Finding Contentment
An in-depth study of Philippians 4:4-13.
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 […]
Prophecies about the First Christmas
What did the ancient prophets have to say about the birth of the Messiah? Matthew, in his gospel, quotes five prophecies from his Jewish Scriptures (our Old Testament) about the birth of the Messiah that were fulfilled by Jesus Christ. Why is it important for us to know this—that Jesus fulfilled ancient prophecies written hundreds […]
Once was Lost, Now am Found
People are either “lost” or “found”. That is, we are either estranged from God or we know Him in a personal relationship through Jesus. In Luke 15 Jesus describes different types of people in their lost condition and what we are supposed to do to help them become “found”. Jesus shares three parables that describe […]