Jesus crossed social boundaries with great ease, but it can be surprising difficult for us to do so. What can we learn from the time when Jesus' crossed the boundary around a man named Zacchaeus? Pastor Luke preaches from Luke 19:1-10 in "Reputation Management," the concluding message in his series, "Faith."
We often do things in order to influence other people. We might want them to help us, or give us jobs, or just to like us. Can we influence God? And if we can, how? Pastor Luke teaches from Luke 18:9-14 in "Influencer," part 2 of his 3-part series, "Faith."
Faith is central to Christianity. But what is it? What does it look like? Jesus taught a series of lessons about faith to help us understand what kind of faith God desires. Pastor Luke looks at Luke 18:1-8 in "Persistence," the first message in a new series, "Faith."
Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, we've been wondering about the "new normal." What will the new normal be like? How will we know when we get there? What should we do in the meantime? Centuries before Christ, God spoke through prophet Jeremiah to encourage people with questions pretty similar to ours. Pastor Luke teaches from Jeremiah 29:1,4-7,10 in "New Normal."
When the church in Thessalonica was facing many difficult challenges, the Apostle Paul gave them instructions to help them in their troubles. When we face our own challenges as so many are this year the same advice can help us. Pastor Luke looks at Thessalonians 5:12-28 in "Engaging," the concluding message in his series, "Brand-New Testament."
Christians hope in the better world that Jesus will inaugurate when he returns. What sustains our hope between now then? Until Christ returns, how do we keep our hope alive in all the troubles of this world, amid all its sickness, violence, and death? Pastor Luke teaches from Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 in "Rapture," part 4 of his 5-part series, "Brand-New Testament."
The Apostle Paul said that the Church the community of Jesus' followers was a family. What images does that bring to mind for you? What does it mean what ought it mean for the Church to be a family? Pastor Luke teaches from Thessalonians 4:1-12 in "Dedicated to God," part 3 of his 5-part series, "Brand-New Testament."
Why do we take the Apostle Paul seriously? Or perhaps a better question is, why did people in the first century take him seriously? What can we learn from Paul about being taken seriously today? Pastor Luke teaches from Thessalonians 2:1-12 in "Being Serious," part 2 of his 5-part series, "Brand-New Testament."
Paul wrote the letters to the church in a Greek town called Thessalonica to encourage people he loved but could not be with. They found what he said was so encouraging, they kept the letter, and circulated to others who needed encouraging. They shared it in turn, and after a couple of centuries of being shared to encourage people, this letter -- likely the oldest surviving Christian document -- became part of the New Testament. Can it still encourage us today? Pastor Luke teaches from Thessaloni...
We conclude our conversation about Christians and Society, with a lesson about economic inequality. How can Christians show God's love in a society where some are so rich, and others so poor? Pastor Luke looks at Luke 16:19-31 in "Economic Inequality," the concluding message in his series, "Counter Culture."
We continue our conversation about Christians and Society, and how we can show God's love in a society that is hurting. This week we're talking about the police power, and especially police violence. Pastor Luke preaches from Romans 12:18-13:7 in "Christians and Civil Authority," part 2 of his 3-part series, "Counter Culture."
Jesus never used the words "race" or "racism." But his teaching is clear, from the opening of the Hebrew Scriptures to the close of the New Testament, that racism is a sin. Pastor Luke looks at Ephesians 2:10-14 in "The Sin of Racism," the first message in a new series, "Counter Culture."
Everyone experiences pain and hardship from time to time. How can we make sense of the troubles in our life, or even in the wider world? With the advantage of hindsight, we see the Apostle Paul as one of the most important people ever to have lived. But in his own era, people found him underwhelming, partly because he was a magnet for trouble. How did Paul see the troubles in his life? Pastor Luke teaches from 2 Corinthians 4:6-12 in "Fragile."
Everybody's heard of Christmas, and almost as many people know about Easter. But Pentecost far less well-known, and even people who follow Christ may not fully appreciate it. Why is Pentecost important? Pastor Luke teaches from Acts 2:1-21 in "Inside Job."
Sometimes we know that things are going to change before we know what those changes will be. This is where we're at with reopening after the coronavirus pandemic. But Jesus' disciples faced the same kind of uncertainty after his ascension. But before he ascended to heaven, Jesus told his disciples what to do. How are those instructions relevant to us now? Pastor Luke preaches from Acts 1:6-14 in "The Next Challenge."
