Sunday Reflections...I'm closing in on 100 sermons from the book of Luke...#98 in the books



It was July 2nd of 2017 when I started this book of the Bible, teaching and preaching it chapter by chapter and verse by verse.  Today marked sermon #98 and #100 is in my sights.  It looks like that one will finish out chapter 22 with a final chapter of 23 left.  I have preached on chapter 24 a couple of times already but I probably will one more time to finish out the book.  I can say it has been a joy to look this deeply at the life of Jesus through the eyes of Doctor Luke.  I will probably hit the #106 mark with this Gospel.

I don't have the recordings of my study through the Gospel of Matthew but I do believe it was in the #90 range.  Mark, a shorter book, yielded 61 sermons.  I have been going through the Gospel of John with my weekly Wednesdays in the Word devotionals and I'm up to approximately 132 and in chapter 19 at the moment with two more chapters to go.  I started on October 31, 2018.  This is a precursor to preaching this book from the pulpit sometime in the future.  Why do I share all of this data with you?  Because it is becoming apparent to me that  this truly has become my life.  I want to know all I can about Jesus so that I can live all I can for Him.

Lord willing, knowing the Gospel of John will probably take 3 years to complete after starting it, I pray for the opportunity to finish the task.  People need to hear about Jesus.  We can focus on the remaining books of the New Testament that deal with many issues that still plague the church today for Biblical answers but I find studying Jesus and His words greatly helps when when I look at what Peter, Paul, James, and others later said.  Many times they are speaking what Jesus has already said so I find it helpful to go back to the source.

The sermon this morning was pretty simple in application.  When you are facing temptation Jesus says to pray just as He prayed.  We are to call upon divine help in these types of matters.  We call out like He did to the Father.  We can also have the comfort to know that if we seek after Him in times of temptation that He will send help.  I have had to learn to look for it and when I see it, jump into that life boat that Jesus has sent my way.  Sometimes it is straight from His word; sometimes it's a timely call or email from a godly brother or sister in Christ; and sometimes the words of a Christian song speak directly to what I am dealing with.  

Temptations are tough and not to be slept away (actually they don't go away that way) but rather dealt with head on, on our knees, so that we can rise up like Jesus did in the garden holding onto God's will.  Through temptation we acknowledge again whose kingdom we are a part of and say "NO!" to Satan and his schemes to get us to join his band.  Simply put today, if you are tempted say the first word of the prayer that Jesus not only taught us and His disciples but Himself said over and over recorded in the Gospels, "Father!"

Adam

A simple man serving a great God and the local pastor of Stillwater Community Chapel (stillwater-chapel.org). We are in our 38th year of full time ministry. God directed us to this local body of believers on the Western Range of the Rockies to grow with them in mission and mindedness of Christ.

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