SCRIPTURE: Luke 8:16-21 OBSERVATION: Jesus does not ‘measure’ people by their religion but by their simple faith, humility and love. Those with open and honest hearts will shine like lights before others, they will be a breathe of fresh air. Open and honest hearts will hear what the Lord has to say, apply it personally, and…
May 5 — Luke 8:1-15
SCRIPTURE: Luke 8:1-15 OBSERVATION: The first part of this section shows the women responding to Jesus, and we should keep in mind that women were second-class citizens at that time. A sure sign again that Jesus was not focussed on the “great” but the “small” (in the world’s eyes). His message, like seed, was spread indiscriminately,…
May 4 — Luke 7:36-50
SCRIPTURE: Luke 7:36-50 OBSERVATION: Jesus has an amazing ability to handle critical comments. He exposes the loveless, proud heart of the Pharisee and at the same time honours the humble, sinful heart of this immoral woman. Her sins were great, but her heart was humble, and that is what Jesus (and God) is looking for. Jesus…
May 3 — Luke 7:18-35
SCRIPTURE: Luke 7:18-35 OBSERVATION: John believed that Jesus was the messiah, he was just confused about why Jesus operated as He did. Jesus’ answer to John’s question is to point to the miracles as signs that He is the messiah, as the Jewish Scriptures prophecied. But He also adds that the messiah will not operate in…
May 2 — Luke 7:11-17
SCRIPTURE: Luke 7:11-17 OBSERVATION: “His heart overflowed with compassion”. Jesus is a reflection of God, He reveals the heart of God. This story shows the heart of God, but it does raise the question as to why He doesn’t heal or help everyone? When He sees little girls raped and little boys abused, when parents die…
May 1 — Luke 7:1-10
SCRIPTURE: Luke 7:1-10 OBSERVATION: Here we see how often it is non-Jews or non-Christians who put Jews and Christians to shame. Do we think that only Christians are good people? This Roman soldier was kind to the Jews, kind to his slaves and respectful of the Jewish messiah. He understood better than the Jews how the…
Apr 30 — Nahum 3:1-19
SCRIPTURE: Nahum 3:1-19 OBSERVATION: Once again Nahum uses vivid language to present the fall of Ninevah. We need to recall that such scenes were commonplace; at one time Assyria was guilty of doing these things to other nations. Now, predicts Nahum, they’re about to get what they gave. The violence reminds us that this world is…
Apr 29 — Nahum 2:1-13
SCRIPTURE: Nahum 2:1-13 OBSERVATION: Ninevah was the center of the Assyrian empire, a cruel, despotic nation that raped and pillaged the surrounding nations, including Israel and Judah. Here God speaks to the Jews about the impending doom of the “high and mighty” Ninevah. Think about how the victims and prisoners of Nazi Germany would have heard…
more missionary stories
I am working through the book of Acts (the 44th book in the Bible) for a seminar I am leading with Leadership Development Network. Its fascinating to approach the book as a whole, as opposed to looking at a small section of it for a sermon, to see the forest as well as the trees.
Apr 28 — Nahum 1:1-15
SCRIPTURE: Nahum 1:1-15 OBSERVATION: 1. “The LORD is a jealous and avenging God… the LORD is slow to anger and great in power” – Two different pictures of God? Jealous and avenging, yet slow to anger? We need to avoid comparing God’s anger to ours. His anger is always right, just and necessary, and if we…