Luke 8:16–21

Sermon Notes

1. What you hear is useless if you don’t use it, vv.16–17
2. How you hear will determine how you grow, vv.17–18
3. Whether you hear AND DO is a mark of your Adoption, vv.19–21

Reflection questions

1. Which metaphor best describes the way you live your life as a Christian: Hiding your light under a bed? Putting your light upon a lampstand for all to see? Cf. Matthew 5:14–16 and 6:5–6. How can you do a better job of letting your light shine before others while making sure to glorify God and not yourself?
2. If we put to use the gospel message that God given us, He promises to give us even more. (More wisdom? More responsibility? Both?) See Matthew 25:14–30; now ask yourself if you are making use of the spiritual resources that God has given you.
3. Jesus said that the true members of His family were those who heard the Word and put it into practice. See James 1:22ff. What do you think the following phrase means: “Faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is never alone”?

Luke 8:1–15

Sermon Notes

1. Kingdom Servants, 1–3
2. Kingdom Seeds, 4–15
   1. Why Seeds? Why parables? 4, 8–11
   2. Seeds in the Road, 5, 12
   3. Seeds in the Rocky soil, 6, 13
   4. Seeds in the Thorns, 7, 14
   5. Seeds in the Good Soil, 8, 15

Reflection questions

1. The Kingdom Servants in vv. 2–3 served Jesus (and His Kingdom) by meeting their daily needs through the wealth that God had given them. What are some of the gifts (time, talents, resources) that God has given you that could you in His Kingdom Service? Cf. Romans 12:6–8.
2. Why do you think Jesus highlights “riches” (along with cares and pleasures) as one of the things that can choke our faith and cause us to not bear fruit in this life? Cf. 1 Tim. 6:5–10
3. Does being “good soil” that “bear(s) fruit with patience” mean that you will never have difficulties, disappointments, or spiritual failures in this life? Consider what Paul says about the latter in Romans 7:15–8:1.

Colossians 4:2–6

Sermon Notes

Since we have been raised with Christ (Col. 3:1)

1. Speak with Clarity, vv. 2–4
2. Speak with Urgency – v.5
3. Speak Graciously – v.6
4. Speak Universally – v.6b
5. Speak to the Culture Around US

The Forestgate Mission Statement

Forestgate Presbyterian Church exists to glorify God and make disciples of Christ in northern El Paso County:

• By Exalting our Lord in joyful biblical worship
• By Encouraging each other to love and good deeds
• By Equipping each other for service in the church and in the kingdom
• By Engaging the culture around us as salt and light through intentional individual involvement with
  • Our northern El Paso County community;
  • The U.S. Air Force Academy; and
  • The poor, needy and unchurched, both locally and across the globe.

Reflection questions

1. Do you pray for God to open doors for the gospel (Col. 4:3), or do you expect them to simply swing open on their own?
2. How can you pray that God with give you more clarity (v.4), more wisdom (v.5), more grace (v.6) as you answer “each” person you encounter with the gospel?

Luke 7:36-50

Outline

1. If you're preoccupied with what others think of you or how others act, you don't "get it" (v.36-40).

2. If you aren't expressing love that flows from gratitude, you don't "get it" (v.41-46).

3. If you think avoiding the unclean is what makes you clean, you don't "get" who Jesus is (v.47-50). 

Questions for Reflection:

1. Are you ever embarrassed by the way another believer behaves when they're "on fire" for Jesus, or how they demonstrate their gratitude in light of the gospel? (v.36-40)

2. . Does it ever feel unfair that someone can live their entire life in sin, then at the last minute, express faith and repentance in Christ and be given the same status before God that you have? (v.41-46)

3. Do you ever fear that you will lose God's approval? (v.47-50) 

Luke 7:18-35

Outline

1. The work of Christ removes doubt about His identity, 18-23

2. The privileges in Christ call us to trust Him, 24-28

3. The fickleness of man warns us to stop seeking better options, 29-35

Reflection Questions:

1. Is all faith created equal? Is it possible to believe but still have doubts? See Mark 9:21-24. How does the man in this story (and how should you) deal with a sometimes-faltering faith? What is one area that causes you to doubt God’s goodness most frequently?

