The beginning of Jesus’ public ministry is told through the backstory, heralding, and arrival of God’s salvation, a salvation be better be ready for.
A Prophet Is Born: Luke 1:57-80
The birth of a prophet, John the Baptist, points us to some good news that consists in three reported facts.
Announcements: Luke 1:5-56
The beginning of Luke’s narrative points to three ways the message of Christianity flips the script on the message of culture.
An Orderly Account: Luke 1:1-4
The introduction to the gospel of Luke is sneakily important. Here we discover that a Greek physician named Luke has done the work of a lay historian. He lays out no less than 6 reasons why we can have confidence in the details of Jesus’ life and works.
Full Joy
In one of his final teachings to his disciples before going to the cross, Jesus speaks to them about their impending sorrow and how they can have full, everlasting joy that cannot be taken away.
Episode VII: God vs. the Nations
Countless self-help books—even so-called “Christian” ones—tout how to be successful, how to “win” at life. But in this passage, we find that the truly successful, winning Christian life is one that recognizes that it is wholly dependent on the power of God.
Episode VI: Judgement Begins with the House of God
Another unfortunate event in the life of Israel teaches us that, like them, we often encounter a holy God and attempt to domesticate him according to our personal preferences or, when all else fails, attempt to ignore him. Both impulses lead to disaster.
Power Prayer
Sometimes we feel like our prayers go unanswered. But in this passage, we are resented with a prayer so in sync with God’s will that it is always answered. It’s a prayer that teaches us that for spiritual maturity we must rely on God and that he will bring it about because it brings him glory.
Our preacher this Sunday was Andrew Bryant, one of the deacons at Gateway Downtown.
Episode V: God Among Gods
Continuing in a series on 1 Samuel 1-7, we take a look at a fascinating tale of what happens when a pagan people think they can domesticate Yahweh. An important lesson for God’s people: God doesn’t need us to fight his battles.
Episode IV: The Fall of the House of Eli
1 Samuel 4:1b-22, we have one of the greatest tragedies in the entire biblical storyline: The Israelites lose the ark of the covenant, the most holy and precious treasure in the nation, to the Philistines. How could this happen? Quite simply, God left Israel because Israel had left God.