Waterbrook Sermons Revisited

In Luke 6, Jesus will teach us about the Sabbath and may be much broader than what you think. As an example, Jesus will show how King David did things thought unlawful, but the priests allowed it. Jesus will also claim to be the One who is Lord of Sabbath. He'll go on to heal on the same day. And, after an all night prayer session, he'll pick his team. Ready to roll, Jesus will begin to teach the most famous of all his sermons from the Plain and the Mount.

Jesus chooses his first followers. He also performs some healing miracles and steps on some religious toes. And Jesus is going to throw out the double parable that is going to give scholars some issues.

Jesus will be led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, where Jesus will go without food for nine-hundred and sixty hours straight. Satan will confront him and offer 3 interesting temptations. We'll cover these in great detail. Jesus will also be teaching in the synagogues around Galilee. He will explain a portion of a passage from Isaiah, but he'll leave a part out intentionally. There'll be a lot of very interesting reactions from his hometown, other towns, and demons. Jesus gives the...

Luke chapter 3 picks up the Gospel story with John who's down at the Jordan River, announcing that God wants everyone to turn from wickedness and prove their commitment by being ritually washed in the river's water. The Prophet Isaiah predicted his coming. Everyone was speculating that John is the Messiah, but he says to hang tight, the Messiah is just around the corner and is the true Passover Lamb. In fact, he tells them that the messiah is going to have a "winnowing fork" (3:17 NRSV)...

Joseph and Mary, who is still pregnant, depart from Nazareth for Bethlehem, which is King David's hometown as required by Caesar. In Bethlehem, Mary gives birth to Jesus, wraps him up all nice and cozy, and puts him in a trough because all the accommodations typically provided for travelers were booked. At night, a heavenly army angel appears to local shepherds, followed by the whole angelic Marine Corps shouting acclamations to the Commander in Chief. Glory! Peace! The shepherds decide to...

Luke introduces his account about what happened through the time of Jesus. It was in the time of Herod, King of Judea. Where there was a Priest named Zechariah serving his time in the temple, and his wife Elizabeth. But they were old, and Elizabeth was not able to conceive children. On duty, chosen by lot, Zechariah was in the temple to burn incense and the people assembled outside to pray and worship. The angel Gabriel appeared to him, and when Zechariah saw him was started and gripped...

Haggai spoke some 66 years after the temple was destroyed, but very likely there were some old people who had seen Solomon’s temple in its lavish glory. God asks them to compare its glory now and see if it measures up. God also tells them to be strong, do not be discouraged, and carry on the work. God further describes the idea of clean and unclean with regards to the hearts of the people. With a change of heart, comes a restoration of blessings. Finally, a promise to Zerubbabel brings...

The hard financial times the Jews were experiencing meant God was trying to get their attention, as He warned He would (Deut. 28:15-41). God told them they would sow much and reap little (28:38) and it was happening. Their fruitful land wouldn’t prosper if they refused to listen and obey. Here in Haggai they got discouraged and then found other things to do, so God tells them to “consider” their ways. They ate, but didn’t have enough to eat, something else God warned about (Lev. 26:14,26;...

In Israel's Post-exile history, the Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther tell us the story of a people returning to the land. Post-exile prophets: Haggai, Zecharaiah, and Malachi were there to speak to them from the Lord. Through the prophet Haggai, the Lord noted that these men lived in great houses while His house was still in ruins. Haggai told the men to seriously think about the way they lived. They seemed to only care about pleasure and they had become lazy. Their future would be one...

Peter closes out his letter to the churches of Asia Minor with some final words. He instructs the elders about how to lead, includes how and why to live in humility with each other, and gives a final warning to be clear-minded and alert.

When a person suffers real persecution for the sake of Jesus, it almost always profoundly changes their outlook regarding sin and the pursuits of the flesh. Peter realized we have all spent enough time living like the world. Now we are called to live like Christ. If we really understood that we live in the last days, we would spend a lot more time in prayer. Jesus reminds us in John 15, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also....

The teaching about submission was especially relevant to a first century married woman who had begun to follow Jesus. She would ask questions such as “Should I leave my husband?” or “Should I change my behavior towards him?” or “Should I assume a superior position to him because now I am in Jesus?” Peter carefully observed that wives are called to submit to their own husbands and not to all men in a general sense. Male headship is God’s commanded principle for the home and the church, not...

Drink spiritual milk and you'll grow up big and strong and holy. Or be like a stone. There are some stones that the Jewish leaders didn't think were good enough for building. Jesus was one of those. Believers too. But these rejected stones will be used to build up a spiritual house, says Peter. He tells us that the stone that everyone hated will become the cornerstone—the most important piece in the whole building. That same stone will trip up those haters and make them fall, and not just...

Peter is going to describe what it means to be holy. He's going to call us saints. Peter spent 3 years with Jesus who modeled for us what it means to live a holy life in fellowship with the Father. He wants us to live a life that is set apart as a response to God's grace. Peter will go on to describe an internal change that will help us live in this way as we change to live as foreigners, as people preparing to go home. We must mentally engage in setting all of our hope in God's future grace...

Imagine living with Jesus Christ for more than three years. How much you could learn from the master of all creation? Because the apostle Peter had such such a close look at the life of Jesus, he would know what it looked like to live in holiness amid a hostile world. More than any other man who walked the earth, Jesus modeled that lifestyle. So Peter points his readers to Jesus Himself. In part 1 of 1 Peter chapter 1, we learn that we can have hope in troubled times because of our unique...

In Romans 16, Paul sends greetings to those who have helped him spread the message of Jesus Christ in Rome. Paul warned his followers to beware of those people who wish to divide them by causing infighting and other troubles. Paul also mentioned that the one true God will eventually crush Satan and all his followers. He then prayed a benediction of peace and grace to those who earnestly wished to profess the word of God.

Romans 15 stresses unity within the body of believers. We are to take the encouragement from the scriptures and Christ as our example in how we live accepting one another. Paul reminds us that both Jews and Gentiles have looked forward to the coming Messiah and can both rejoice, together, that he has come. Now it is our job to share the Gospel with others.

In romans 14, Paul turns to the issue of disputable matters with the potential to divide the church. Paul instructs those who feel free to participate in activities formally forbidden under the law not to flaunt their freedom in front of those who, by conscience, still believe those actions to be wrong. Those strong-faith Christians should be willing to set aside their freedom to keep from leading their weaker brothers and sisters into sin by violating their convictions. Paul addresses this...

Paul begins Romans Chapter 13 by addressing the issue of submitting yourselves to government rulers. He said that believers in Christ should follow the rules set forth by their government while remembering that God is the true authority and, as such, has established these governing bodies. Paul also said that followers of Christ should pay their taxes. Since the people in authority are serving God, the taxes that you pay are actually paying God. According to Paul in Romans Chapter 13, the...

Romans 12 begins to describe how we should live by virtue of understanding the first 11 chapters of this epistle. Since we now know our position in Christ by his great mercy and grace, which we did not deserve but desperately needed, how should we then respond? The answer is a life of self-sacrificing worship and service to Jesus Christ and other believers, refusing revenge and overcoming evil with good.