We call Jesus’ arrival to Jerusalem at the end of his earthly ministry the “Triumphal Entry.” And rightly so, for the scene was one of triumph. As Jesus approached the Holy City, he was met with the jubilant praises of the crowds. They laid down their cloaks on the road for a royal welcome, joyfully…
In Luke 16:14-18, a very brief section of teaching, Jesus addressed a difficult subject: the relationship between the law and the gospel in the salvation and life of the Christian. The better we understand his instruction on this, the greater love we’ll have both for God’s grace and for God’s commandments. In v. 16, Jesus…
Last Sunday I preached on Luke 16:1-13, the parable of the man known as the “dishonest manager” or the “unjust steward.” This passage has caused more than its share of head-scratching perplexity. For in it Jesus sets before us as an example worthy of emulation a man who is a scoundrel, a first-rate schemer and…
Jesus’ most famous parable, the Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32, is really a story about two sons, the younger and the older (v.11). The younger son had enough of life at home. He did the same dreary chores every day and saw the same old things every day. Worse, the rules and…
After Jesus declared to the multitudes the high cost of discipleship, that to “come after” him meant nothing less than hating one’s very life and bearing the cross, he said: “He who has ears to hear to hear, let him hear” (Luke 14:25-33). Soon after Luke tells that “the tax collectors and sinners were all…
Salvation is both free and costly. As a gift of God’s unmerited favor, redemption is wholly free. By no amount of good works or religious activity can we earn the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Salvation in Christ comes by faith alone, apart from human effort. “The free gift of God is eternal life…
“He’s the most humble man I’ve ever met.” A seminary classmate said this of a local pastor whom we both knew. I don’t know why, but her compliment always stuck with me. We all love to be praised and approved by others. And so we covet those qualities that – we think – will produce…
Some people have a one-track mind. That seems to be true of the man in the crowd who approached Jesus with this request for help: “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me” (Luke 12:13; my sermon text was vs. 13-21). Here Jesus was teaching the people his heavenly doctrine – “the words…
Someone once said, “The Christian faith is a personal matter, but not a private matter.” How true that is! A Christian’s belief in Christ is intensely personal – to be a Christian is to believe that the Son of God died for me, to take away my sins – but at the same time that…
Sunday worship Continuing our study of the Gospel of Luke, last Sunday I preached from Luke 8:26-39. In this passage Jesus casts out a legion of demons from a man on the western shores of the Sea of Galilee. In doing so, he permits the demons to enter into a herd of pigs, who immediately…