In Luke 16, Jesus addresses material wealth and kingdom priorities, subtly illustrating for us the true heart condition of the unrepentant. After telling the parable of the dishonest manager, Jesus speaks to the Pharisees—”who were lovers of money” (Luke 16:14)—in order to tell them another parable. While this story, the parable of the rich man […]
In preparing the way for the Messiah, John the Baptist made known that God’s judgment on the unrepentant was imminent. He had proclaimed: “His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” (Luke 3:17). Yet when Jesus finally came, he came […]
The healing of the centurion’s servant—like the many other miracle accounts in the Gospels—is often understood to be highlighting the faith or belief of the centurion. Indeed, he is an admirable character, one to whom Jesus marvels and says, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith” (Luke 7:9). However, while his posture […]
Following John’s preaching of the soon-coming Messiah, “the next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world'” (John 1:29)! Yet Jesus came that day to be baptized himself by John and demonstrate the perfect obedience by which he would fulfill all righteousness. As he […]
Unique to Luke’s Gospel is the mention of two characters who play a small but profound role in the events surrounding Jesus’ birth. These two saints, Simeon and Anna, had been faithfully committed to serving and worshiping God. They knew that God had promised a Messiah who would come to save and restore his people and […]
There are many misconceptions and doubts about the events behind our Christmas celebration. When was Jesus actually born? Was he really virgin conceived and born? Did he really exist? Before looking at what Jesus did for us, the ultimate purpose for His coming, Pastor Dave briefly walks through some popular Christmas doubts and shows, from Scripture […]
