Luke 15:8-10

How precious we are to the Trinity. 

God will not allow His children to remain lost. He searches for them like jewels and restores them through His mercy and grace. The only one who can separate us from our Father is ourself.

 The woman needed a lamp because she lived in a windowless house.

He is the light of our soul.

Luke 15:8-10

⁸ “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ ¹⁰ Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The New King James Version.

John 8:58

The Word of God was made flesh and dwelt among us and we knew Him not! 

The Word was with God and the Word was God. He always was, always will be and always will remain the same.

Jesus was not just claiming to have lived before Abraham; He was claiming eternal existence. He was claiming to be God Himself. This time the Jewish leaders understood that Jesus was claiming to be God, so they took up stones to stone Him for blasphemy.

John 8:58

⁵⁸ Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

 The New King James Version. (1982). (Jn 8:58). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

² “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.” 

Micah 5:2

⁵ And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. 

John 17:5

¹⁴ And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” 

Exodus 3:14

²⁴ “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 

John 17:24

¹⁷ And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 

Colossians 1:17

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” 

Revelation 1:8

Acts 21:17-25

To this day we have the Catholic Church started by Peter still observing Jewish traditions and the Gentiles spearheaded by Paul. HIStory prevails and thrives in the unison of the Holy Spirit. Jesus came to offer all humanity the choice of life… that through Him all could be saved!

Reports were circulating that Paul had been urging Jews to abandon Mosaic traditions. However, Paul never derided his Jewish heritage nor demanded that Jewish Christians renounce the Law of Moses. He only made it clear to everyone that the law could not function as a means of salvation. There is evidence that Paul was continuing to keep the Law when he stood before Felix. The fact that he was coming to Jerusalem to worship was evidence of this. What Paul did resist was any attempt to force Gentiles to observe Jewish customs. Salvation was through faith alone. Relying on adherence to the Jewish law was repudiation of the gospel message that salvation proceeds from faith in Christ and that alone.

The spiritual unity of the body of believers is realized in its diversity, not in its conformity. From our diverse backgrounds and cultures we honor the same Lord.

Acts 21:17-25

¹⁷ And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. ¹⁸ On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. ¹⁹ When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. ²⁰ And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law; ²¹ but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. ²² What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come. ²³ Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow. ²⁴ Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law. ²⁵ But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.”

 The New King James Version. (1982). (Ac 21:17–25). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

⁹ and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 

Galatians 2:9

⁷ for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 

1 Timothy 2:7

And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 

Acts 15:1

¹⁹ Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, 

Acts 15:19

Luke 12:54-56

The world is in such a chaotic, unstable state, we need to discern the move of the Holy Spirit and enter into God’s plan for mankind. The need is great but the workers are few. The time is ever closer and our only salvation is in JESUS… that the world might be saved through Him.

Luke never met Jesus, yet chose to follow Him.

Jesus rebuked His audience for being able to discern the weather but not what God was doing through Him.

Luke 12:54-56

⁵⁴ Then He also said to the multitudes, “Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it is. ⁵⁵ And when you see the south wind blow, you say, ‘There will be hot weather’; and there is. ⁵⁶ Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time? The New King James Version.

⁴¹ Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, ⁴² saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.

Luke 19:41–44

Micah 2:1-2

God hates mans’ inhumanity to man. It was never His plan for us to use others to better ourselves. Society has reaped what it has sown. Our half baked schemes without God will always fail. Why is it so hard to be like Him?

⁸ He has shown you, O man, what is good;

And what does the Lord require of you

But to do justly,

To love mercy,

And to walk humbly with your God?

     (Mic 6:8)

The ethical teaching of the prophets regularly included oracles of judgment against greed, theft, and oppression, actions of the powerful in attacking the weak.

Micah 2:1-2

2  Woe to those who devise iniquity,

And work out evil on their beds!

At morning light they practice it,

Because it is in the power of their hand.

² They covet fields and take them by violence,

Also houses, and seize them.

So they oppress a man and his house,

A man and his inheritance.

 The New King James Version.

