Rejected

Luke 20:9-18

Sermon Notes

Through Christ's death, God exalts Christ, saves his people, and judges his enemies.

I. Rejection of the Prophets

II. Judgment & Transfer of Custody

III. Christ's Exaltation & Our Salvation

Reflection Questions:

1) Consider how you are bearing fruits of faith & repentance. What areas of fruitfulness are closer to "top shelf?" In what areas might your fruit be a little "mushy." How might you best pray and take steps to firm it up?

2) What are some gifts you have in this life that contend with your love for the Giver Himself? Essentially, what are some of your idols? Comfort? Health? Material success? What would it look like to reorient the gift and the giver?

3) What are your areas of sin in which you are prone to say, "Surely not me!" or perhaps "Surely this time it will satisfy!"

4) How does identifying with Christ's rejection (the rejected stone) and his exaltation (being the cornerstone) help you in your walk?

Making Room for Others

Luke 19:45-20:8

Sermon Notes

1) Hard hearts don't make room for others

2) The cycle of a hardened heart

3) Jesus breaks the cycle and teaches us how to make room for others

Reflection Questions:

1. What are some ways the priests failed to make room for others?

2. What was God's mission to Israel? How did the priests fail at that?

3. What does it mean to be "A light to the nations"?

4. How do our priorities either "make room for others" or push them away?

5. What are some challenges you face in "Making room for others"? How might your life need to change to do that?

6. What are some steps you can take this week to "make room for others"? How did Jesus live in a way that "made room for others"?

Palm Sunday (in July)

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon Notes

1) Prophetic Preparation, 28-35

2) Public Procession, 35-38

3) Prophetic Exaggeration? 39-40

4) Prophetic Lamentation, 41-44

Reflection questions:

1. Read Zechariah 9:9-10, the prophecy fulfilled in Luke 19:28-40 and Matthew 21:1-10. Now reflect upon this quote: “So it has always been that the church does not effectively spread the gospel by sword or by arrogance, but by mirroring the humble spirt of its king and savior.” (Thomas McComiskey)

2. Read Luke 19:40. Now read Romans 8:18-27. What does Romans have to say about creation longing and groaning? What does it say the Holy Spirit groaning within us, and why is that good news?

3. What do Jesus’s tears for Jerusalem show us about His heart for humanity? Did Jesus rejoice in the downfall of the wicked? Should we? Also, what does it show us about Jesus’s suffering unjustly? (Also see 1 Peter 2:19-24)

Faithful in Little

Luke 19:11-27

Sermon Notes

1) The Royal Timeline, Rightly Understood, 11-12

2) The (Hated) King Returns, 12-15

3) The King Rewards the Faithful, 15-19

4) The King Rewards the Fearful, 20-27

5) The Royal Rewards, Rightly Understood, 24-27

Reflection questions:

1. “Faithfulness reveals faith in a good king. Fearfulness reveals hatred or apathy toward a misunderstood king.” How do you see that play out in this story?

2. The first two servants both say (vv16-18) that the mina (the amount of money) made or earned more money. Are they merely being humble, or do God’s gifts sometimes possess power beyond our own actions? Cf. Romans 1:16; Colossians 1:28-29.

3. Consider the following quote (from Leon Morris’ commentary on v.26): “In the Christian life we do not stand still. We use our g

The Friend of Sinners Meets the Man with No Friends

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon Notes

1) The Man Who Seeks Jesus, 1-4

2) The Man Whom Jesus Seeks, 5-7

3) The M.O. of Saved Sinners, 8

4) The Mission of Jesus, 9-10

Reflection questions:

1. Compare and contrast the stories of the Rich Young Ruler (Lk. 18:18-30), the blind beggar (18:35-43), and Zacchaeus (19:1-10). What do you notice about each of them regarding their money, their view of Jesus, their view of what they need, their willingness to obtain eternal life and more?