2. How is it possible that you have greater privileges than John the Baptist? Examine Luke 10:23-24. What have you seen and heard that John never saw and heard?

3. Jesus accused the Pharisees and scribes of never being happy, of not knowing what they wanted, vv. 31-34. How can we avoid the same kind of discontentment? Consider Jer. 17:9; 1 Tim. 6:6ff. One solution might be to turn to Eph 1:3-14 and to “count your many blessings; name them one by one.” List as many ways as you can of how God has blessed you in Christ.

John 10:11–18

Sermon Notes

1. Jesus is our protector (v.11–13)
2. Jesus knows and loves us (v.14–15)
   Side point: We are all needy sheep (v.16)
3. Jesus gave his life for us (v.17–18)

Questions for Reflection

1. What are some of the points of imagery you remember from the sermon about sheep and shepherds?
2. How are you like the sheep? How is Jesus like the good shepherd?
3. How does being on our own make us more vulnerable to hurts and pains in this life?
4. Do you feel positive or negative when you think about being known deeply by God? What hesitations might you have to being fully known?
5. How might understanding your own identity as a sheep, make you more likely to accept "outsiders" inside the church?
6. Jesus has "snatched us from the jaws of death" by his work on the cross. How does that change your life today? How might you be willing to live differently this week, in light of that truth?

Luke 7:11–17

Sermon Notes

1. The Desperation that Draws His Compassion, 11–13a

2. The Confusion that Surrounds His Compassion, 13

3. The Dominion that Empowers His Compassion, 13–15

4. The Exclamation that Follows His Compassion, 16–17

Reflection questions

1. When desperate people ask you for help, do you feel compassion for them, or annoyed by them? How does God feel towards desperate people? Compare Ps. 68:5 and Luke 18:1–8.

2. Do you think the words “Do not weep,” (v.13) would’ve sounded comforting to the widow initially? How should that affect the way we comfort the grieving, since we cannot take away someone’s pain like Jesus did in this story?

3. Why is it important that Jesus if both “full of pity” and “joined with power” (Come Ye Sinners)? How does His power magnify the pity or compassion that He shows us? Cf. Psalm 62, esp. vv. 11–12.

4. Consider what it means when God “visits” (v.16) His people by looking at the following passages: Exodus 3:16; Ruth 1:6; 1 Samuel 1:19–20 and 2:21; Luke 1:68; James 1:27.

Luke 7:1–11

Sermon Notes

1. A servant that is worthy of saving in his master’s eyes, vv. 1–3
2. A man who is worthy in other’s eyes, vv. 3–6
3. A man who is un-worthy in his own eyes, vv. 6–7
4. A faith that is worthy of imitation in Jesus’s eyes, vv.7–10

Reflection questions

1. How does the centurion (through his Jewish friends) approach Jesus at first? See vv. 3–5. Compare and contrast this approach to these passages: Luke 18:9–14 and Phil. 3:3–11.
2. How does the centurion see himself in vv. 6–7? Compare and contrast his self-perception with these passages: Isaiah 6:1–7; Psalm 51 (especially v.17). Luke 5:1–11 (especially v.8)
3. What is commendable about the centurion’s faith (vv7–9)? Compare Romans 4:18–21 (esp. v.21).

Luke 6:37–42

Sermon Notes

If you Judge yourself first, (v.42)

1. … You will give and receive generously, vv. 37–38
2. … You will not follow blind guides or produce blind disciples, vv. 39–40
3. … You will be able to give good judgment and guidance, vv. 41–42
4. … You have obviously ___

Reflection questions

1. How would describe a judgmental attitude versus a gracious attitude? What’s one way that you’ve been judgmental in the past week, and how could you have been more gracious?
2. What kind of “guides” and leaders should we be following? Consider 1 Cor. 11:1; Phil. 3:12–15; 1 Tim. 6:11–12; 2 Tim. 4:7
3. Consider the following verses that speak of the love and kindness of God. Do any of these verse surprise you? Luke 6:35–36; Romans 2:4; Eph. 4:32; Ex. 34:6–7; Jonah 4:1–2; Is 30:18