⁶ They prepare their heart like an oven, While they lie in wait; Their baker sleeps all night; In the morning it burns like a flaming fire. 

Hosea 7:6

⁷ They are all hot, like an oven, And have devoured their judges; All their kings have fallen. None among them calls upon Me. 

Hosea 7:7

Luke 13:1-5

Each day has its own set of troubles. God rains on the just and the unjust so that His mercy and judgement reign over all of the world that He created. The point is to trust Him to take the very things meant to destroy our faith and use them for our eternal good.

When we invite Jesus into our life we extend an invitation to the inner workings of the Holy Spirit in that life. He will refine us, purify us and sanctify us to resemble His Son, Jesus Christ. He uses our human troubles for His divine glory.

Jesus’ question reflected the opinion of His audience. The idea that judgment and death are the results of sin led to the belief that tragic death was the result of extreme sin. While such a view was common in Judaism, it was not always a correct conclusion.  Jesus’ point here is that everyone stands at the edge of death until repentance occurs. The death in view here is spiritual, not physical.

Luke 13:1-5

13 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. ² And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? ³ I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. ⁴ Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? ⁵ I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

 The New King James Version. (1982). (Lk 13:1–5). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

² Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 

John 15:2

Job 12:13-16

God has the answers to all our questions. When we rely on Him there is joy in knowing that His wisdom is infinitely greater than mans’.

Job believes that God is in the process of slowly taking his life. But in a bold declaration of faith, Job declares his absolute trust in God, for when he would be brought into God’s presence, he would plead his cause directly with God. And then, if not before, Job would rediscover what he had never really lost: God’s love and salvation.

Job 12:13-16

¹³  “With God are wisdom and might;

he has counsel and understanding.

¹⁴  If he tears down, none can rebuild;

if he shuts a man in, none can open.

¹⁵  If he withholds the waters, they dry up;

if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land.

¹⁶  With him are strength and sound wisdom;

the deceived and the deceiver are his.

Hosea 2:19-20

God keeps His promises. He is faithful when we are not and even though we deserve death, in His infinite mercy, He offers us His abundant life.

Out of God’s great love for His creation He offers His gift of salvation, His unmerited grace given in Jesus.

At the beginning of Hosea’s prophetic ministry, the Lord told him to get married and announced that Hosea’s chosen bride would be unfaithful to her marriage vows. Her adultery would vividly illustrate Israel’s unfaithfulness to her covenant Lord.

Because of Gomer’s adulteries, the marriage disintegrated, and she eventually became the slave or concubine of another man. However, the Lord instructed Hosea to buy back his wife. Hosea’s act of mercy toward his wife was a striking picture of the Lord’s great love for Israel.

The Lord emphasized that the new marriage between Himself and Israel would be permanent.

Hosea 2:19-20

¹⁹     “I will betroth you to Me forever;

Yes, I will betroth you to Me

In righteousness and justice,

In lovingkindness and mercy;

²⁰ I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,

And you shall know the Lord.

³³ But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 

Jeremiah 31:33

³⁴ No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” 

Jeremiah 31:34

⁶ For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. 

Hosea 6:6

⁴ “Yet I am the Lord your God Ever since the land of Egypt, And you shall know no God but Me; For there is no savior besides Me. 

Hosea 13:4

³ And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 

John 17:3

Micah 5:3-5

Everything is under the orchestration of God. He is the mighty Maestro. Perfect in all His ways. Nothing has been left to chance. We are His creation. All things work out for those who love and trust in Him alone. With the Father, in Jesus Christ and in the unity of the Holy Spirit we are saved.

God is love..faithful and true with no beginning and no end.

The future of Israel is pictured here in terms of the birth, life, and ministry of the Savior King. The two advents of the Savior are seen as one event by Micah. Whereas verse 2 speaks of the birth of the Savior in His First Coming, verses 3–5 speak of the time of the rule of Jesus in the Second Coming.

Micah 5:3-5

³      Therefore He shall give them up,

Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth;

Then the remnant of His brethren

Shall return to the children of Israel.

