Book of Luke Alan Felts

DATE: September 18, 2022
THEME: New Season, New Opportunities
SCRIPTURE: Luke 24:50-52 & Acts 1:1-14

Jesus hangs out for about 40 days after His resurrection, giving many proofs that He has indeed physically risen from the dead, as well as being seen by over 500 people before He gathers all of His disciples at the Mount of Olives to witness His ascension into heaven. This is a major transition in the life of humanity, specifically in the lives of the disciples. What do we do with times of transition? How did the disciples deal with the shift from walking with Jesus every day for 3 years, to watching His death, witnessing His resurrection, spending about 40 days with Him, then to watch as Jesus physically leaves and no longer physically walks with them into the new kingdom age? How, then, can we view major transitions in our own lives and the state of the ever changing world around us?

DATE: September 11, 2022
THEME: Too Good to Be True?
SCRIPTURE: Luke 24:36-49

The resurrection of Jesus Christ was evidence that the gospel is NOT "too good to be true," but is rather "It's good because it's true!" Jesus invited the disciples, as He invites you, into resurrection new life in this life and the next because of the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave; into order to resurrect life, resurrect hope, and resurrect purpose in everyone's life.

DATE: August 28, 2022
THEME: Embrace Disappointments
SCRIPTURE: Luke 24:13-35

Two of the disciples, Cleopas and his wife Mary, walk away from hope toward Emmaus, Jesus comes up and walks beside them to give them His presence, His Word, and to reveal His identity and glory to them. This is what gives hope in the midst of disappointment and disillusionment. We ought to embrace disappointment as an opportunity for faith.

DATE: August 7, 2022
THEME: So That...
SCRIPTURE: Luke 23:50-56

Jesus is buried. It really happened. Jesus died. He is TOTALLY dead, not just "mostly" dead. The death and burial of Jesus is an illustration to one of the most powerful truths about the freedom we have because of the grace of God through identifying with Jesus in His death and His burial. Jesus died and was buried, SO THAT…

DATE: July 31, 2022
THEME: Here in the Death of Christ I Live
SCRIPTURE: Luke 23:44-49

The death of Christ is best viewed through the lens of the resurrection as a fulfillment of all truth and scripture. Christ died during Passover to become our passover lamb. There is incredible beauty and power behind the imagery of the original Exodus and the NEW Exodus through Jesus our passover lamb. The curtain/veil was torn to give us access to Yahweh and is how He poured our His Spirit upon all flesh.

DATE: July 24, 2022
THEME: I Died With Him
SCRIPTURE: Luke 23:32-43

The last hours of Jesus' life were filled with power and glory, even though it looked like sorrow, pain, and despair. The place where Jesus was crucified, the guards gambling for His clothes, the words of the crowd, among other things, were fulfilling prophecy. The most powerful image we have on the day of Jesus' crucifixion was His conversation with the criminal on the cross who died with Him. Through our scripture passage this morning, we get to experience the core of the entire narrative of scripture, the restoration of ALL things, bringing all things back into order and shalom because of the death Jesus died, and the death we died with Him on the cross.