Following Jesus’ unseemly ride into Jerusalem and his outrageous disruption of temple worship, the religious leaders seek to silence him as soon as possible. They failed to trap Jesus with a question about religious authority, so they sent spies with an incendiary question about Caesar and God.

Today’s text opens up a series of debates between Jesus and the religious leaders. Each is designed to discredit Jesus’ authority or defuse his popularity. It starts with a question about Jesus’ authority, and is followed by a story about wicked tenants. What has this to do with us? Let’s find out....

As Jesus approaches his destiny in Jerusalem, he tells a parable about a king who returns to claim his kingdom. The king says, “Well done, good servant!” to some, while to others he says, “You wicked servant!” How do we make sure we are in the first group and not the second? Let’s find out….

Today it is our privilege to commission Kent and Suzanne Sisco for the work God has called them to do in Japan. As we do, we are following the biblical precedent set by the Antioch church who sent Barnabas and Saul as the church’s first missionaries. As we send them off with God's blessing, let’s explore this text together.

When Jesus invited himself to Zacchaeus’ home, everyone was shocked. They shouldn’t have been, for Jesus was always doing unexpected things. But why did he reach out to this man? He told us himself: “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

On Sunday, Jesus will enter Jerusalem on the back of a donkey and, for the first time, gladly receive the coronation cries of the crowd. He knows his crown will not be one of gold, but rather, one of thorns. He tries once more to warn his disciples, but they can’t see it. As if to illustrate the point that believing is seeing, Jesus performs his last miracle: He gives sight to a blind man in response to his faith.

Thus far in Luke 18, Jesus has affirmed the value of oppressed widows, sinful tax collectors, and little children -- all of which are very surprising to his disciples. Today, they are utterly astounded by his unexpected response to a wealthy man’s question. What are we to make of this? Let’s find out...

Happy Birthday to US! We are incredibly proud and thankful to be citizens of this great country. But as we have learned from our study of Luke, we are also citizens of the kingdom of heaven. How do these two relate to one another? Let’s find out....

In recent weeks we’ve heard Jesus tell stories affirming the value of oppressed widows and sinful tax collectors. Today we encounter the third in this series of events, where Jesus affirms the importance of children in the kingdom of God. What does this teach us about kids and the kingdom? Let’s find out....

In this section of Luke, we encounter four surprising stories which demonstrate the upside-down nature of Jesus’ kingdom. We looked at the first last week: A persistent widow and an unjust judge. Today we consider the second of these stories: a parable about Pharisees, publicans, prayer and pride.