light in a dark, dark world

1 John 1 

5 This is the message we heard from Jesus 

and now declare to you: 

God is light, 

and in Him is no darkness at all. 

6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God 

but go on living in spiritual darkness; 

we are not practicing the truth. 

7 But if we are living in the light, 

as God is in the light, 

then we have fellowship with each other, 

and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

8 If we claim we have no sin, 

we are only fooling ourselves 

and not living in the truth. 

9 But if we confess our sins to him, 

he is faithful 

and just 

to forgive us our sins 

and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 

10 If we claim we have not sinned, 

we are calling God a liar 

and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

humility

Luke 14 

7 When Jesus noticed that all who had come to the dinner were trying to sit in the seats of honor near the head of the table, he gave them this advice: 

8 “When you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the seat of honor. 

What if someone who is more distinguished than you has also been invited? 

9 The host will come and say, 

‘Give this person your seat.’ 

Then you will be embarrassed, 

and you will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table!

10 “Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table. 

Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, 

‘Friend, we have a better place for you!’ 

Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests. 

11 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, 

and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

12 Then he turned to his host. 

“When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,” he said, 

“don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. 

For they will invite you back, 

and that will be your only reward. 

13 Instead, 

invite the poor, 

the crippled, 

the lame, 

and the blind. 

14 Then at the resurrection of the righteous, 

God will reward you 

for inviting those who could not repay you.”

Kingdom-like

 Luke 13

(Parable of the Mustard Seed)

18 Then Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? 

How can I illustrate it? 

19 It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden; 

it grows and becomes a tree, 

and the birds make nests in its branches.”

I grew up on a small farm in southeastern Ohio in the 1950's & 60's.

My mom sometimes would plant mustard seeds to grows greens for us to eat.

Mustard seeds are tiny - like the size of the head of a straight pin.

And some of those mustard plants she wouldn't harvest but let them grow up to collect the seeds for next year.

Some of the mustard plants would grown to 5' to 6' tall!

And one year, it seems a wren built a nest in the center of one of them.

(Parable of the Yeast)

20 He also asked, “What else is the Kingdom of God like? 

21 It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. 

Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, 

it permeated every part of the dough.”

One of the best cooks I've EVER known was my Grandma Carrie.

She baked bread ALL the time.

She had a HUGE bowl that she mixed the bread dough in - well, I was a kid, so everything felt kinda huge, I guess 😁

But I remember watching her stir all those ingredients in that big bowl - there was always LOTS of flower in it.

And she would have a couple of packets of yeast she would add - both packets together maybe had a tablespoon of yeast in them.

She stir the yeast in a cup of warm water, put it on the table to let it "think" for a minute, & then stir it in the big bowl with everything else.

Then she'd put it near the cookstove, or sometimes near a window that had sunshine coming through it.

And the dough would rise to almost 3 times the original size.

As a kid I always found it interesting that the tablespoon of yeast made all that dough triple in size.

Granny lived to be 108! She & her hubs, Will, my Grandpa, used to sing in local revivals, funerals, & services in the hill counties of southwestern Ohio. She was her church's pianist/organist all of her life, until she had her second stroke. And she played by ear - never learned to read music. And if you were singing a song for a service & it was a little too high or too low for you, she could automatically transpose it to a better key. She was somethin' else... 

I'd give anything to eat a piece of Granny's yeast bread right now...

growing

2 Peter 1 

3 By his divine power, 

God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. 

We have received all of this by coming to know him, 

the one who called us to himself 

by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 

4 And because of his glory and excellence, 

he has given us great and precious promises. 

These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature 

and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. 

Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, 

and moral excellence with knowledge, 

6 and knowledge with self-control, 

and self-control with patient endurance, 

and patient endurance with godliness, 

7 and godliness with brotherly affection, 

and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

8 The more you grow like this, 

the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

9 But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, 

forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.

10 So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. 

Do these things, and you will never fall away.

keep on...

Luke 11 

1 Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

2 Jesus said, “This is how you should pray:

“Father, may your name be kept holy.
    May your Kingdom come soon.
3 Give us each day the food we need,
4 and forgive us our sins,
    as we forgive those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation.”

5 Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 6 ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7 And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ 8 But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.

9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

11 “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? 12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! 13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

LGLO

Luke 10 

25 One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: 

“Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”

27 The man answered, 

“‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, 

all your soul, 

all your strength, 

and all your mind.’ 

And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”

Boil down what the man said?

Love God, love others.

LGLO

if...

Luke 9 

23 Then (Jesus) said to the crowd, 

“If any of you wants to be my follower, 

you must give up your own way, 

take up your cross daily, 

and follow me. 

24 If you try to hang on to your life, 

you will lose it. 

But if you give up your life for my sake, 

you will save it. 

25 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world 

but are yourself lost or destroyed? 

26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, 

the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person 

when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.

2 examples of faith

Luke 8 

40 On the other side of the lake the crowds welcomed Jesus, because they had been waiting for him. 

41 Then a man named Jairus, a leader of the local synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come home with him. 

42 His only daughter, who was about twelve years old, was dying.

As Jesus went with him, he was surrounded by the crowds. 43 A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding, and she could find no cure. 44 Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped.

45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.

Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.”

