Luke

Unrighteous Righteousness

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Luke 18:9-14 – In The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, Jesus contrasted one who thought he was righteous and another who knew he was not. If we believe our works to be righteous, we reveal our hearts to be unrighteous.

Fighting Temptation

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Each of us experiences temptation throughout our lives. We have an intentional enemy who knows where, when, and how to attack us in vulnerable areas of weakness. Ignoring his tactics will not make you impervious to personal setbacks.

The Opportune Time

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Luke 4:1-13 – Satan tempted Jesus when He was isolated and weakened. When temptation comes to us at opportune times for failure, we must stay connected to Jesus.

The Danger of Entitlement

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Luke 17:7-10 – Jesus taught that those who serve God should not become entitled. Even if we do all God commands of us, we are still unworthy servants who should still be amazed to belong to Him.

The Irony of Religious Resentment

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Luke 15:11-32 – In The Parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus showed the grave mishandling of the religious community to those whose lives were being changed. We cannot confuse our relationship with the Father as something we deserve.

Parables [Series Overview]

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Parables were Jesus’ Kingdom truths contained in memorable stories. His paradigm-shifting call within them is just as radical for us today. As we study these stories, they are guaranteed to alter our own.

The Programmatic Early Church

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Ministry often happens by unexpected opportunities, but they are often crafted and even encouraged by intentional gatherings. Programs aren’t evil. They are even somewhat necessary.

Drop the Blanket

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Fearful people often have something that helps ground them when life gets challenging or anxious. For Linus, it really is a security blanket. So what causes him to drop his should encourage us to drop ours as well.

How Should We Interpret the Gospels?

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The four Gospels all tell the story of Jesus but are delivered to different audiences from different perspectives. To understand the truth contained fully within them, we must understand the context in which they were written.

The Dailiness of Devotion

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Luke 5:15-16 – You will not grow closer to Christ by accident. Our spiritual conditions are contingent upon the intentional disciplines to withdraw from distractions and engage with devotions.

The Danger of Distraction

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Luke 10:38-42 – We often find ourselves distracted by so much that we miss the most important things. If you feel too overwhelmed with distractions, you must evaluate and alter your habits to experience the life Jesus intends for you.

Approachable Attitudes

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Those who lead in the church should always strive to portray approachable attitudes as they serve the people walking through the door. People need help, and it would help if they believed you actually want to help them.

Hopeful Hospitality at Church

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Christians should know better than anybody that no one is too far gone. We serve a God who has done the impossible time and time again. So when people come to church in dire situations, do you still believe that there is hope?

The Resurrection of Jesus: Luke 24

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This video concludes Luke’s epic portrait of Jesus of Nazareth. The disciples discover the empty tomb and eventually have their entire view of the world turned upside-down as they meet the risen Jesus. Luke shows how Jesus’ kingdom of God mission comes to its climactic moment, and he sets the stage for its continuation in Luke’s second volume, Acts.

Studying the Bible Isn’t Enough

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You can listen to the greatest sermons, hear the greatest teachers, read the greatest books, and subscribe to all the greatest posts, but you aren’t actually destined to grow in Christ. Studying the Bible isn’t enough. It’s time to go the second mile in working toward biblical application over information.

Two Sides of the Cross

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On the cross, Jesus was surrounded by two other men – one desired release and the other redemption. Did you become a Christian to escape consequences or to embrace Christ?

Distinctly Guided

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To follow Jesus, you must know what direction He is taking. We are truly guided by God when we study the truth of God’s Word.

The Strategy of Generosity

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To be generous entails more than giving an amount; it requires possessing an attitude. Learn how to be wise with what you give and how you give it.

Christmas Eve at Home

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When Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary desired to perform what was required of them, but they didn’t have enough resources. Even though they couldn’t do what they should, they committed to do what they could.

The Birth of Jesus

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Prepare your heart for Christmas. Check out this helpful video by the Bible Project that will help you and your family visualize the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke.

