Your Fraternity of Hearers
As Christ modeled in his own life, we must highly value and consistently invest in friendships with those who continue to demonstrate their commitment to obeying God’s word.
Series: Luke
Verse by Verse
October 21, 2012
• Luke 1-24
Verse by verse exposition of the book of Luke
Confident in His Power to Sustain
Luke 8:22-25
Christ possesses all authority and all power over all things, yet for now, before he exercises that authority at the coming kingdom, we must learn to trust him implicitly amid a variety of troubles.
Confident in His Power to Protect
Luke 8:26-39
Extreme examples of demonization can provide us with insight into Satan’s agenda regarding our own lives, making us vigilant but always confident in Christ’s supreme power and authority.
Confident in His Power to Restore
Luke 8:40-56
We must be thankful to God for any relief he grants our ailing bodies, knowing that even when sickness and death prevail, our ultimate restoration is certain by faith in the omnipotent Christ.
When Our Preparation Isn't Enough
Luke 9:1-6
Christ will call us to positions and tasks for which we will feel inadequate, our job is to be faithful, trusting that he will supply all that is needed, bearing fruit through us in victories and setbacks.
When the World Doesn't Understand Us
Luke 9:7-9
We should expect ongoing confusion about the person and work of Christ – he has always been controversial because the truth demands that he be received as THE Prophet, Priest, and King.
When the Task Seems Impossible
Luke 9:10-17
We should learn from Christ’s compassion and selflessness, confident that he will provide what is needed when we sacrificially step up to face the challenges he providentially sets before us.
When There's Theological Confusion
Luke 9:18-20
We must seek to be confidently assured regarding the truth about Christ regardless of the perennial religious confusion in our world due to its sin and rebellion.
When Our Expectations Aren’t Met
Luke 9:21-22, 43-45
God is sovereign, always working out his good plans, in, through, and around our lives – our call is to trust him even when those plans surprise us with unexpected turns and painful experiences.
When Following Him is Painful
Luke 9:23-27
It is important that we anticipate the costs of following Christ in this world knowing that any sacrifice we make is not worth comparing to the benefits of salvation and eternal life in God’s kingdom.
When Your Focus is In Need of Adjustment
Luke 9:28-36
We must continually police our hearts to ensure that we are accurately worshiping the real Christ with a reverent urgency regarding our task to obey him and serve him in this world.
When Facing the Power of the Enemy
Luke 9:37-43a
We must tenaciously trust Christ in our trials, difficulties, and illnesses, especially knowing that we will be regularly attacked by the demonic enemies of Christ because of our association with him.
When You’re Feeling Competitive
Luke 9:46-50
God would not have us spend time or energy trying to rank ourselves or our church with others, knowing we are all recipients of grace and that Christ will equitably commend each of us one day.
When You’ve Been Rejected
Luke 9:51-56
We must be prepared to incur the kind of rejection Christ and the Apostles regularly encountered, knowing that it is not our job to retaliate but to seek peace and entrust ourselves to a just God.
I Can’t Lord, It Would be Too Painful
Luke 9:57-58
It is easy to fool ourselves (and others) with the words we use to express our loyalty to Christ, what matters is possessing a faith that expresses itself by a willingness to follow him despite the costs.
I Can't Lord, I Have to Put Family First
Luke 9:59-60
While our biological families can be a great blessing to our Christian life, we must be prepared because they can easily pose a challenge to us keeping Christ as the unrivaled Lord of our lives.
I Can't Lord, It Will Damage my Relationships
Luke 9:61-62
Following Christ requires clarity regarding who Jesus is and how his Lordship must not be supplanted by any earthly love or loyalty.
Learning to Care About God's Fields
Luke 10:1-2
Jesus points out a few obvious yet easily forgotten realities which should drive us back to the urgency and the gravity of the task of preparing people for the arrival of Christ and his kingdom.
Taking Risks to Reap for Christ
Luke 10:3-9
Sharing the gospel will feel risky; any pattern of evangelism must be accompanied by a sincere trust in God’s provision as we boldly speak up for Christ and the good news of his kingdom.
When Your Efforts Don't Yield Fruit
Luke 10:10-16
We need to be discerning in our evangelism, knowing when to move on and understand the gravity of the situation when we have to.
When You're the Farmer of the Year
Luke 10:17-24
We should be grateful for the foretaste of God’s power that is manifest through us in our evangelism that changes lives and toward us in our own salvation and personal transformation.
The Importance of Costly Cultivation
Luke 10:25-37
In our evangelism we must do the difficult and often uncomfortable work of exposing sin by presenting God’s holy laws in the context of expressing true compassion and sacrificial love.
Workers Who Keep First Things First
Luke 10:38-42
When we serve Christ in evangelism (or in anything) we must always see our service as personally offered to Christ and never allow it to become an end in itself.
The Importance of Prayer
Luke 11:1-2a
We must see our need to improve our praying and resolve to do so by learning from the pattern and teaching of the fruitful and godly people of the Bible.
Remembering Who We are Talking To
Luke 11:2b
Prayer must be governed and influenced by the mindful and accurate understanding that God is transcendent and perfectly righteous.
When Praying About Our Needs
Luke 11:2c-3
Our praying for everyday needs and desires must be thoughtfully governed by a sense of God’s eternal agenda, remembering that all good things come from his strong and compassionate hand.
The Prayer of a Righteous Person
Luke 11:4
We can pray the powerful prayers of a righteous person that are spoken of in James 5:16 when we are careful to sincerely confess our sins and wholehearted turn from them.
When to Stop Praying
Luke 11:5-10
We must remember that prayer is not an effort to overcome God’s unwillingness, but rather we pray persistently in faith to a good and generous God in hopes of advancing his good plans.
Asking with Confidence in a Good God
Luke 11:11-13
Regardless of the answers to our prayers we must remember that God is infinitely good and loving toward his redeemed people, and that above all we have the promise of his Spirit in our lives.
Cynicism
Luke 11:14-23
We must understand some of the motives of those who react cynically and skeptically to the gospel, responding to them with gentleness and respect but never devoid of urgency.