Luke pays close
attention to all the times Jesus goes off to pray, and he pays particular
attention to a time when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray in
Luke Chapter 11:1-13. Here, Jesus gave them the Lord’s prayer (a
truncated version from what we see in Matthew) and also taught them about the
purpose of prayer in the subsequence verses. Julie Street guest teaches on this powerful topic.
Sunday, March 28, 2021
Sunday, March 21, 2021
Luke: The Better Part (Chris)
Chapter 10 in Luke's Gospel contains two
well-known passages: the Parable of the Good Samaritan and the story of Martha
and Mary. This week's lesson addresses fundamental questions of faith
raised by these stories. How can we overcome all of the difficulties,
distractions, and dangers of earthly life to rest securely in the peace and
blessing of God? Is it enough to be a "nice person," or is
there something even more basic and more important at the heart of discipleship
in Christ? There is "Good News" in this message. God
wants us to live unburdened and fulfilled, and Jesus teaches us how to do so.
Sunday, March 14, 2021
Luke: To Jerusalem (Chris)
Chapter 9 of Luke's
Gospel is pivotal in the story of Jesus Christ and his earthly ministry.
The key verse (51) is: "When the days drew near for him to be taken
up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem." This week, we will explore
the transition towards the fulfillment of Jesus' purpose and the significance
of this seemingly simple statement. What did "Jerusalem" mean
to Jesus and to his followers? What should it mean to us? What are
our priorities as Disciples of Christ? Where does this road of life we
are traveling lead? How are we called to follow our Lord and Savior now
and in the days to come?
Sunday, February 21, 2021
Luke: Who do you say Jesus is? (Randy)
When John the Baptist
was in prison facing certain death, he began to have doubts about Jesus. Was he
really the Messiah? If so, why wasn’t he doing anything to restore
Israel? Where was the promised judgement? And by the way, why hadn’t he
gotten me out of jail yet?! We share John’s doubts and ask similar
questions, but Jesus wanted to John – and us – to know that God doesn’t operate
the way we think. Through Luke’s gospel (7:18-35), we will explore how
Jesus answered John and use that example to understand who he really is.
We’ll conclude by asking ourselves the same question: Who do you say Jesus is?
Sunday, February 14, 2021
Luke: The Power of Christ (Chris)
Jesus performs many miracles in Luke's Gospel.
These are acts of compassion, but they are much more than good deeds.
Jesus demonstrates for his followers and for us the difference between
God's power and worldly power and ultimately God's values versus worldly values.
The world breaks us down but God lifts us up. The world is selfish but
God is loving and kind. The ways of the world lead inevitably to death
but the ways of God in Christ lead to eternal life. We will explore
miracles this week and will celebrate the Good News they offer us as followers
of Jesus.
Sunday, February 7, 2021
Luke: Hope for Healing (Randy)
We tend to have a somewhat transactional relationship with
God, but Luke wants us to know that Jesus wants so much more from us. He wants our heart. While fear keeps us from Jesus, he wants us
to approach him so he can help us. In
this lesson, we examine four stories from Luke 8:22-56 that show us how Jesus
drives out our fears so he can give us peace, heal our bodies, and guarantee us
everlasting life.
Sunday, January 31, 2021
Luke: Following Christ (Chris)
Jesus came to save and ultimately to rule the world.
He is the King of kings, yet he was born in poverty and obscurity.
He was empowered to overcome physical limits in service to God, yet he
humbled himself by refusing supernatural powers when it came to his own comfort
or prestige. When he chose his friends and followers, he largely ignored
the wealthy and powerful. Instead he selected those who were on the margins
of society but willing to be faithful. This week's lesson focuses on that
group of disciples. We will explore Luke 5:1-11 and 27-32, Luke 6:12-16,
Luke 7:1-10 and 18-23, Luke 8:1-3 and 19-21, and Luke 9:1-6. The
questions to explore are: why did Christ select these "ordinary"
people, and how can we be like them in our own lives?
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