Luke has showed us our Lord and Savior as the compassionate healer, Lord of the Sabbath, Son of David, and God’s mighty prophet. And for the past few weeks we have seen him as “pantocrator.” That’s an old word that means “all-powerful.” He rules over the deep, disease, death, and demons. This week’s story shows Jesus casting out a legion of demons. That’s our Lord! Prepare your heart and mind to hear about the power of Jesus, pantocrator.
How does a forgiven sinner respond? With much love - because forgiveness leads to love. That's what Simon the Pharisee didn't understand when he saw the sinful (or so he thought) woman's lavish acts of love towards Jesus. We'll walk through the passage in Luke 7:36-50 by asking three questions:
1. Who is she?
2. Who is He?
3. Who are you?
Do you remember why Luke said he wrote his gospel? It was to write an orderly account that would build certainty about the claims of Christianity. He wrote it to encourage and build faith.
This week, we’ll look at two marvelous acts of Jesus. Consider what Luke is wanting us to know for certain about who Jesus is, and why we can feel solid in our faith in believing the good news. In preparation I encourage you to read Luke 6-7.
Doubt is normal for followers of God, even the greatest followers such as John the Baptist. When he was persecuted, imprisoned in Herod’s fortress, he sent two of his disciples to Jesus to ask: "Are you the One?” John thought so, and in years past he preached that Jesus was God’s Messiah, but now he isn’t so sure. "Are you the One, or should we seek another?” That’s what suffering does to us—it makes us question the power, presence, or love of God. At FCCH we do not shy away from these questions. We take them to God and open our hearts to his response.
This week we come to a central teaching of Jesus. He calls us to be like God in our extravagant love for those who don’t respect us, don’t deserve it, and can’t afford it. The Golden Rule applies to “the others” who are farthest from us, because we were estranged from God and he extended his grace to us. When we consider the Welcome of God, we look to the cross as the embodiment of Jesus’s teaching here in Luke 6:27-36. I am challenged greatly by these verses and I think you will be too, but in the best of ways. I look forward to seeing you and consider inviting a friend, neighbor or relative to sit with you this Sunday.
When Jesus proclaimed His mission in Luke 4, He declared good news, healing, and freedom—both physical and spiritual—for all people. I will share how that same mission is unfolding among college students and communities today, and how each of us can join Jesus in bringing His freedom to the world around us.
Continuing our journey through Luke’s gospel, Jesus begins his teaching with four blessings and four woes. He says, “blessed are the ones who are poor.” Homer (not the Simpson) used the same word to describe the god Zeus in the Odyssey (5.7.). Does Jesus really mean to say that it’s the poor, not the rich who are blessed?! Is that what your experience is? Jesus’ teaching will help us reimagine what truly is “the good life.”
This Sunday we will be looking at two stories involving Jesus and the Sabbath: Luke 6:1-11 andLuke 13:10-17. Although Sabbath in the US has waned in recent decades, it was a very important matter at the time of Jesus. These stories will help unveil the deep significance of the Sabbath for understanding our place in the world
When Jesus calls us to follow him, what does he expect? Should we all adopt the lifestyle of Mother Theresa? What did our Lord mean when he said that we must leave everything? This early story in Luke 5:1-11 is a template of calling. We see that when Jesus calls, disciples respond willingly, humbly, and fully.
This Sunday we will look at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry in Luke. Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth and tells people he is fulfilling the life-giving mission outlined in Isaiah 61. You would think this would be great news for his fellow Nazarenes…but things quickly turn very unwelcoming indeed. I look forward to seeing you as we explore together this crucial passage in the gospel.
This week we will continue in our journey through the Gospel of Luke and God's Welcome. In Luke 3, we will look at Jesus' baptism. The baptism of Jesus is a spiritual prototype for our baptism which is a milestone for our lives that we can look back on in times of trial.
This is the first sermon in our new series from the Gospel of Luke, called God’s Welcome. Luke’s biography about Jesus, highlights the welcome, hospitality, and love of God to all types of people through his Son, Jesus. We are eager to explore this welcome personally, communally, and of course as we extend this welcome to others. Just this week we start Alpha to help us introduce people to Jesus, Pilgrim’s Pint to invite people to consider how Christianity impacts our thinking, and Sunday school classes to equip us to share the good news with all types of people. We are praying this weekly study of Luke will guide us in our everyday actions of extending God’s Welcome through the Gospel.
There is a lot more that will be said in coming days, but please be praying for our church to be pliable and faithful to God’s leading as he challenges us in new and fresh ways to love and serve like Jesus.
As our summer series, Who We Are, concludes this week, I am reflecting on how God has used his word and all the strong voices to teach, rebuke, correct and train in righteousness(see 2 Timothy 3:16). Our hope is that God’s Spirit will take these truths deeply into our hearts individually and collectively. This week, we will look at God’s Kingdom and our roles as soldiers serving in the battle against evil and the enemies that oppose God’s good way. But our opposition is not with displays of force like the world, but displays of sacrifice, like our King.
We will be looking at the church as slaves of Christ. As Christians, we have been bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ and are now called to serve the Good Master, Jesus Christ.
In our series on the nature and the mission of the church, we will explore how believers are “stewards” of the gifts of God’s grace, according to 1 Peter 4:10-11. We will learn that every believer has received gifts of God’s grace, that believers use their gifts as good stewards, and that believers use their gifts to serve others and to praise God through Jesus Christ.
We all want to be successful. We want to be productive. We want our lives, our ministry, our work, our spiritual life to count. And yet, too often, we feel stuck, motionless, dry… fruitless. This Sunday, we get a refreshing portrait in John’s Gospel of invitation from Jesus to abide in him and be fruitful: knowing who we are as branches of the True Vine.
In Ephesians, Paul describes the church as God's “poiema”—a Greek word that is often translated as “handiwork” or “workmanship.” Interestingly, the word comes into English directly as “poem.” What might we learn if we think about the church as a poem? Join us on Sunday as we explore what Ephesians 2 has to teach us about salvation, community, and the work God gives us to do in the world, all through the lens of poetry.
We continue in our summer series looking at “who we are.” This week’s metaphor is not very flattering, but it sure is realistic—we are clay pots. Just ordinary, fragile, inexpensive vessels. But inside is treasure—the gospel of our Lord Jesus. Lord, help us remember who we are, who you are, and may we find strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow when we see these old clay pots crack and decay.
Who would have thought you could learn something from a near-sighted, defenseless, sometimes witless pile of wool on four legs? Jesus did!. Lets find out what he has to say.
As we continue looking at biblical pictures to help us understand who we are as a church, we will consider the world of athletics. Many of us enjoy athletics and are enthralled by the talent and effort of elite athletes. What are the qualities of athletes we can incorporate into our lives as Christians and our efforts as a community? The Bible focuses in on a few that are challenging and helpful.