Luke

Great Expectations

September 4, 2022 • Scott Richards • Acts 1:3–11, Luke 24:51–53, Zechariah 14:4–5, Hebrews 10:25

Jesus has physically ascended into Heaven in the presence of His disciples. Before doing so, He provided them the same blessing explained in the Old Testament as belonging to everyone who belongs to God and trusts His promises. In knowing what those promises are, we also benefit from the blessing that accompanies them. The most significant of which was His promise to return to the exact place He departed from us. 1. Jesus wants to invest blessings as He's defined them into your life. 2. Jesus wants to invest His promises as He's given them to our lives. 3. Jesus wants to invest His love into our lives so it can be shared with those who don't know it.

Three For the Road

August 28, 2022 • Scott Richards • Luke 24:36–49, John 14:19, John 20:19–20, John 15:5

Jesus' post-resurrection appearances were done intentionally to demonstrate several things. First, the historical reality of Jesus' resurrection. Second, the kind of bodies we can expect when we are resurrected. And third, who enables us to live the Christian life to begin with. 1. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the reason we trust His word above any other religious worldview. 2. The Bible is our source of information about what God claimed and how He verified it. 3. The Holy Spirit is who enables us to effectively relate and receive God's Word.

Jesus' Calling - The Real Deal

August 21, 2022 • Scott Richards • Jeremiah 29:13, Luke 24:25–35, John 10:27, John 5:39

On the road to Emmaus, the disciple's experience with the resurrected Lord shows us what a real word from God looks like. It will always line up with what He's already spoken. It will always reflect the character of God revealed in scripture. And it will come in His timing. 1. A real Word from God will always line up with what He's already spoken. 2. A real Word from God will always emphasize grace. 3. A real Word from God will come as needed.

A Walk to Remember

August 14, 2022 • Scott Richards • Matthew 18:20, Romans 1:21, Hebrews 10:23–25

The Road to Emmaus gives us a perfect example of spiritual blindness and self-deception in action. The disciples literally had Jesus walking next to them yet didn't recognize Him. The reason for this is the same reason we make the same mistake today. We aren't looking for Him, we aren't where He said we'd find Him, and we are rejecting His Word in favor of our speculations. If we want to hear from God, first recognize what He's spoken and promised. 1. Isolation from God's people prevents us from seeing God work in our lives. 2. Separation from God's word prevents us from hearing God speak to our lives. 3. Doubt puts us in a place where we aren't looking for Jesus even when He's right in front of us.

And Now For a Special Announcement

August 7, 2022 • Scott Richards • Luke 24:1–12, Titus 2:11–14, 1 Peter 1:12, John 14:19

The first witnesses of Jesus' resurrection began with the historical fact that stumps skeptics to this day. The Riddle of the Empty Tomb is the challenge every Christian needs to understand inside and out in order to appreciate exactly what the Gospel is to them and what it could mean to those it's being shared with. 1. The Empty Tomb is a verifiable fact of History. 2. The Empty Tomb verifies Jesus' promises. 3. The Empty Tomb is a foreshadowing of our future.

The Ultimate Who-Dun-It

July 31, 2022 • Scott Richards • 1 Corinthians 15:16–19, Titus 2:11–13, John 14:19, Luke 23:50—24:12

The Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is the gospel itself. It is what gives us reason to live the Christian life as well as the only thing we have to share with people who reject Jesus' claim to be God. If we take the time to understand the facts on the table, we will be able to answer every challenge to our faith. This includes death itself. 1. The Resurrection of Jesus is a historical fact that passes every objective examination of the facts. 2. The Resurrection of Jesus is a historical fact we need to understand. 3. The Resurrection of Jesus is a historical fact we need to be prepared to defend.

Why the Cross Matters to You

July 24, 2022 • Scott Richards • Luke 23:44–49, Hebrews 10:1–14, Psalm 31:1–5, Ephesians 2:8–9

Luke's account details for us the crucifixion of Jesus from a unique angle. While Matthew had a Jewish audience in mind, both drew careful attention to Jesus' deliberate quotations of scripture as well as the events surrounding the crucifixion that were prophesied. From the significance of the darkness and the tearing of the veil, all the way down to the last words He spoke. None were without significance. All were pointing us to what He was doing, why He was doing them, and who He was doing them for. 1. Jesus was willing to experience Hell so we wouldn't have to. 2. Those who trust in Jesus' promise are seen by God as already in Heaven as far as He's concerned. 3. The reason we trust Jesus' promise is because of the evidence He gave to show how much He meant them.

Who Goes to Heaven

July 10, 2022 • Scott Richards • Isaiah 53:1–8, Psalm 22:1–21, Romans 10:9–10, Luke 23:32–49

The account of the two thieves on the cross is a significant one. It not only fulfills prophecies made 1000 years in advance, but clarifies the difference between the person who is going to Heaven and Hell. One thief refused to believe who Jesus was and to respond to His offer of salvation accordingly. The other acknowledged his sin, recognized who Jesus was, and put himself at His mercy. 1. The only thing that put and kept Jesus on the Cross was His love for us. 2. The only thing that made the difference between the two thieves was a willingness to ask Jesus for mercy. 3. The only thing that will get us to Heaven is receiving the salvation Jesus freely offers.