Making a Spiritual Growth Plan for 2021

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You will not grow by accident. To have the blessed life that Jesus spoke about in the Sermon on the Mount, we must follow Him on the path of discipleship. We must keep growing.

Committed Yet Disconnected

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As Jesus’ ministry grew, His circle of friends grew as well. While He called out 12 disciples to specific service, there was a growing number of disciples as well who were not counted within that initial group. Some of His nearest disciples proved to be two sisters named Martha and Mary. Jesus resurrected their brother, Lazarus, from the grave. When …

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Disciples

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Jesus’ calling of the disciples displayed the attribute of grace. When you look at this unique group of men he chose, there isn’t anything special about them. They weren’t obvious choices, and yet, they were Jesus’ choices. Due to that reason, they would develop into what Christ had called them to be. DOWNLOAD HANDOUT – 09 – Disciples Video Audio …

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Making Time to Meet with God

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Do you have an adequate margin to meet with God regularly? Your most important appointment of the day is making time to meet with God. Years ago, someone coined the phrase “quiet time.” Many people rightfully highlighted the need for this daily encounter in the Word and prayer. In addition to considering a quiet time, you also need to ensure …

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Incarnation

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The New Testament begins with the incarnation of Jesus Christ. God came in the flesh to rescue us. Video Audio Notes Download Handout – 06 – Incarnation Incarnate comes from Latin and means “in the flesh” (in – in, carnis – flesh). Prophecy Jeremiah 23:5 – Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for …

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The 4 Gospels

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As we study the New Testament, we must unpack the reasoning, audience, and direction of the 4 Gospels. Download Handout – 05 – The 4 Gospels Video Audio

The Timeline of Holy Week

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Maybe you know about Jesus, but have you ever studied what the Bible says about the week leading up to his death and resurrection? Holy Week is remembered as the days when Jesus changed the world. Spanning from Palm Sunday to Resurrection Sunday, here are the events and passages describing the days leading up to Jesus’ death and the moments …

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Two Sides of the Cross

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Preached on August 26, 2016 at North Greenville University for the Ignite 2016 Conference. Text is Luke 23:39-43. Main Points Avoiding hell is not the same thing as desiring heaven. Our churches market a better life and label it the gospel. If the residents of hell believe in God and shudder, than mere intellectual ascent is incapable to grant heavenly …

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Share It

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The “Share It” sermon was the final day’s theme for Fuge 2016 “Unashamed” series. I preached from Luke 9:57-62 regarding the excuses used to delay in following Jesus. I believe we use the same ones today.  I pray this short sermon can be an encouragement to you! Audio Main Points Three things that will hold you back from following Jesus: comfort, …

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The Kind of Father Who Runs

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We tend to imagine God to be as petty as we are. Assuming he holds grudges due to previous mistakes, sometimes our prayers are stifled because we believe he doesn’t want to hear from us. While our Father is diligent to discipline us, he is also eager to pardon us.  He loves to show compassion to his children. Do you …

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Teach Us to Pray

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What would our lives be like if we truly believed in the power of prayer?  Think about Jesus’s example for a moment. Yet He often withdrew to deserted places and prayed.  -Luke 5:16 The gospels are full of evidences of Jesus praying. Jesus prayed alone (Matt. 14:23; Mark 1:35; Luke 9:18; 22:39-41) Jesus prayed in public (John 11:41-42, 12:27-30) Jesus prayed …

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God Doesn’t Owe Me Anything

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The sense of entitlement is crippling our culture and stifling our churches.  We can reach a truly freeing place when we accept that God doesn’t owe us anything. [This sermon is in a series of messages I make available for a traveling college team.]

Why Are There 4 Gospels?