46 But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.” 47 When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed. 48 “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

49 While he was still speaking to her, a messenger arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. He told him, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.”

50 But when Jesus heard what had happened, he said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just trust me, and she will be all right.”

51 When they arrived at the house, Jesus wouldn’t let anyone go in with him except Peter, John, James, and the little girl’s father and mother. 52 The house was filled with people weeping and wailing, but he said, “Stop the weeping! She isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.”

53 But the crowd laughed at him because they all knew she had died. 54 Then Jesus took her by the hand and said in a loud voice, “My child, get up!” 55 And at that moment her life returned, and she immediately stood up! Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were overwhelmed, but Jesus insisted that they not tell anyone what had happened.

the hope

1 Peter 1 

3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.

6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9 The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.

10 This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. 11 They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward.

12 They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.

Luke's SOTM

 Here's Luke's accounting of what is called The Sermon on the Mount.

A longer version is in Matthew chapters 5 - 7.

Luke 6

The Beatitudes

20 Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said,

“God blesses you who are poor,
    for the Kingdom of God is yours.
21 God blesses you who are hungry now,
    for you will be satisfied.
God blesses you who weep now,
    for in due time you will laugh.

22 What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. 23 When that happens, be happy! Yes, leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way.

Sorrows Foretold

24 “What sorrow awaits you who are rich,
    for you have your only happiness now.
25 What sorrow awaits you who are fat and prosperous now,
    for a time of awful hunger awaits you.
What sorrow awaits you who laugh now,
    for your laughing will turn to mourning and sorrow.
26 What sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds,
    for their ancestors also praised false prophets.

Love for Enemies

27 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. 30 Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. 31 Do to others as you would like them to do to you.

32 “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! 33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! 34 And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.

35 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. 36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.

Do Not Judge Others

37 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.[a]”

39 Then Jesus gave the following illustration: “Can one blind person lead another? Won’t they both fall into a ditch? 40 Students[b] are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.

41 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye[c] when you have a log in your own? 42 How can you think of saying, ‘Friend,[d] let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

The Tree and Its Fruit

43 “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 44 A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. 45 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.

Building on a Solid Foundation

46 “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? 47 I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. 48 It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. 49 But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house right on the ground, without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”

scum

Luke 5 

27 Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector’s booth. 

“Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. 

28 So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him.

29 Later, Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi’s fellow tax collectors and other guests also ate with them. 30 But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with such scum?”

31 Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. 32 I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”

wisdom

James 3

13 If you are wise 

and understand God’s ways, 

prove it by living an honorable life, 

doing good works 

with the humility that comes from wisdom. 

14 But if you are bitterly jealous 

and there is selfish ambition in your heart, 

don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. 

15 For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. 

Such things are earthly, 

unspiritual, 

and demonic. 

16 For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, 

there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.

17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. 

It is also peace loving, 

gentle at all times, 

and willing to yield to others. 

It is full of mercy 

and the fruit of good deeds. 

It shows no favoritism 

and is always sincere. 

18 And those who are peacemakers 

will plant seeds of peace 

and reap a harvest of righteousness.

prejudice

James 2 

1 My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?

2 For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. 3 If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, 4 doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?

5 Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? 6 But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? 7 Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear?

8 Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 9 But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law.

10 For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. 11 For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.” So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law.

12 So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free. 13 There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.

jamesone

James 1 

2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, 

consider it an opportunity for great joy. 

3 For you know that when your faith is tested, 

your endurance has a chance to grow. 

4 So let it grow, 

for when your endurance is fully developed, 

you will be perfect and complete, 

needing nothing.

5 If you need wisdom;

if you want to know what God wants you to do;

ask Him,

& He will gladly tell you.

He will not resent your asking. 

6 But when you ask him, 

be sure that your faith is in God alone. 

Do not waver, 

for a person with divided loyalty 

is as unsettled as a wave of the sea 

that is blown and tossed by the wind. 

7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 

8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, 

and they are unstable in everything they do.

9 Believers who are poor have something to boast about, 

for God has honored them. 

10 And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. 

They will fade away like a little flower in the field. 

11 The hot sun rises and the grass withers; 

the little flower droops and falls, 

and its beauty fades away. 

In the same way, 

the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.

12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. 

Afterward they will receive the crown of life 

that God has promised to those who love him. 

13 And remember, 

when you are being tempted, 

do not say, 

“God is tempting me.” 

God is never tempted to do wrong, 

and he never tempts anyone else. 

14 Temptation comes from our own desires, 

which entice us and drag us away. 

15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. 

And when sin is allowed to grow, 

it gives birth to death.

16 So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. 

17 Whatever is good and perfect 

is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, 

who created all the lights in the heavens. 

He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. 

18 He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. 

And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.

19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: 

You must all be quick to listen, 

slow to speak, 

and slow to get angry. 

20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. 

21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, 

and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, 

for it has the power to save your souls.

22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. 

You must do what it says. 

Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 

23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, 

it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 

24 You see yourself, 

walk away, 

and forget what you look like. 

25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, 

and if you do what it says 

and don’t forget what you heard, 

then God will bless you for doing it.

26 If you claim to be religious 

but don’t control your tongue, 

you are fooling yourself, 

and your religion is worthless. 

27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means 

caring for orphans and widows in their distress 

and refusing to let the world corrupt you.