Showing posts with label Luke. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Luke. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Merry Christmas

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 1And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 1And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Luke 2:1-20

Merry Christmas from The Christian Journey

Friday, December 12, 2008

A Tale Of Two Sons

OK I know, I just posted a sermon two days ago, but I still haven't written anything new and this sermon was too good to not share. I do have a few things that I am working on, and I will post the next letter to the seven churches - the letter to Laodicea - this weekend.

In the mean time take an hour and listen to John MacArthur explain the parable of the prodigal son in a way that you have probably never heard it explained before. You will come away with a deeper appreciation for the love of God and a fuller understanding of what it means that God has lavished His grace on us.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Declare What God Has Done

"Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you."
Luke 8:39a
In Luke chapter eight we read the story of a demon possessed man who was healed by Jesus. The demons have been cast out of him, and in verse 35 we see the man who just a few verses before was naked and living among the tombs now sitting at Jesus' feet and in his right mind. The people of the region are terrified and they ask Jesus to depart (which is the reaction people have when they are confronted with the holiness of God) and this formerly demon possessed man begged Jesus to let him go with Him. But Jesus sent him back to his home to proclaim what God had done for him.

This is a pretty interesting story, and one I'm sure that we have all heard many times before, but have you ever stopped long enough to think about what Jesus told this man to do and about the implications that this has for us? Every Christian, myself included, would love nothing more than to spend our whole lives with Jesus away from the day to day routine of our lives. How wonderful it would be just to spend all day at His feet in fellowship and learning directly from Him. But that is not why Jesus saved us. Sure, there will be times when we get to come alone and be with Jesus where we can pray and read His word, but that is not what we were saved for; we were saved so that we could go back to our homes, to our families, to our friends, to our coworkers, and tell them what God has done for us.

This is what the formerly demon possessed man in Luke chapter eight did; look at what the end of verse 39 says:
And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
Luke 8:39b
So how are you doing? Are you proclaiming to all those around you how much Jesus has done for you? If not, why not, this is what Jesus has commanded us to do.