Luke
New Age Spirituality
Once in a while, something new comes along that changes everything. Pastor Mike shows us from Luke 5:33-6:11 that Jesus has brought a new age with a new way of life. Jesus brings about this new age because he’s the greatest joy, he’s the highest lord, and he’s the lawful savior.
Fishing for Bottom Feeders
Last week, we heard that Jesus saves people through his people. This week, we’ll look to answer the question, “what kind of people will Jesus save?”. It may not be who you think! Pastor Mike preaches from Luke 5:12-32 that Jesus is willing and able to bring the outcasts back to God. He is willing and able to cleanse the unclean, he is willing and able to forgive sin, and he is willing and able to call the sinners.
The Fisher of Men
In this sermon, we’ll see not just that Jesus will save people, but that Jesus will save people through his people. To see that, Pastor Mike walks through Luke 5:11 in four parts: His power, his peoples’ response, the mission he gives his people, and then once again his peoples’ response.
That Word Above All Earthly Powers
Every good organization has a mission statement. So, does Jesus have one? Today, we’ll learn about Jesus’ mission statement: Jesus went public to preach the good news of the kingdom of God. We’ll see in this passage the good news announced, the good news rejected, the good news displayed, and finally, the good news exported.
Victory in Jesus
This week, Pastor Harry Fujiwara joins us from The First Baptist Church in the City of New York to preach God’s Word. From Luke 4:1-13, we’ll see that Jesus is the true, perfect, obedient Son of God.
Identity Statement
A book we like to give away at our church is titled, Who is Jesus?. Our answer to that question will determine what we do with the rest of our lives. If Jesus wasn’t who he said he was, he can be relegated to the realm of history. But if he really is who he says he is, it changes everything. Pastor Mike argues from Luke 3:21-38 that Jesus is the ultimate Son of God. He was anointed with God’s Spirit, he was declared to be God’s Son, and he was like God’s first son.
The Necessity of Repentance
Terminology, accents, sports teams—these things characterize true Philadelphians. What characterizes true Christians, though? Who are God’s people, really? We’ll see from Luke 3:1-20 that God’s people are repentant people. God’s people are not characterized by terminology, accents, or sports teams. God’s people are characterized by repentance. And we’ll see that in this passage as we see that repentant people are ready, repentant people are fruitful, Jesus will only save repentant people, and unrepentance only gets worse.
Who’s Your Daddy?
Where does your ultimate allegiance lie? We’ll see from Luke 2:41-52 that Jesus’ ultimate allegiance is to his Father. In fact, Jesus has a relationship with his Father like no other. It gives him a wisdom like no other, it gives him a mission like no other, and it doesn’t exempt him from the humanity common to others.
The Long-Expected Jesus
The Gospel of Luke does not end with the Christmas story! Even as the cold, dark, post-holiday period of winter sets in for us, the joy of the coming of Jesus remains. In fact, we’ll see from Luke 2:22-40 that Jesus is the joy of every longing heart. He consoles the longing heart, he reveals the longings of the heart, and he redeems the longing heart.
Unto Us
Why do Christians celebrate with such joy at Christmas time? Because God has sent us the savior we need.
What Child is This?
The classic Christmas carol “What Child is This?” is about the birth of Jesus. But this week, we’ll see that many Israelites in Luke ask “what then will this child be?” of another miraculous child, John, and see how his birth is related to the coming of Jesus. With John’s birth, the time of mercy has come. We’ll see that God’s promise to John’s parents has come, God’s covenant fulfillment has come, and God’s preparing prophet has come.
Right Side Up
What does it look like to be “great”? How does someone get to be “great”? Is it even something that we should want? This week, Pastor Mike teaches us that God has made his people great through the greatness of Jesus. We’ll see that Jesus is great, Jesus is the greatest, and Jesus has made the lowly great.