender by holding out on the forgiveness side of things. Have you ever stopped for a moment to wonder why that is? Perhaps it’s because we have been hurt so badly that we naturally want to hurt back? When the one who has wronged comes to their senses and humbly offers an apology it then puts the offended in the power seat, does it not? Is that not an offense [...]

Not A Hope In Hell

Backwards in Eternity: The poor become rich and the rich become poor, the beggar becomes prosperous and the prosperous a beggar. Such is the case with the “Rich man and Lazarus”. Because our world is so busted up with sin, much of what we see and even come accustom to is completely backwards to how God’s kingdom operates. God’s kingdom is free from sin and is no respecter of persons. I’m going to be really candid, I struggle with being a respecter of persons, it’s my weakness. I don’t think that it’s because I love others more but rather that I have a sinful tendency to flock towards people that I think can improve my situation. I would likely have passed the guy sitting at the gate with dogs licking his wounds just to catch up and talk to the super rich guy. Why? Because he can likely do something for me and my selfishness. Pride and greed are ugly sins that [...]

Is the Axe Near Your Roots?

Opening Thoughts: The last few days there has been a lot on my mind, mostly to do with some pictures I’ve seen lately. One of the pictures I saw was of a man who was wearing flattened plastic water bottles on his feet as shoes because he has no money at all and he uses the only thing that he has or is able to find to give him some sort of protection for his vulnerable feet. While I sat there looking down at my feet that were wearing, not the most expensive but nevertheless comfortable and stylish ‘Vans’, I couldn’t help but get a lump in my throat. Here I am sitting in a nice coffee shop drinking a $4 whatever, working on a $900 lap top, wearing nice jeans, and shoes that cost me about $60, while this other human being created in the image of God has bottles strapped to his feet. Then [...]

The Good Shepherd and the Little Flock

Opening Thoughts: Over the past few years Danae and I have been forced into a position where we have had no other option than to thrust ourselves into the arms of our good Shepherd and depend on Him for literally every last need that we’ve had. Never before have we faced so many trials and yet never before have we trusted in His care like we have during these years. God has graciously allowed us to lose almost everything earthly that we might trust in Him and value Christ alone who has made rich provisions for us with everything eternal. To this I joyfully testify that all our material losses have literally been deposits into our eternal bank account. As always my hope and prayer is, that as we read through the words of Jesus God would give you the eyes to see if indeed you are truly part of this little flock that belongs to [...]

The Beating of Your Life

Someone Has to Die for Your Sin Who Will it Be, You or Jesus? You Earned Death Not Life: I LOVE the Bible! I am very thankful for the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ! I’m thankful that He took the severe beating for me, that He was cut in pieces for me, that He absorbed all of God’s (Just) wrath for me. Yes that’s right, you and I deserved nothing but God’s wrath, we actually earned it. Like a person who works very hard at their job with the expectation of a big fat check, so it is with our lives, the first instance we use our own will and pride to commit treason against God’s kingdom we begin to earn our pay-check. When Paul says “The wages of Sin is Death” he’s using the term wages so that we all understand that everyone of us deserves death, so when [...]

Deceptive Traps

Pharisees and Scribes set Traps for Jesus – Luke 11:53-54 Opening Thoughts: After several months in Luke 11 I am finally closing this chapter. The Bible is so packed with information that is so easily missed if we simply treat it like some type of daily duty, spending 30 minutes slamming through our four chapters, simply to make it through our “Bible in a Year” program. I’m not entirely dissin’ the Bible in a year idea, but if we are not stewardly with our time spent in God’s Word, we incur the risk of coming to false conclusions, getting caught in traps set for us, and ultimately we take the chance of misunderstanding the Gospel all together. Instead we can end up mistaking it for more of a self help guide for “your best life now road map, with a twist of see you at the top because I’m a kingdom child” attitude, rather than a [...]