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When we tire of prayer
“You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” (Luke 9:41, NIV)
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The temptation to avoid and the invitation to grasp
The temptation to avoid: The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it…
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The Pressing IN of Faith
The gospel for reading this morning was Luke 8:40ff. There are two people pressing in: Jairus (for his daughter) and the woman with the bleeding problem. Both needed to press in hard. Jairus comes and gets Jesus, but when word comes that his daughter is dead, the common sense thing would be to forget about it. Just go home. Bury…
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The Focus of Prayer
I am beginning to teach a series on prayer at our church. The text for Sunday is from Luke 10 and 11. In Luke 10 we have the story of Mary and Martha. Mary sat at the feet of Jesus. Martha was busy with serving. Prayer is a powerful reminder to make sure you keep the main thing the main…
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Jesus Invites Change… Without Asking
Making my way through the Gospel of Luke this week, and reflecting on other passages in other gospels, I find something interesting. In Luke 19 Zacchaeus is a tax collector wanting to see Jesus. He pays to get the skybox view (which are the better seats at a baseball field, I’m told) and looks for Jesus. As Jesus passes by,…
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Are You Ready for the Invitation?
In Luke 14 someone declares to Jesus, “Happy are those who will feast in God’s kingdom!” Jesus’ illustration that follows gives a chilling thought: Not all will feast. Some will just refuse. They are invited. The invitations are given without hiding anything. The invitations are given ahead of time. But people find all kinds of excuses not to come. Those…
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Make His Paths Straight
We are on a journey in our church. This week starts our summer reading. We want to go all the way through the New Testament. This week’s reading is the Gospel of Luke. All of it. The challenge before us is to prepare the way of the Lord. WE need to be prepared. We need to make the way expedient…
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Luke and the Holistic Gospel
One of the strings of conversation I ran into on a Facebook group site that consists of members of my denomination was the thought that Luke’s portrayal of the Spirit was something more than just simply “spiritual.” It was more than signs and wonders. It was also about the whole person. This, of course, raised the ire of a few…
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Treasuring Jesus is Found in SERVING Him
There are precious promises Jesus gives to those who follow him. Luke 12 has some of the kindest words I could read: 32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:32, NIV) These are words that should take our breath away. Our Father is pleased to give us the…
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Do You Want the Kingdom or Not?
15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feastin the kingdom of God.” 16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for…
Tag: Luke
