Jesus: Our Passover Lamb
For centuries Jews around the world have celebrated Passover to commemorate their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. But when Jesus shared His last Passover with His disciples, He expanded their understanding of Passover—that it was not simply looking back to their deliverance from the slavery of Egypt, but looking forward to a greater deliverance for […]
The Rise of Russia and the End Times
The Bible says that Jesus is coming again! Jesus gives a list of events in Luke 21 to help us recognize certain indicators that we are drawing near to His Return. Among those things, Jesus says, will be “wars and commotions” and that “nation will rise against nation” and “kingdom against kingdom.” In the current […]
A Glimpse of Life in Heaven
In Luke 20, Jesus gives us a glimpse of what Heaven will be like—not in appearance, but in experience. He tells us two things: (a) there will be no marriage; relationships will be different, and (b) there will be no death; we will be like the angels in Heaven. Heaven is the eternal home for […]
Why Jesus Weeps
In a tragic scene on the outskirts of Jerusalem, Jesus weeps for the people who have seen Him, known Him, witnessed His miracles, heard His teachings, and yet have rejected Him as the Messiah. He weeps for the peace that they will miss and the judgment that they will experience for their refusal to believe. […]
Small Man, Big Change
In Luke 19 there is a story of a man named Zacchaeus who had a personal encounter with Jesus. The Bible describes him as having a “short stature” but the change that happened in his heart was huge. Zacchaeus was a hated tax collector who had fleeced his own Jewish people with extra taxation in […]
I Need a Miracle
Is there a desperate cry of your heart for something that would require a miracle from God? Maybe for your health, your marriage, a prodigal child, deliverance from an addiction? Whatever the need, we serve a miracle-working God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. In today’s study from Luke 18, Pastor Gary shares […]
Practice Persistent Prayer
Sometimes when we pray we don’t always get WHAT we want, WHEN we want it. Nevertheless, Jesus encourages us to keep on praying and to not become discouraged. He teaches a parable about a widow who continually appealed to a judge for justice until the judge finally granted her wish. The point of the parable […]
Where Are the Nine?
In Luke 17 Jesus encounters ten men afflicted with leprosy—a debilitating and ultimately deadly disease that is mentioned 68 times in the Bible. Jesus miraculously healed all ten men but only one returned to give thanks to Jesus. When he did, he received even more than the other nine—salvation. All ten men received physical healing, […]
Life After Death
Most people have a curiosity about the afterlife. That’s because the Bible says that “God has set eternity in the hearts of men” (Ecc. 3:11). The eternal God has put an eternal awareness in the hearts of every human being. In Luke 16 Jesus tells one of the most insightful stories about the afterlife. He […]
Worldly Wealth for Heavenly Good
In an unfamiliar parable told only by Luke, Jesus wants us to understand that money and material things by themselves are not bad. In fact, they can and should be used for good… just don’t love stuff as much or more than you love God. Pastor Gary shares five important principles from this parable about […]