Month: February 2016

02 28 Luke 24.13-35 What kind of heart do you have?  Two disciples traveling to their homes from Jerusalem to Emmaus, were saddened by the events of the past several days because the person they thought was the Messiah had died by crucifixion.  Jesus came alongside them as they traveled and talked with Him.  They were in some way prevented from seeing Jesus.  As He expounded the Old Testament taking them to various passages that portrayed the Messiah and that He had to suffer led to a burning in their heart to know more.  Even though Jesus was right there with them they still did not see Jesus.  How often do we through a day and miss seeing Jesus.  When their eyes and ears were opened they saw Jesus for who He is.  Had they never opened the door and invited Jesus in they would have missed Him altogether.  Over joyed by seeing Jesus alive they returned to Jerusalem to tell the goods news to the disciples.  They went from a troubled heart to a triumphant heart.  Why?  They had an open book.  They had an open door.  They had an open heart.  They had an open witness.  How is your heart today?  Do you see Jesus?

02 21 Luke 24.1-12 Did the resurrection really happen?  The stone was moved and the body was missing.  Perhaps the best two irrefutable pieces of evidence to substantiate the truth of the resurrection are the many eye witnesses and the transformed lives of the disciples who, afterward, boldly and emphatically proclaimed the gospel and the resurrection of Christ.  Christianity rises or falls on the resurrection.  If we believe that Jesus rose again from the dead, others should see a difference in our lives.  Do they?

02 14 Luke 23.44-56 The account of Jesus’ death provides a very important element for us.  Jesus was on the cross for approximately 6 hours.  For the first three hours He suffered at the hands of man.  For second three hours He suffered at the hands of God.  During this time great darkness shrouded the land as if God were hiding from man the awful wrath God put Jesus through for our sin.  At the moment of His death a supernatural event occurred.  The 60 foot curtain in the Temple was torn form top to bottom.  Through His death and finished work on the cross for sin, Jesus now made a way for mankind to enter into the presence of God.  Our access to God is through the shed blood of Christ.  He made a way for any and all.

“When the Berlin Wall was erected in 1961, it divided the German capital in a way that reflected the division that had been forced on the conquered nation following WWII. West Germany remained free while East Germany was under the domination of the Soviet Union.  Once the wall was in place people could no longer escape the communist government. 

It is said that at one point during a particularly tense time in the East-West relationship in the 1970’s that a group from East Berlin began throwing bags of garbage over the wall in a symbolic protest against the West. After seeing the bags of garbage, some residents of the West decided to respond.  They filled bags with food and medical supplies that were in short supply in the communist run city and threw them over the wall with a note that read ‘each gives what he has.’”

Christ took on Himself all the garbage, all the stench of our lives to give us the spiritual food and medical supplies we need. He gives us His righteousness.  We must accept it by faith.  He has made a way into God’s presence by breaking down the barrier that stood between us and God.

(We apologize.  There is no audio for this message.)

02 07 Luke 23.26-43 Did Jesus have to die?  We see from the passage not only the punishment on the cross for sin, the result of which we are told from Romans 6:23 is death, but then we see the pardon at the cross.  Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness and that blood could only be from the sinless Son of God who became man to die in our place, the death we deserve to give us pardon and paradise we don’t deserve.  John R. W. Stott said “My sins sent Him there (to the cross), but His love took Him there.”  If He did not go to the cross, we could not receive eternal life.  Yes, Jesus had to die.