Sermons on Luke
Celebrating Christmas Well
Luke 2:1-12
Merry Christmas! The day is finally here to celebrate our Lord and Savior’s birth! The waiting is over and we can celebrate! But, will we celebrate well? To answer that question, it seems to me that if we explore all the characters on the guest list for that first Christmas, it will help us determine if we will celebrate Christmas well. Join us this Sunday at 10:00 for a time of singing Christmas carols and walking through the Who’s Who of the Christmas story.
A Good Meal Gone Bad
Luke 10:38-42
How Jesus calls us to allow him to minister to us, to be in a position of replenishing our souls. Mary and Martha. Will close as helping people to see this as an invitation from the Lord, not a slap on the hand.
Good News that Stays NEW and GOOD!
Luke 1-2
What do you think of when you think of “good news”? Have you ever wished for the good news of a new start in life, where you could push a reset button and do a clean install? At critical times in Israel’s history, when their world grew oppressive and morally dark, God intervened to subvert the existing order and granted his people a new beginning, a fresh start. But sadly, it never lasted. Luke’s magnificent opening to his gospel (120 verses) gives us a clue that this new beginning will set the stage for the grand climax to Israel’s history and with it, the salvation of the whole world. This will be history’s last new beginning. It is good news that remains forever new and good!
The Prodigal Father
Luke 15:11-32
“There was a man who had two sons…” This is the opening line of what some have called the greatest short story ever written. In it, Jesus describes God as a Father like never before. Our internal picture of God as Father can be shaped and affected by so many different experiences in our lives, but Scripture and Scripture alone should paint that portrait. This Sunday, we’ll listen as Jesus, the One who knows the Father better than anyone else, describes God as a Father. We’ll meet the Father as He wants to be known, the Father as He truly is, and we’ll seek to answer the question: Is this the Father I know?
A Whole New World
Luke 24:13-35
He has risen! … He has risen indeed! Just like that song in Disney’s Aladdin, when Jesus rose from the dead, he ushered in “A Whole New World.” As we explore the Emmaus Road scene for Easter this Sunday, we will reflect upon the characteristics of this whole new world that Jesus has brought with his resurrection. Note that this Sunday will be a communion Sunday, and as is PBCC tradition, we will have testimonies from our body at the end of each service.
Blessed are the Pure in Heart: Simeon and Anna
Matthew 5:8, Luke 2:22-40
This Sunday is our last Sunday of Advent, the last Sunday before Christmas! Advent is a time of waiting, of longing, of hoping. What do you find yourself longing for this week before Christmas? Perhaps it is gifts? Perhaps it is a vaccine? Perhaps it is a return to the ordinary? Whatever it is, we all know that waiting is difficult. Especially in a culture expecting instant gratification, waiting is not fun. In our text this week, we meet Simeon and Anna who are waiting, waiting for God to bring salvation and redemption. But, more importantly, these two characters, who demonstrate a purity of heart, show us how to wait well. Are you waiting well this Advent season?
Blessed are Those who Hunger and Thirst: The Shepherds and The Magi
Luke 2:8-20, Matthew 2: 1-12
During the Christmas season, I look forward to singing Christmas carols, giving and receiving gifts, and lots of food in a large family gathering! This year, however, Christmas will look very different for many of us. Perhaps this will cause us to re-examine what we really hunger for during this season. Christmas is, after all, a celebration of our Lord Jesus Christ, and what better time than now to focus on Him, encountering Jesus in a special way in our prayers, devotions, and activities?
This Sunday, we are going to meet two groups of people that truly encountered Christ on Christmas. These people sought for Jesus purposefully and with excitement because they were hungry and thirsty for the right thing – a genuine relationship with God. They were transformed by the encounter and were filled with great joy. This Sunday, we’ll visit the story of the shepherds and the Magi on their journey of faith to meet Jesus. See you then!
Blessed are the Meek: Joseph and Mary
Luke 1:26-55; Matthew 2
This Sunday we will continue our advent series focusing on four pairs of people in the infancy narratives of Matthew and Luke. While our world continues to fixate our attention on the rich and powerful, the focus of God’s kingdom is upon the poor and the marginalized, who through their suffering have become humble and hopeful, waiting for the kingdom of God.
Last week Bernard spoke on Zechariah and Elizabeth, who received the news from the angel Gabriel that they would bear a son even in their old age. This week Gabriel is sent to Mary and Joseph with even more remarkable news, but it comes with a price few would be willing to pay. Will they hesitate, waver, or ask for sign like Zechariah? Though you already know the answer, their obedience is designed to galvanize our faith and draw us into the wonder of Christ being formed in us.
Extravagant Love
Luke 15
This Sunday we will bring our summer series on the Parables to a close with the familiar story of two sons and their father. Jesus adds unexpected twists to the story of this usual Jewish home, leaving those of us with eyes to see and ears to hear quite unsettled. Join us this Sunday as we explore the extravagant love of a father for both of his sons: one, a wayward sinner, the other, a self-declared hard-working… slave. Pray that the Spirit will use this well-known story to open your eyes and ears in unexpected ways to the extravagance of God’s love for you… and for those around you!!
Extravagant Mercy
Luke 18:9-14
“Two men walked into a church…” This is the case in this week’s parable. One man will look at the other and see a joke of a man. The other, looking in the mirror, would agree. He had nothing to bring into the house of God that would be of any value. So, that’s what he brings…nothing! And the joke ends up being on the first guy! He gets rejected and the joke of a man is accepted! The lenses God uses to read the applications and resumes of humans for entry into His Kingdom is vastly different than the lenses used on us as we apply for schools and jobs. Come this Sunday as we will celebrate that the resume God receives and stamps-“righteous”- is the one from the person who recognizes his or her own sinfulness!
A Faith That Prays
Luke 18:1-8 “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Our parable this week ends with this question. The first part is a guarantee: Jesus will return. The second, “will he find faith on earth,” is not a guarantee. This is intended to make Jesus’ first hearers, and us today, Luke’s readers, feel a bit unsettled. This Sunday we will follow Jesus in the telling of a usual story of a widow and a judge, through the unexpected twist and turns between the two, ultimately being left with the unsettling question: “will he find faith on earth.” What is potentially more unsettling? Jesus is wondering if he will find those whose faith is characterized by persistent prayer. Be praying now that the Lord will give you eyes to see and ears to hear how the Lord wants to draw you nearer to him in your faith as one who prays!
And Heaven and Nature Sing
Luke 2:1-20 On this fourth Sunday of Advent, Christmas Day, we hear the voice of the angel announcing to the shepherds, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people” (Luke 2:10-11). At critical times in Israel’s history when their world grew oppressive and morally dark, God intervened to subvert the existing order announcing “good news” of a new beginning, a fresh start, often through a deliverer who would be born to a barren woman. Yet, despite God’s faithfulness, giving Israel a fresh start again and again, it never lasted. There was always an ominous crack in the foundation of the new order, a fatal character flaw in the human instruments. Why should we expect this “good news” to be any different? How can we be sure it will last? What clues does Luke give us that this will be history’s last new beginning upon which everything else will be built, a beginning that evokes everlasting praise from every creature and all of creation? Join us Christmas Day to receive God’s gift and when you open it, “heaven and nature sing!”