Archive / Luke’s Gospel

This group of posts are from my study through the book 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 [...]

Today is the Day of Salvation

(*Note: Belated Post ) Opening Thoughts: The other day myself and family were at a baptism at the beach with the church we are part of. I love baptisms they are such an amazing testament of God’s saving power. It’s actually quite an amazing thing that as a church we are able to gather and talk about the Glory of Christ in public. Just today I read a post of 15 church leaders in China that were arrested while worshiping together. “On June 9 more than 30 house church leaders were arrested while gathering in a house church in Langzhong city, Sichuan province. Thirteen leaders were given 15 days of administrative detention, and five of the leaders were placed under criminal detention. The other leaders were released…..” (see the rest of the story) I think sometimes it’s hard for us who have so much freedom to actually imagine what that looks like. Say you are at your “community group” pouring out your [...]

God is Sovereign Over Your Life and Death

Opening thoughts: I love that God is Sovereign, don’t you? The thought of Him not being Sovereign, to me, is down right terrifying! Let’s think about that for a second… there has been an ongoing war in the middle East for what, ten years now? What if God is not in control over that situation? If all we can do is watch and wait as men and women battle it out, where is the comfort in that? If that is the case, we should be numb with fear. Have kingdoms not risen and fallen throughout the ages as a result of war? Have leaders not toppled due to other nations conquering and bringing them down? Is God not in control of all of that? The Scriptures are filled with assurance that God indeed is in control of all things, and is supreme over them all. The desire to take supremacy into our own hands [...]

Bent Down Toward Sin

Opening Thoughts: The other day I was in the bank and saw an elderly man who was all hunched over. His back was so bad that he was literally looking at his feet, and when this gentleman arrived at the counter it was all he could do just to raise his head enough to catch a glimpse of the teller. It looked so painful and uncomfortable, yet no matter how much he wanted to stand up straight, it was an impossibility. In Luke 13:10-17 Jesus addresses a woman in the temple who was in the same boat as the man I just described to you, only this woman was about to be changed for the Glory of God. Let’s take a look. Luke 13:10-17 ESV .. Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She [...]

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 [...]