2. Who sought whom first? Zacchaeus or Jesus? Cf. John 6:44; I John 4:19; Luke 19:9-10; Luke 15; Ps 23:5- 6.

3. Jesus comes invites Himself to Zacchaeus’ house. Can you ever think of another time that Jesus showed up uninvited, unannounced? (See Luke 23:36-49; John 20:19ff)

A Journey He Must Take, A Beggar He Must Heal

Luke 18:31-43

Sermon Notes

1) The Journey Resumed: Re-Setting His GPS for Jerusalem. (31-33)

2) The Clueless Caravan: Why are we going there? Are we lost? (34)

3) The Shameless Hitchhiker: “Have Mercy!” (35-39)

4) The Rest Stop: the Beggar Healed. (40-42)

5) The Journey Continues: Freeloader(s) in Tow. (43)

Reflection questions:

1. What did Jesus know about what awaited him in Jerusalem? Why did He keep going? See Heb 12:2

2. Read the following quote, and then ask why Jesus stopped for Bartimaeus? “Jesus was so terrifically busy, but only with the things he was supposed to be doing. … If Jesus were alive today, he’d get more e-mails than any of us” (Kevin DeYoung, Crazy Busy, 54).

3. John Calvin says Bartimaeus and other followers were “mirrors of the grace of Christ.” How does Bartimaeus’s story show the grace of Christ? How does Paul’s story show it? (1 Tim 1:15-17) How does your story show it?

Give It Up

Luke 18:15-30

Sermon Notes

1) Give it up … and come as a child

2) Give “it” up … that idol you’re clinging to

3) Give it up … and get something greater

Reflection questions:

1.    What characterizes a child? What about a child might Jesus be asking us to mimic when he says "come like a child"?

2.    What are some ways you have failed to love God above anything else? What are typical things that you tend to really love in this world?

3.    In what ways have you fallen short in "loving your neighbor" to the best of your ability?

4.    How is money a particularly dangerous idol?

5.    How might you, today, respond to Jesus' call to "give it up", to give up whatever might be holding you back from fully following him, fully loving him, fully loving your neighbor?

That Feeling When Someone Declares You Good Enough, Accepted, and Approved

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon Notes

1) We all desire to be approved, to be justified, declared right or righteous

2) The problem is we look inward, toward our own actions, to find this justification… but we never attain it

3) We can only find true acceptance, approval, and justification through Repentance (full acknowledgement that we aren’t right) and Faith (full trust that Jesus’ atonement makes us right)

Reflection questions:

1.    What would it be like to receive a 'Thank You' card where the person recounts all the things they had done?

2.    What are some of the "respectable sins" that Christians often overlook? What are some sins that Christians tend to focus more on than others?

3.    What are different ways we try and prove our goodness to others? Which ways are you most tempted?

4.    How are Remorse and Regret different from Repentance?

5.     How does repentance (fully admitting sin) actually bring us rest?

Persistence

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon Notes

1) Losing Heart, 1

2) The Lousy Unjust Judge, 2-6

3) The Lord, the Just Judge, 6-8

4) The Last Question, 8

Reflection questions:

1. What are some reasons that you sometimes lose heart in God’s promises, or lose heart in doing good? What are some of the ways God tries to encourage us NOT to lose heart? See Gal. 6:9-10. 2 Cor 4:1, 16-17.

2. What does the Bible say about God’s care of widows? What can this teach us about compassion for the needy? See Ps 68:5; Lk 20:47; Lk 7:11-15; Ps 146:9; Proverbs 15:25; Zech. 7:10; Isaiah 1:17.

3. Why is God’s justice good news and not just a scary concept? See Revelation 6:9-11; 11:18.

The Coming of the Kingdom

Luke 17:20-37

Sermon Notes

1) The Kingdom’s 1st Coming was NOT to be SEEN (or foreseen), 20-21

2) The Kingdom’s 2nd Coming will be SUDDEN, 22-33

3) The Kingdom’s 2nd Coming will cause SEPARATION, 32-37

Reflection questions:

1.       Why didn’t Jesus give the crowd another sign (in vv.20-21) to prove that the Kingdom had come? Compare Luke 7:18-23; what does Jesus tell the messengers of John the Baptist when they wonder if Jesus is the King they should expect?

2.       What did Noah’s neighbors and Lot’s neighbors do that was wrong (vv26-30)? Was eating and drinking wrong? Was is what they did that was wrong, or what they ignored? Compare Luke 12:18-21.

3.       There will be a separation when Jesus comes again to rule and reign, but what will be the line of separation? Good people and bad people? See 1 Tim. 1:15 (and Acts 8:1-3); John 3:16-18.