Theories abound as to the link between the suffering that happens on earth and the sin of people. Some say that God always punishes the worst and rewards the best. In Luke 13:1-9, Jesus put this theory to rest. When asked about the aftermath of Pilate’s depravity and the collapse of the Tower of Siloam, Jesus pointed out that the need of the hour was repentance rather than guessing the cause of the tragedy. God does not treat as as our sins deserve. National or personal disasters are a ‘wake up call’ to all, regardless of who is ‘good’ and bad’. Instead we are to produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
Luke
‘Recognizing Jesus, knowing hope’ (Luke 24:13-35)
Luke 24:13-35 tells of two men who were sad and downcast because they were hoping that Jesus was the one to redeem Israel. But Jesus was handed over to the rulers and crucified. With his death, they lost their hope. But Jesus drew near to them and helped them to see that the plan has always been that the promised Christ must suffer and die, and then enter his glory. All of Scripture points to this, and rather than being the end of hope, His death was the exact opposite and His resurrection from the dead only confirmed the certainty of that hope because He triumphed over death as the risen Lord. Now, in the midst of all the troubles of this life, even with the news of our own impending death, we can know hope, if we come to the one who has died for our sin and risen as our Lord. (no audio available)
‘Weighed down by suffering?’ (Luke 13:1-21)
Throughout the history of time, people have always been weighed down by some kind of suffering. In Jesus’ day this was no different. in Luke 13:1-21 we find that the sudden deaths of some people who were killed by a murderous Pontius Pilate or by a falling tower, caused some people to approach Jesus and share their concerns with Him. In response, Jesus told them that the problem of suffering is caused by sin in the world, that the solution to the problem of sin is something that only He can deal with and the great incentive that believers look forward to is found in the coming of His Kingdom.
‘Open tomb, Open scriptures, Open heaven’ (Luke 24:1-53)
Luke 24 speaks about the great news of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, has a strong theme of ‘open things’. For one thing, the tomb was open and Jesus was no longer dead inside it! This is the strong hope that believers share and sets Christianity apart from other religions. Our founder is still alive and death could not hold Him! Then it speaks of ‘open minds’ as it tells us how Jesus opened the understanding of the disciples with regard to the purpose and message of the Scriptures. Then also it speaks of an ‘open heaven’ into which Jesus returned, but before doing so, challenged his disciples to go out into the world proclaiming the wonderful message of forgiveness of sins in His name.
‘The cradle and the cross’ (Luke 23:13-49)
Len Pearce spoke from Luke 23:13-49 about the connection between Christmas and Easter.
‘Keeping the miraculous alive in the Christmas story’ (Luke 2:15)
In this message, Rev John Sutherland explores the often overlooked aspect of the miraculous parts of the Christmas story in Luke’s gospel with the hope that believers may have a greater sense of wonder and awe at the great events that make up the birth of Jesus. We have no need to apologise that the very basics of our faith are founded on miraculous events, no matter how many of our own generation may scoff at these things. In our minds we can readily join with the shepherds who had seen the vision of angels and who received the glad tidings of the Saviour’s birth. “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass.”
‘A Pharisee, a tax collector and an Australian stand before God’ (Luke 18:9-14)
Russ Grinter’s message on Luke 18 concerns the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax collector. Jesus told this parable to warn those who trusted in themselves and looked down upon others, or in other words, the self-righteous. Because ‘God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble’, it was the tax-collector and not the Pharisee who received the grace that saves. Even within our increasingly secular Australia, self-righteousness still remains and it is still a barrier to receiving the salvation that God offers.
‘A user’s guide to effective prayer’ (Luke 11:1-13)
Philip Burns preached from Luke 11:1-13 concerning the subject of prayer. Establishing and maintaining a strong prayer life is one of the hardest things to do. In these verses, the disciples observed Jesus praying and asked Him to teach them to pray. Jesus went on to teach them about priorities in prayer – putting God and His kingdom ahead of our own needs, persistence in prayer – reminding us that God is more willing to hear us than the man in the parable who was woken by his neighbour at night, and the Person we pray to – who knows what we need and is more than able to determine the best response to the requests we make.