Study Introduction
Jesus, in His humanity, had limited knowledge. The transfiguration was preparation for what was to come, a communication between His natures. He will steel Himself to the cross from this point on, marching towards Jerusalem and what lies in wait.
To follow someone, important questions need to be answered. Are they worth of being followed? Do they know where they're going? Though it will be difficult, Jesus is worth the sacrifice of following.
While we may wish to see miracles like 5,000+ fed at once, the reality is following Jesus will be more about troubles and persecution than miracles. One is desired, but the other is expected. Too many want all highs with Jesus but no lows, where are you?
Jesus empowered and commission the 12 to proclaim His Kingdom was here. The result was numerically fantastic, but the end result will be shallow faith. We often wish we had the authority the 12 did, but would the results be the same?
We remember the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in song, word and by partaking of the communion elements together.
Two women, one young, the other old; both facing death find healing in Jesus. Nothing is impossible with God, He doesn’t always answer in the same way, but He can do all things, do you believe it?
Violence swept through the land in Jesus’ day like ours. Physically violent storms and demoniacs, Jesus is able to calm all of them down, just as He is able to calm the violence in our lives.
Light reveals what was there the whole time, but just having light doesn’t mean it is always seen. Jesus own family failed to understand the nature and mission of Jesus.
Jesus routinely used common objects to illustrate kingdom truths. These stories, called parables, were meant to impart truth to an audience while also hiding truth from others. The parable of the sower would have been more readily understood by the Galileans than from the cities.
When we understand how great a debt we owed because of our sin, we can appreciate the depth of forgiveness we find in Jesus. Too often though our religion gets in the way and we fail to see how indebted we really are.
While languishing away in prison, John wanted confirmation that Jesus was the one he expected. Jesus both confirms that with John but also affirms his ministry.
We welcome the Dinsmore family, from Guatemala. They will share with us what God is doing in their part of Central America.
Once again, we see Luke sharing a part of Jesus’ ministry to an outsider to the nation of Israel and a woman. Jesus did not just come to rescue Israel from her sins but also the whole world!
What we build our lives on and what we value has eternal consequences. Too many live for what will not endure, we are called to focus on eternal things not trivial.
Jesus promised his followers that trouble would follow them but then gave them His expectations about how they should live when facing adversity.
Jesus commissions the 12 and then seems to give them the message He intends for them to carry to the House of Israel.
From the time of Nehemiah, about 450 years before, the religious leaders have developed a fanatical approach to keeping the Sabbath. They built walls and then fences around the walls. Jesus came in like a bulldozer to destroy the traditions and it infuriated them to no end.
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