Luke 12:1-12 – Don’t Be a Hypocrite

There is no reason to be a hypocrite.  That’s the overarching message of the first twelve verses of Luke 12.  Hypocrites are hypocrites because they care about themselves and the opinions of others more than they care about God, His love, or His judgment.  And while there are dire ramifications to this kind of duplicity […]

Luke 11:37-54 – An Awkward Lunch

This is the second awkward meal involving Jesus and a Pharisee that Luke records.  Before (7:36-50), the meal was dinner.  In this text, it’s lunch.  Regardless of the time of day, it’s pretty much a given that planning a get-together around food for Jesus and a Pharisee is not going to end well.  In both […]

Some Things to Think About in November 2024

American presidential elections are amazing, aren’t they?  They truly are unique in the world.  No other country on earth has election seasons that last as long, consume as much money, or dominate as much media as ours do.  Our campaigns last the better part of a year and seem to go on forever.  They divide […]

Luke 11:14-36 – Religion Spoils Everything

A merciful and miraculous act by Jesus causes the Jewish religious leaders to show the worst side of their unbelief.  What should be a cause for celebration instead triggers blasphemy and arrogant demands.  How Jesus answers these sinful reactions teaches us much about the evil of the human heart, the dangers of self-righteousness, the choice […]

Luke 11:1-13 – When We Pray

Luke does not record the Sermon on the Mount in its entirety as Matthew does.  He spreads the teaching throughout the book and highlights different teaching at different points.  In this passage, he records what Jesus says about prayer as found in Matthew 6, but takes a slightly different approach and adds to it a […]

Luke 10:1-24 – GO

In a replay of what He did with the twelve (Lk 9:1-6), Jesus sends out a large group of disciples to proclaim the kingdom of God.  He sends them to prepare the way for Him as He travels to Jerusalem.  In so doing, He teaches us that there is urgency in proclaiming the good news; […]

Luke 7:1-17 – A Centurion, a Widow, an Amazing Savior

Two amazing miracles.  Two demonstrations of Jesus’ sovereignty over creation.  Two signs of His divinity.  Two victories in His continuing war against a fallen world.  Two demonstrations of compassion and one amazing example of faith.  Luke begins this chapter with two scenes from Jesus’ life that show we serve an omnipotent and merciful Redeemer who […]