Pastor Coty Pinckney in a sermon, “The King and His Kingdom” comments: Jesus enters the synagogue on a Sabbath, takes the Isaiah scroll, and unrolls it to what we call chapter 61. Note that this section of Isaiah is about the Kingdom of God. Consider the verses that immediately precede what Jesus read: Violence shall … More “already/not yet”
Coty Pinckney makes this very interesting observation regarding Luke 3 and 4: Most written accounts of a person’s life would put the genealogy right at the beginning – like the Gospel of Matthew. Again like Matthew, most often the genealogy will start with the ancestor and work forward to the subject of the account. But … More An intentional contrast
John Piper, in a sermon, “The Baptism and the Genealogy of Jesus” says in his introduction: You can learn more from a book if you stop and ask it questions than if you just read it passively. That includes the Bible too. One of the great problems in Bible reading is that we move our eyes over … More Ask questions when you read the Bible!
John Piper, in a sermon, “John the Baptist and the Brood of Vipers”- This is the meaning of repentance: a turning of the direction of our life and the affections of our heart, so that we become oriented on God and love the things he loves. John promises the people “forgiveness of sins” in response … More The Issue is Repentance
John Piper, in a sermon, “The Son of God at 12 Years Old” says of Luke 2:41-52- ….our text has important implications for understanding the divinity of Christ. It helps us understand what Paul meant when he said, “Though he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing … More The Son of God at 12 Years Old
John Piper, in a sermon from Luke 2, “Preparing to Receive Christ: Looking For the Consolation of israel” God prepares a person to receive Christ by stirring up a longing for consolation and redemption that can come only from Christ. In Relation to the First Coming We can see in this text that this was true of … More Are you eagerly waiting for Jesus’ coming?
John Piper: Calvary Road—Luke 2:6–7 Now you would think that if God so rules the world as to use an empire-wide census to bring Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, he surely could have seen to it that a room was available in the inn. Yes, he could have. And Jesus could have been born into … More Calvary Road
A Big God for a Little People—Luke 2:1–5 Have you ever thought what an amazing thing it is that God ordained beforehand that the Messiah be born in Bethlehem (as the prophecy in Micah 5 shows); and that he so ordained things that when the time came, the Messiah’s mother and legal father were living … More A Big God for a Little People
J.C.Ryle on Zechariah’s Song in Luke 1:67-80 We should notice, secondly, in this hymn of praise, how much emphasis Zachariah lays on God’s fulfillment of His promises.He declares that God has “visited and redeemed his people,” speaking of it in the manner of the prophets as a thing already accomplished, because sure to take place. He … More Standing on the Promises
Luke 1:57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but … More The Ripple Effects of Mercy