When Paul talked to the smartest people in the ancient world, he said they were ignorant. But he also talked about how they could fill in the gaps in their knowledge. What he said is just as useful today as it was then. What can we learn from him? Pastor Luke teaches from Acts 17:22-31 in "What You Worship."
The Acts of the Apostles tells about the death of Stephen. It is an ugly, brutal incident of mob violence. Granting its truth, does it have any redeeming value? If such incidents are unlikely in our own context, why read it? Pastor Luke looks at Acts 7:54-8:1 in "Heaven On Display."
We've been learning how we can still be church when the church buildings are closed. So what purpose does a church building serve? Pastor Luke preaches from Acts 2:1,41-47 in "Some Assembly Required," the concluding message in his series, "Some Assembly Required."
We've been talking about how we can be church when church buildings are closed. Isn't it important that people do their worshiping in a particular place? What does our faith tell us about being on "Holy Ground?" Pastor Luke preaches from 1 Peter 2:4-10 in "Sacrifices," part 2 of his 3-part series, "Some Assembly Required."
Does God listen when his people can't gather safely in a worship center? Where is God when church buildings are all closed? Pastor Luke preaches from Exodus 25:1-9 in "404 Not Found," the first message in a new series, "Some Assembly Required."
If Jesus rose from the dead, then someday we can go to heaven, too. Right? Is that the message of Easter Sunday? If it is, what are we supposed to do in the meantime? What if we don't die right away? Does Christianity have anything to say about what happens to people this side of heaven? What does it say about things like pandemic disease and economic ruin? Pastor Luke preaches from Matthew 28:1-10 in "Resurrection."
When Jesus entered into Jerusalem the week before his Crucifixion, what was he doing? Did the crowd back then understand him? Why did they put palms on the road before him? Does this still mean anything for us today? Pastor Luke preaches from Matthew 21:1-11 in "Inconspicuous Kingdom."
To help public health authorities deal with the coronavirus pandemic, people in Anchorage have been asked to "Hunker Down" and join people around the world in social isolation and self-distancing. What should Christians think about this crisis? More importantly, how should we think about it? Pastor Luke looks at Luke 21:5-36 in "Hunker Down."
What would Jesus say about the coronavirus pandemic? Pastor Luke looks at Luke 13:1-17 in "Pandemic Faith," the concluding message in his series, "Spiritual Agriculture."
Jesus cursed a fig tree, even though it wasn't the season for figs. That seems unreasonable, but really, it was just unusual. Jesus did something unusual to underscore what he was saying about how people can avoid being unfruitful. Pastor Luke teaches from Mark 11:12-25 in "Unfruitful," part 2 of his 4-part series, "Spiritual Agriculture."
Lent is the season of repentence, and repentence means rethinking everything. Even the decision about trusting God with your life. This was the most important decision Jesus made, and he said that if we followed him, we'd have to make it too. Pastor Luke teaches from John 12:20-36 in "The Most Important Decision," the first message in a new series, "Spiritual Agriculture."
What makes a fast acceptable to God? How hard on yourself do you need to be be for God to be impressed with your discipline? And how will that make anything different? Pastor Luke looks at Isaiah 58:1-12 in "Hard On Ourselves."
Three of the four biographies of Jesus describe when his appearance was transfigured or changed. That event is a mystery inviting our contemplation and even our wonder. But alongside it was a much less mysterious statement about who Jesus is and how his followers ought to respond to him. Pastor Luke teaches from Luke 9:28-36 in "Come Down From the Clouds."
Most people who follow Jesus have certain expectations about their discipleship. We have at least a few ideas about what God will do in our lives. But how often do we consider the reverse? What does Jesus expect of us? Pastor Luke looks at Matthew 10:32-42 in "Cold Water," the concluding message in his series, "Harvesters."
Jesus commanded his followers to proclaim the availability of God's Kingdom. This leads to two problems: first, God's kingdom is hard to see because of all the world's troubles, and second, the world might not thank us for telling them. Jesus said it probably wouldn't, but to do it anyway. Pastor Luke teaches from Matthew 10:16-33 in "Be Not Afraid: How Christ Changes the World," part 3 of his 4-part series, "Harvesters."
