May 29, 2016: Don't Waste Your Life

Luke Series

Text: Luke 12

You may know John Piper's famous admontion: don't waste your life. That concept is prominent in this Sunday's passage, as our Lord gives a stark word to unbelievers and gentle encouragement to His disciples. We'll draw fresh direction and encoruagement from familiar words; five phrases to be exact.

May 22, 2016: The 'H' Word

Luke Series

Text: Luke 12:1-7

Hypocrisy. It goes hand in hand with legalism, at least by my observation. Evil bedfellows. Both suck the life out of all involved and are certainly not what Jesus had in mind when He ushered in the new covenant. Grace is the antidote, and grace is the foundation of the Gospel. Like the Pharisees, we can drift in our religion away from grace and miss the heart of God. Our passage is a reminder not to do that, as well as a wonderful reminder to reverence God and remember His tender care for us.

May 8, 2016: Restless Spirits and Passive Pursuit

Luke Series

Text: Luke 11:14-26

Undoubtedly this is not your normal Mother's Day passage. It's intriguing and actually has great personal application to our lives and in particular, our children's lives. The restless spirit which has been ejected from a man grabs some of his cronies and returns. This passage serves a strong example to press on in the Lord and fill our minds with godly things and not be idle or passive in following Christ.

May 1, 2016: Religion Gone Wrong

Luke Series

Text: Luke 11:37-54

We're going to bounce around a bit in Luke 11. This here is one of my favorite passages, because it displays a side of Jesus that most people miss. It also directs us to the true nature of religion and the heart of the Gospel. It is a dramatic exchange, but upon careful consideration, it yields a LOT about the human heart and God's grace. One the one hand, the Pharisees and scribes were exposed for their hypocrisy. Yet, the original intent of their "religion" was to safeguard God's laws. Over time it was corrupted by the natural deceit of the human heart: performance based religion.

Religion Gone Wrong

April 17, 2016: Gospel Flow

Luke Series

Text: Luke 10:25-37

Luke 10 introduces a new focus to previous discourses: keeping the law (being good) won't gain you eternal life because it's an impossible feat. In chapter 10, this crushing truth is nestled in between two not-so-new truths: the reality of Judgment Day and the consistent teaching to love others well. We'll tie all this together and focus on the essentials of the Gospel. I'm not going to preach on the law as I mentioned last week, I've switched direction.

Gospel Flow

April 10, 2016: He Stands Alone

Luke Series

Text: Luke 9:28-36

This is the Mount of Transfiguration. Moses (law) and Elijah (prophets) appear with Jesus, glorified. Peter offers the usual discombobulated babble you would expect from him. Soon enough though, the two disappear and only Jesus remains. As great as the law and the prophets stood in the minds of the disciples, they fade away before the power and presence of Jesus Christ. This will lead into a sermon next Sunday on the purpose and role of the law in the life of the believer today.

He Stands Alone