Growing Gracefully: Persecution
Awake Us Now
Jesus makes it clear to His followers - if we follow Him, we WILL be persecuted, just as He was persecuted. When that happens, we are not to despair, but to rejoice - "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew 5:10) Persecution is a confirmation that we truly are following the Living God!
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Questions - Week 22: What Did Jesus Tell Them?
Awake Us Now
Pastor gives us a look at the story, “On the Road to Emmaus,” found in Luke 24:13-27. We don’t know the actual location of Emmaus, nor do we know the names of those walking with Jesus in this story. The story takes place later in the day on the day of Jesus’ resurrection. Those Jesus walks with do not recognize Him. They are trying to figure out everything that had happened with Jesus and thinking about what the women had said about Jesus being alive and about the disciples having gone to the tomb and found it empty. Then Jesus begins to explain the scriptures to them concerning...
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Kings & Prophets: From Solomon to Jeremiah - Week 15
Awake Us Now
This is the final week in our study of 400 years of Kings and Prophets from Solomon to Jeremiah. King Josiah • Young King seeks God • Spiritual cleansing of Jerusalem • Book of the Law discovered • Reform beyond Judah • Passover observance - King Josiah gives an order to all people to observe God's Passover. This had not been celebrated according to what was written, not even in the days of the judges, nor in the days of any of the kings of...
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Growing Gracefully: Sing!
Awake Us Now
We see singing and songs throughout the Scriptures. Singing connects us with the heart, with one another, and with God!
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Growing Gracefully: Infilling
Awake Us Now
Everyone who is a true disciple of the Lord Jesus has the Holy Spirit. But does the Holy Spirit have us? It is one thing to know the Living God and to know Jesus as Savior, but it is another thing to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit on a regular, daily basis!
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Growing Gracefully: Awake
Awake Us Now
God charges His disciples to "be awake" in all times and all situations. We are especially charged to be awake to God's Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), the reality of spiritual warfare, and the signs of the times.
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Growing Gracefully: Prepared
Awake Us Now
Almost two thousand years ago, John the Baptist called people to repent and prepare for the coming Lord. Today, we are still called to have repentant hearts that receive and extend the forgiveness of the Living God, and to prepare fruit for Him in our lives!
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Growing Gracefully: Holiness
Awake Us Now
Holiness is a gift, offered to us in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. But once God has made us holy, we are then called to pursue holiness in our lives!
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Questions - Week 21: Why Do You Believe He Is Risen?
Awake Us Now
Happy Resurrection Sunday - Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Today’s question is “Why do you believe He is risen?” Pastor starts today’s class with a personal testimony in which the Bible changed the direction of his life at the age of 15. Christianity stands or falls on the resurrection of Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:14 “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” Pastor shares the Evidence Trail of Jesus’ Resurrection on the bases of writings from believers, unbelievers, recorded data, and old and new studies. The Evidence Trail...
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Kings & Prophets: From Solomon to Jeremiah - Week 14
Awake Us Now
Last week we ended our study time looking at a great king of Judah, Hezekiah. Today we start with one of the worst kings of Judah, Manasseh, Hezekiah’s son. Manasseh reigned from 697-642 B.C. His story is found in 2 Kings 21:1-18 and 2 Chronicles 33:1-20. Manasseh reigned 55 years. He reigned longer than any other king and did more damage than any other king. He did evil in God’s eyes. It is a disgusting and tragic story. He destroys everything good his father had done. King Manasseh ⁃ Apostasy and Idolatry - 2 Chronicles 33:33 ⁃...
info_outlineLuke 14:1-24; “Dinner Disaster”
Today’s story is of Jesus attending a dinner with His enemies - who have an agenda and it’s not a good one. Yet Jesus has a heart even for those who oppose Him.
Jesus is invited to the house of a prominent Pharisee on a Sabbath day and they are all watching Him. There in front of Him they have placed a very sick man with a serious health condition of being severely swollen.
Keep in mind:
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It’s a Sabbath day
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Previously Jesus had done healings on the Sabbath and the synagogue leaders were extremely angry
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No “work” was to be done on a Sabbath
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Healings were considered “work”
Entrapment:
We can see this sick man placed in front of Jesus, is a set up for entrapment so that they could say Jesus broke the Sabbath by healing someone.
Jesus recognizes the trap and He addresses it head on saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” But they did not answer Him, so Jesus healed the man and sent him on his way. They all witnessed it.
What was that like to see the healing of this very sick man? As the swelling disappears and he goes away whole and healed. No longer critically ill. Can you imagine the murmurs and whispers of the dinner guests?
Jesus’ concern and love for the lost (including the religious who in reality do not know the Living God) compels Him to take the conversation further because he loves the Pharisees and those that are hostile to Him.
So Jesus asks them, “If one of you has a child or ox that falls into a well on a Sabbath day will you not immediately pull it out?” And the Pharisees made no response.
As Jesus looks out over the table where people had worked to get the best seat reclining near the host, He continues with a parable. The summary of the parable is that you don’t go to a party and take the seat of honor, as you’ll just embarrass yourself. The lesson is one of humility before God and man and as Jesus continues the story He speaks these powerful words: “for all those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Rebuttal:
Jesus is rebutting their arrogance, their pride, their self-aggrandizement. He’s saying - when you really know the Living God it affects how you behave. Not that we are saved by our behavior - but that when we know the love of God and the forgiveness He offers in Christ Jesus, the Messiah, it changes our behavior.
When we truly understand how much God loves us and how much Jesus paid to redeem us, that news changes our attitude about ourselves and we realize we bring nothing to the heavenly party.
It’s not about what I can achieve, it’s about what God offers and therefore my attitude changes and how I act changes and what I think changes.
The story continues with Jesus challenging the host to not invite friends who will simply reciprocate the invitation to his next party. Rather Jesus says to invite the poor, lame, crippled, and blind and then he will be blessed. Though they can’t repay him for the invitation - Jesus adds that he would be repaid at Chris’s return.
Diversion:
A dinner guest attempts to change the subject, clear the air, calm the tensions and says, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” What does Jesus respond with?
With this profound story about an owner inviting many guests to his banquet. When it was time for the party he sent his servant out to let those who had been invited that it was now time to come.But all invitees had excuses. So the host ordered his servant to bring in the poor, crippled, blind and the lame and after doing so, the servant told the owner there was still room left. So the Master sends out the servant into the country roads to compel more to come so that his house would be full. Jesus ends the story with the owner saying that not one of those who were invited and changed their minds in coming would get a taste of the banquet.
Jesus is saying this is what’s happened with His own people. The very one God invited rejected God and refused to accept all that He was offering through Jesus.
These people were religious but they didn’t really have a heart for God. And when you reject Jesus, you reject the Father who sent Him.
This story is not just for 1st century Israel - these words are for us today. Jesus is telling us that nothing is to get in the way of our relationship with the Living God through faith in Jesus. We are not to allow anything to get in the way of God’s purpose through Christ for each one of us.
There are eternal consequences to rejecting God’s mercy through Jesus, but God is faithful and works to show them then and us now the consequences of rejecting Him, rejecting the open door to coming to Him, rejecting His love for each of us.
There is a forever party coming! The joy of life forever in the presence of God! We don’t want to miss the heavenly banquet!
Surrender to the Living God. Jesus is summoning us to Himself. He offers life to all who repent and believe. He desires all to experience the joy of daily following Him.
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St. Luke’s Account is part three of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. The Gospel of Luke takes a look at the life of Jesus, beginning with the well-known Christmas stories. Luke, a non-Jew, offers a unique perspective into the story of Jesus’ life.
This study is great for large group, small group or home group Bible study.