When a winter forecast keeps bouncing around, most of us know better than to cancel everything over what might never arrive. Luke opens his Gospel with the opposite claim: this is no chance of grace next week, but the report of what has already been fulfilled among us—Jesus actually coming in history.
Join us tonight as Pastor Tim begins a series on the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), thinking about how we love the people God places into our lives.
As we conclude our series, 220;Who is My Neighbor,221; Pastor Tim takes us back to the Parable of the Good Samaritan one more time to consider what Jesus calls us to when it comes to how 220;much221; we need to love.
We tend to skip the genealogy at the start of Matthew—all those names, so many of them people we know nothing about. In doing so we miss something that matters deeply to ordinary people like us who wonder whether God actually works through lives like theirs.
Most of our days do not feel like turning points in history; they feel like errands, obligations, and familiar routines, leaving us to wonder whether our lives matter in any story beyond our own. Those on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in Acts 2 might have wondered the same thing.
We217;ve all got a part of ourselves we refuse to hand over—the place that says, You don217;t get this, Lord. Heading toward Jerusalem, Jesus told a parable about a nobleman whose citizens hated him and sent word: We do not want this man to reign over us. The question is whether that refusal still has the last word.
Selfishness is sneaky—it feels like commonsense in the moment. As the disciples sat right in front of Jesus, they struggled with the same self-centered question we all are challenged: 220;But what about me?221;
Temptations appear in seasons. How does Jesus217;s temptation in the wilderness help us better understand how we prepare for those seasons?
When life feels unpredictable, we reach for security blankets of money, health, and plans that promise safety. Jesus opens the Sermon on the Mount by telling us we’re seeking security in the wrong places: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Have you ever spoken boldly about your faith, only to find yourself later asking if any of it is real? Even John the Baptist, who once pointed everyone to Jesus as the promised one, sends messengers in Luke 7 to ask, 220;Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?221;