⁴ And He shall stand and feed His flock

In the strength of the Lord,

In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God;

And they shall abide,

For now He shall be great

To the ends of the earth;

⁵ And this One shall be peace.

¹⁸ Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy. 

Micah 7:18

⁸ He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth. 

Psalm 72:8

³² He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 

Luke 1:32

⁶ For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

Isaiah 9:6

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” 

Luke 2:14

¹⁴ For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 

Ephesians 2:14

²⁰ and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. 

Colossians 1:20

Zephaniah 1:2-3

Sin is so entwined in fallen mans’ DNA that left on his own he will self destruct. It takes a catastrophic event  (911) for Christians to lay aside their differences and concentrate on someone other than themselves. Even then it is short lived. It grieves God’s heart when we cast aside His commands to love Him and to love and care for others. Hatred and love can not coexist. Without God…history repeats itself over and over.

Without a real change brought about by the very Spirit of God within us we are devoid of hope.

It was the “turn back to God” part of Zephaniah’s message that offered a ray of hope. And to those who listened and responded to his call, the good news wiped out every line of bad. God would restore those who sought Him.

Stumbling blocks are substitutes for God in the life and affections of a person.

Zephaniah 1:2-3

²      “I will utterly consume everything

From the face of the land,”

Says the Lord;

³ “I will consume man and beast;

I will consume the birds of the heavens,

The fish of the sea,

And the stumbling blocks along with the wicked.

I will cut off man from the face of the land,”

Says the Lord.

¹³ “I will surely consume them,” says the Lord. “No grapes shall be on the vine, Nor figs on the fig tree, And the leaf shall fade; And the things I have given them shall pass away from them.” ’ ” 

Jeremiah 8:13

³ Therefore the land will mourn; And everyone who dwells there will waste away With the beasts of the field And the birds of the air; Even the fish of the sea will be taken away. 

Hosea 4:3

Now  I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.  Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” ⁵ Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” ⁶ And He said to me, ^l“It is done! ^mI am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 

Revelation 21:1–6

1 Corinthians 15:3-8

In order for the Holy Spirit to work in us we must believe that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him and the truth of Jesus Christ. We must by faith believe that Jesus came to this world, He died for our sins, and He was lifted up by the power of the Holy Spirit and was seen by many after His resurrection.

Christ is a risen Savior today.

Christ lived and died in accordance with the prophecies about Him in the OT. At the time of Paul’s writing, a person could have verified the truthfulness of the apostle’s statements. The majority of the five hundred people who saw the risen Christ, as well as all the apostles and James (the half brother of Jesus), were still living. 

1 Corinthians 15:3-8

³ For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. ⁶ After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 

⁷ After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 

⁸ Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 

Isaiah 53:5

¹⁸ But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 

Acts 3:18

⁹ Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope. ¹⁰ For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. ¹¹ You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. 

Psalm 16:9–11

² After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight. 

Hosea 6:2

³¹ And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 

Mark 8:31

³ to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. 

Acts 1:3

⁵⁰ And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 

Luke 24:50

Acts 13:38-39 and 13:47-48

There is hope for man through the Son Of God, Jesus Christ. Through Him and the salvation that He gave in His birth, death and resurrection we are saved. Praise God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit! ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

Justification is a legal term meaning “declared innocent” It is a legal declaration that a person is acquitted and absolved. It is by justification that a person is righteous and acceptable to God. The death of Christ was the payment of our sin debt, so that we might be forgiven.

The infectious news first appeared in Jerusalem, then spread quickly from person to person and from city to city. It faced opposition everywhere it went. But the world was ill-equipped to fight it. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, the followers of Christ relayed the Good News about Jesus everywhere. In less than 35 years, the gospel had reached cities from Jerusalem to Rome.

Acts 13:38-39 and 13:47-48

³⁸ Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; ³⁹ and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

⁴⁷ For so the Lord has commanded us:

‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles,

That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”

³⁴ No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” 

Jeremiah 31:34

¹¹ He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. 

Isaiah 53:11

⁶ Indeed He says, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ” 

Isaiah 49:6

³² A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.” 

Luke 2:32