“Pray Boldly”Luke 11:5October 4, 2026 We have seen how prayer is a central theme in Luke’s gospel — he talks about prayer and shows Jesus in prayer more than any other gospel writer: Jesus prayed at His baptism (3:21) While the crowds pressed in on Him, He would often slip away to pray (5:16) Before […]
Read More Pray Boldly“Lead Us Not Into Temptation”Luke 11:4bSeptember 27, 2026 Some 2500 years ago, perhaps as early as 700 BC, in order to protect themselves, the feudal states of China began to build protective walls to guard against invaders. When the 1500-year-project was completed, those walls were joined to form the massive Great Wall around China. The […]
Read More “Lead Us Not Into Temptation”“Forgive Us Our Sins”Luke 11:4September 20, 2026 There are many truths that distinguish Christianity from the religions of the world: The tri-unity of God The union of God and man in the person of Christ — the eternal God-Man The humility of Christ in coming to earth and going to the cross The resurrection Salvation […]
Read More “Forgive Us Our Sins”“Give Us Our Daily Bread”Luke 11:3August 23, 2026 One blistering hot day when they had guests for dinner, a mother asked her four-year old to give thanks for the meal. “But Mom, I don’t know what to say,” he protested. “Oh, just say what you’ve heard me say,” she told him. Obediently, he bowed his […]
Read More “Give Us Our Daily Bread”“Your Kingdom Come”Luke 11:2bAugust 16, 2026 The coming of the King and the Kingdom of God are persistent themes in Scripture. Both the OT and NT are filled with verses that anticipate a coming King: Dt. 18:15 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your […]
Read More “Your Kingdom Come”“Hallowed Be Your Name”Luke 11:2August 9, 2026 G.K. Chesterton said about the spiritual life, “The spiritual life has not been tried and found difficult; it has been found difficult and left untried.” In that statement he is inferring something important about the spiritual life — it is simple, but hard. The spiritual life is not […]
Read More “Hallowed Be Your Name”“Father…”Luke 11:1-2July 26, 2026 Some questions as we begin this morning: How many times did you pray last week — prayers at meals, at your children’s bedsides, with a co-worker, while you were driving, on your knees in the morning, with your disciple/friend…? How many times do you suppose you prayed last year? In your […]
Read More “Father…”“Love, Service, and Priorities”Luke 10:38-42July 12, 2026 “Management theorist Russell Ackoff used to say that many of our problems are the result of being efficient at the wrong things. In one interview, he said, ‘The curious thing is the righter you do the wrong thing the wronger you become. If you’re doing the wrong thing […]
Read More Love, Service, and Priorities“Love Your Neighbor”Luke 10:29-37June 28, 2026 Rosaria Butterfield asks the question, “Christians have a powerful history of building schools and hospitals, of showing up during natural disasters to offer water and food and shelter and medicine. We have that history. But do we have the daily witness of Christian neighboring?” [my emphasis] It’s tempting to […]
Read More Love Your Neighbor“Two Imperatives for Effective Fathering”Luke 10:25-29June 21, 2026 John G. Paton was a missionary to the New Hebrides in the mid-1800s. One of the greatest influences in his life was his father who after almost every meal would go to a “closet” where he would pray — “Though everything else in religion were by some […]
Read More Two Imperatives for Effective Fathering“Joy in Serving Christ”Luke 10:17-24May 24, 2026 What gives you joy? What stimulates you to be happy? When the children and grandchildren come over for the weekend. Enough rain and not too much sun (heat) in August to keep your yard alive. All green lights on 377 on your morning commute. One more diet coke […]
Read More Joy in Serving Christ“Sent with the Gospel”Luke 10:1-16May 17, 2026 In 1786 a man named William was ordained for the pastorate and sent to a small church in the town of Moulton, England. Both he and the church were very poor, and it took three jobs for William to support his family: pastor, cobbler, and village teacher. In […]
Read More Sent with the Gospel“How to Be an Almost Follower of Christ”Luke 9:57-62May 10, 2026 There is a kind of follower of Christ who is not a follower of Christ. Consider the crowds that followed Jesus; on one occasion, after He taught of the necessity of believing solely in Him and the Spirit’s role in bringing them to faith […]
Read More How to Be an Almost Follower of Christ“Our Savior, the Son of Man”Luke 1-9 SummaryMarch 29, 2026 When you think about Christ, how do you characterize Him? What is He like? What does He do? How is He different from everyone else that has walked on earth so that we should believe in and follow Him? John Newton said that Christ is […]
Read More Our Savior, the Son of Man“The Great God and Our Quest for Greatness”Luke 9:46-50March 22, 2026 It’s hard to be humble. Pride may show up at the most unexpected times and unexpected places. Consider the story of William Masvinu and Mison Sere. For three years (2012-14) William won Zimbabwe’s annual “Mister Ugly” contest. But in 2015 he lost the title […]
Read More The Great God and Our Quest for Greatness
