Messengers, Part 2 (31)
Discipleship in Luke
We are messengers, but it’s not our message – it’s God’s. We had better be extra careful to check our sources, be silent until we know what we’re talking about, and then deliver an accurate message – or better yet – show people where to learn for themselves. Good News that’s false – is not Good at all. Nothing hurts more than false hope.
info_outline
Messengers, Part 1 (30)
Discipleship in Luke
In Luke 14 at the dinner, Jesus tells a story about another dinner – the Kingdom feast. We will look at the characters in Jesus’ story and we find ourselves there: we are the “slaves,” the messengers. Scriptures used: Romans 10:1-2 James 3:1-2 Luke 14.15-24; Matthew 22.1-14
info_outline
Satan’s Sirens, pt2 (29)
Discipleship in Luke
Practical steps for killing Excuses, Justifications and Rationalizations, and replacing them with adaptations, improvisations and overcoming. We can categorize our lives, and look for them – to root them out. Then, connect with a Godwor disciple for accountability & help. Finally, choose one or two and work on them one bit at a time.
info_outline
Satan’s Sirens (28)
Discipleship in Luke
Satan’s Sirens … Excuses, Justifications and Rationalizations. These three are alluring, enticing, just like the beautiful singing sirens of mythology that lured sailors to their death – Satan’s sirens kill us. The solution is for us to recognize things that tempt us to these things, then treat them as challenges and opportunities. We should adapt, improvise, overcome … we should put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6).
info_outline
Grow Some Go Some (#27)
Discipleship in Luke
Grow Some Go Some … congratulations are due to those of you who are still listening & studying, and especially to those of you who are DOING the assignments. Following Jesus was hard when he was in human form, and it’s still hard. Now … time to get to work for real.
info_outline
From Now On (#26)
Discipleship in Luke
From now on … these lessons will be less formal, shorter … and use excerpts from Luke to continue our studies. Most importantly, it’s about helping you to start actually doing the stuff Jesus did … on purpose. Make a real change. Do three things, right now:
info_outline
Wrap Up (#25)
Discipleship in Luke
it’s time for us to review and settle some things. Remember our purpose, our actions and our priority. And then … DO what Jesus said.
info_outline
Talents (#24)
Discipleship in Luke
This lesson is about the parable of talents (found in Matthew 25.14-30 & Luke 19.12-27). It’s about how you live as a disciple of Jesus … steadily giving more in quality and quantity purely for the purpose of bearing increasing fruit and glory to God.
info_outline
Recovering the Lost (#23)
Discipleship in Luke
Jesus explains why he left the religious folks to go seek sinners and call them to repentance. We are introducing the “Lifecycle” of disciples … those who come to Jesus for various reasons, then go all-in, are born again, and then live and grow. Scriptures highlighted in this lesson include: Luke 15, Matthew 6.20-21, Colossians 3.1-2, Philippians 3.12-21, and Matthew 25.14-30.
info_outline
Teleios (#22)
Discipleship in Luke
Teleios is a Greek word used commonly to describe a certain kind of maturity – the maturity which is understood to include productivity. Only when a thing has reached ‘teleios’ is it considered to have arrived at its full potential. Each one of us should strive to arrive at our full teleios state
info_outlineThis lesson started out as a quick overview of chapters 7 & 8, but I ran out of time.
Remember the two layers: 1) Jesus & his audience – and 2) Luke and his audience. We skimmed over the bits and put it into “chunks,” as Luke laid it out for his audience … mostly to show them how Jesus dealt with his own people (Jews) and other groups of people. You should practice doing this as you study through any gospel … break it into chunks, stories, thought ideas, parables, etc. Then see the message the writer was trying to convey to his audience.
Then – focus on Jesus and his audience. As disciples, this is our primary interest. We want to understand how Jesus handled different people differently, so we can handle them the same way. How did Jesus treat religious folks, compared to “sinners,” and why? How did he treat Jews differently than gentiles? But mostly … we want to watch how Jesus trained the 12. He started them off with the Sermon on the Plain in chapter 6 (last two lessons), and then now he’s demonstrating for them how to live that sermon. Again: first he said it, and now he is demonstrating it. He is giving himself to people, he’s sharing what he has … just as we should. He had the miraculous gift of healing, but we have money and medicine and time … we can also be healers! Should we “heal” only Christians? Should we focus only on them? How should we treat “sinners,” like the sinful woman who came to the religious guy’s house?
Jesus taught us in the sermon to love people … now he shows us what that looks like in real life.