As if the events surrounding the outset of Jesus’ public ministry weren’t profound enough, Luke records yet another astonishing and pivotal moment in his gospel.  Having entered the local synagogue and read from the prophet Isaiah, Jesus rolls up the scroll and declares: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:20-21). He was humbly […]

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His Poverty, Our Reward (Luke 2:1-21)

The familiar story of Christ’s birth includes a variety of characters, from the powerful Caesar Augustus all the way down to the lowly shepherds. Most would think that the sending of God’s own Son into the world would take place in the most extravagant, influential, politically expedient, and visible way possible. Yet here we find Jesus, […]

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ECC in 2017 (Luke 1:1-4)

Luke’s Gospel was written so that we would know for certain all that was fulfilled by Jesus Christ in God’s great plan of redemption. He tells the story of the love and mercy of God in that “the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). As we preach through […]

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Luke and the Mission of God (Luke 24:44-47)

The Gospel of Luke invites everyone to place their faith in Jesus Christ, the King who defeated death with his love. Over and over again, Luke shows us that the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ, entrance into God’s kingdom, is an offer made to the entire world. But Luke doesn’t stop there. His […]

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Stand Firm in the Lord (Eph. 6:10-20)

As Paul begins to bring his epistle to a close, he exhorts the church to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” (Eph. 6:10). He masterfully weaves together the many themes present throughout the letter in order to encourage the saints to put on the gospel armor of God in its entirety, […]

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Walk Wisely (Eph. 5:15-17)

The Apostle Paul has already described our Christian walk as being one characterized by good works , full of the love of Christ, and luminous with the light of the glory of God; this is how we are to fulfill the command to walk worthy of our calling (Eph. 2:10; 4:1; 5:2; 5:8). Continuing this description, he now explains […]

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Walking in the Light (Eph. 5:6-14)

Having urged us to walk worthy of our calling, to put off the old man and put on the new, Paul now commands us to walk as children of light. For those who were once darkness but were now light and partakers of all the promises of Christ through the gospel, what fellowship can light have darkness? But not only has the […]

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Enthroned in Worlds Above (Ps. 110)

Of all the psalms in the Old Testament, it is Psalm 110 that is the most often quoted and alluded to by the authors of the New Testament. This enthronement psalm is centered on and fulfilled by Christ, who, having taken on the form of a servant and humbling himself to death on a cross, was […]

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The Fool’s Salvation (Ps. 14)

Psalm 14 is rather unique in that, unlike the more familiar psalms of thanksgiving and praise, it is entirely centered on the total depravity and deplorable condition of the human race. Moreover, this psalm is repeated almost verbatim in Psalm 53 and is also quoted at length in one of the most pivotal chapters in the New Testament! […]

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