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The New Testament begins with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These four books, commonly called “the Gospels” serve as biographies on the life and ministry of Jesus. In New Testament study, the word “gospel” is used frequently. It means “good news.” When speaking of the message of the gospel, it will most often be written with a lowercase “g.” When …

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How to Accept Prodigal Children (Without Enabling Them)

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“Rebellious children can break the hearts of their parents…But when they wake up and turn back, your love needs to be standing at the door with arms wide open.”  –The Love Dare for Parents, Day 36 You might know the story of the prodigal son.  The son that wanted his inheritance before it was time.  He wasted it all on …

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The Prodigal’s Father

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A look at the prodigal son reminds us of the perfect example of a father who loved both his children – when one was faithful and when one was unfaithful.  This picture of grace will help parents teach their children that, even when the day comes when they don’t live in our house, our children are never too far away …

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The Stewardship of the Church

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As we continue through our “Church Matters” series, we come to week 8 – “The Stewardship of the Church.”  As far as the planning of the service goes, we focused on finding our satisfaction in God and not in our stuff.  The worship time was intended to lead people to realize that all of our contentment can be found in our relationship with God.

Jeff’s message was so legit.  I loved how he started it sharing how oftentimes money sermons go in a church and how he promised not to do that.  He said something to the tune of “I can preach on tithing here at this church or anywhere and the offering will go up for about 2 months and then go back to the regular amount…I’m just gonna be honest with you.  I refuse to preach the Word of God so that we will get more money.  My job as one of the pastors of this flock is not to get more money out of you but my job is to help you become greater worshipers of the Almighty.”  It was the best sermon I have ever heard on what stewardship truly is.

Today, we worshiped to:

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“It Is Written” – Storytellers

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There was an ironic joke that was shared concerning the song “It Is Written” from our “Knowing Jesus” project.  With all the songs complete and recorded, there was only song that had not yet been written.  It’s name?  “It Is Written.”

To say that this song barely made it on there is an understatement.

We wanted a song to focus on Jesus’ sinless perfection.  We wanted to tell the story of how Jesus stayed faithful during the temptation of Satan.  It needed to be a little eerie, but a lot triumphant.

And we could just not land on the song.

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“Wisdom & Stature” – Storytellers

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As we composed the music for “Knowing Jesus,” there were some time gaps that deserved a song, but you didn’t want to force lyrics upon the situation.  Some of the moments could be better suited instrumentally than trying to come up with forced lyrics.

One example is the time after Jesus’ birth until his entrance into ministry.  This time covers from an infant until he is 30 years old.  It’s a large gap of time.  It’s the biggest timeframe of his life, but there is little biblical material on the timeframe.  We know the magi came to visit, he stayed around in the temple as a young boy, and we are told that he grew in wisdom and stature.

That’s about it.

So, I asked our very own Eric Bryant if he had or could compose some finger-picking acoustic music that would sound like a boy growing into a man.

He said he’d work on it.

That’s why I love this team.

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“Gloria” – Storytellers

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Over Christmas, we led the song “Gloria” at North Side a few times.  This song is included on the “Knowing Jesus” project and covers the incarnation part of Jesus’ life.  It’s the Christmas song.  Jesus came to us.

Back at our songwriting day at our house last year, Strutton, Evan, Linda, and Nancy had a small session to work on this song.  They had gotten stumped on parts of the song, but they came before the larger group with a 4-part choral arrangement of simply singing the word “Gloria.”  While it wasn’t long in length, I absolutely loved the beauty of it and knew that would be the foundation of the song.  The main melody became the instrumental hook at the beginning and throughout the song, and it also was the bridge of the song.  The final sounded very much like what was sung in my living room.

The chorus was written on the plane while I was traveling to Africa.  I was reading Luke 2 and just heard this escalating line in my head: “Glory to God in the highest.”  I recorded it on my phone while my traveling companions were sleeping so I wouldn’t forget it.  When I returned to the States, I opened up Luke 2 again and simply began to sing.  The majority of the song could be sung straight out of the ESV Bible with little variation to that text.  Love it when the Word takes over.  The remainder of the song was written in about 15 minutes as the Word and the music just kinda collided together.

Since the song would be a turnaround from the dramatic opener, we needed something to grab attention at the beginning.

I never thought I would find the beginning of the song sitting with my wife in the doctor’s office.

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