Agony and Empathy

July 3, 2022 • Scott Richards • Romans 5:6–8, Luke 23:27–31, 1 John 3:16–17, 1 Corinthians 3:9–15

Jesus' final sermon is given before He enters the second stage of Crucifixion. Addressing women, He brings to mind the same reality the Holy Spirit continues to convict the world of today. Sin, Righteousness, and Judgment. Apart from Jesus' righteousness, which He illustrates as green wood, our sin will leave us as nothing less than kindling in the face of judgment. 1. A future apart from Jesus is not something to invest in or look forward to. 2. Green wood doesn't burn, nor will the righteousness of Jesus be consumed by the judgment of God. 3. Dry wood's only purpose is to burn, just like us apart from the mercy God offers through Jesus' death and resurrection.

Bad Things and Good People

June 26, 2022 • Scott Richards • Luke 23:26–38, Job 23:3–10, Proverbs 16:9, Romans 8:28

Simon of Cyrene was a Jewish man who sincerely wanted to worship God in His Temple. Despite the long and difficult journey, he was willing to make it if it meant doing the right thing by him and his children. And at the last moment, he was forced to carry the cross of a prisoner whose blood made him unfit to enter the Temple ceremonially. In the short term, it seemed like he was wronged for trying to do what was right. Long term, he found out God made him a part of something so honorable that we’re still remembering him for it to this day. Never waste a seemingly pointless trial. It may be a redirection towards something greater. 1. Trials are quality perspective checks. 2. We make plans, but God accomplishes His purposes. 3. All things aren’t good, but God is still working.

What Will We Do With Jesus

June 12, 2022 • Scott Richards • Hebrews 3:15, Luke 23:1–25, Deuteronomy 21:22–23, Acts 24:24–25

Jesus stood before three audiences before His crucifixion just like He stands before three types of people today. There are those like Pilate who delayed coming to a decision about Jesus until it was made for him. There are those like Herod who will demand Jesus entertain them rather than acknowledge Him as the God they're pretending to be. And there are those who come to a decision acknowledging Him for who He is. Which one are you? 1. People who delay coming to a decision about Jesus are playing a dangerous game. You aren't promised another opportunity. 2. People who demand Jesus meet a list of requirements before acknowledging what He's already done will be met with silence. 3. People who receive Jesus on His terms will have exactly what they ask for.

Facing the Fire

June 5, 2022 • Scott Richards • Luke 22:63–71

Jesus isn't the kind of God who distances Himself from our pain. He personally became a part of it in order to provide us with the kind of first-hand comfort only He can give. He endured abuse, both physical and verbal. He endured misrepresentation, both legal and personal. And He continued to remain faithful to the truth regardless of what it cost Him. 1. Jesus knows what it's like to endure physical and verbal abuse. 2. Jesus knows what it's like to suffer for doing what's right. 3. We don't serve a God who distances Himself from our pain. He voluntarily made Himself a part of it.

Salvation - Can You Lose It?

May 29, 2022 • Scott Richards • Luke 22:54–62

Peter’s greatest spiritual fall was not unlike our own. Whether it was based on fear, selective remembrance of God’s Word designed to condemn him, or an unwillingness to receive the mercy he needed, all are simply delaying what God wants to do in our lives in response to our sin as well as in the lives of others who need the same restoration we do. 1. Legalism sets us up for spiritual failure. 2. Restoration is what we should seek first after a fall. 3. Relate the Comfort you’ve received to others.

The Practical Power of Prayer

May 22, 2022 • Scott Richards • James 5:14–15, 1 Peter 5:6–7, Luke 22:47–53, Philippians 4:6–7

Jesus' prayer in the garden demonstrates for us the true purpose of prayer. It's not about receiving our desires, but aligning our desires with God's. That alignment will give us the emotional, physical, and relational peace we need to endure the trials we are currently facing or about to face. Prayer is a resource we should make an essential part of our every day lives no matter where we're at in life. 1. Prayer provides the physical comfort and peace we need. 2. Prayer equips us to endure the trials we're not yet in. 3. Prayer puts into perspective where God is during trials.

Showdown in Gethsemane

May 15, 2022 • Scott Richards • 1 Peter 5:7, Luke 22:39–44, Mark 14:32–41, Romans 8:15

Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane demonstrates for us what real prayer looks like. He spoke to His Father. He genuinely expressed how He was feeling about what He was talking about. And most importantly, He understood the purpose wasn't to get what He wanted, but to align what He wanted with the heart of His Father. 1. Prayer isn't about giving God information, but pursuing intimacy with Him. 2. Prayer isn't about getting anything from God apart from His heart towards our circumstances. 3. Prayer isn't talking at God with a series of sermon quotes and clichés. It's talking to God. Plain and Simple.

Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson, AZ

An in-depth study through the Gospel of Luke