Great Warning of Hardship, Great Comfort for Hardship

Luke 21:5-28

Sermon Notes:

1. Jesus is our comfort in hardship (v.1-8)

2. Jesus is at work in our hardship (v.9-19)

3. Jesus provides the way out of hardship (v.20-24)

4. Jesus will end hardship (v.25-28)

Reflection Questions:

1. How anxious are you about the future? What are some common ways you deal with that anxiety?

2. How might Jesus provide some relief from that anxiety?

3. What is a trial you are currently facing?

4. How might God be growing you in that trial?

5. What are some common ways we forget we stand before God's judgment solely in Christ's good record and instead make it some mix of Christ's record and our record?

6. If resting in Christ's deliverance from judgment, how is the day of judgment a good day for us?

Christ Confounds the Wise

Luke 20:41-21:4

Sermon Notes

1) The Lord who Exceeds David’s Example, 20:41-44

2) The Lord who Judges Hypocrisy, 20:45-47

3) The Lord who Commends Generosity, 21:1-4

Reflection questions:

1. How is Jesus Great David’s Greater Son? How is Jesus a superior king? See 2 Sam 8:15; 23:1-5 and Isaiah 9:1-7.

2. How is God’s judgement of hypocrisy (seen in Luke 20:45-47) bad news for hypocrites and good news for those who think life is unfair for the righteous? See Psalm 73; the author of Psalm 73 certainly thought life was unfair at times.

3. How might you Luke 21:1-4 impact you differently based on whether you think of yourself as rich or poor? What else does God say to the rich, other than passages like this where He encourages generosity? One example: 1 Timothy 6:17-19.

The God of the Living

Luke 20:27-40

Sermon Notes

1) Sad, U See: Because they didn’t believe the truth about resurrection, 27-33

2) The Good News about Marriage and Heaven, 28-36

• 3 reasons why heaven is better

3) The Good News about Resurrection, 37-38

4) Sad, U See: Because they heard the truth and didn’t repent, 39-40

Reflection questions:

1) Do you ever find yourself thinking that heaven will be just like this life, only longer? Think about all the ways that heaven will be better than this life. Think about all the things you will no longer need in heaven.

2) If marriage is a picture of Christ’s love for the church (see Eph 5:32), then how is Christ a better husband than any earthly husband? Think of all your flaws in your earthly relationships, especially your relationship with your spouse, if you’re married; how is Christ a better, more faithful friend?

3) Why is the resurrection so important? Read 1 Cor. 15:13-19 where Paul writes to a church that had begun to doubt the truth of the resurrection.

How Much Do I Owe Caesar?

Luke 20:19-26

Sermon Notes

1) The Plan Conceived, 19-20

2) The Trap Laid, 21-22

3) The Tables Turned, 22-25

4) The Truth Examined, 25-26

Reflection questions:

1. The plans of the scribes and chief priests were not as pure as they appeared to be. Are there times when your own thoughts are not as pure as they should be, not as pure as you think they are? See David’s prayer in Psalm 139:23-24 as you consider this.

2. The scribes and chief priests tried to reduce a complicated question (v22) down to two simple options. Are there times when God calls us to avoid simplicity and embrace wisdom? See Proverbs 1:1-7 and 1:20-22.

3. Read Romans 13:1-7 and Acts 5:29. Do these passages disagree? Or do they only appear to disagree, at first? What did the men in Acts 5:29 conclude that they had to obey God, rather than men (aka, the governing authorities – cf Romans 13:1)?

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?