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This Lord’s Day we will observe the Lord’s Table. The service will focus on John 16:7-15. On the night before Jesus died, he promised that he would send the Holy Spirit to the apostles after completing his own mission. The text explains the Spirit’s mission: its basis (the completed work of Christ), its task (calling people from the world to Christ), and its means (the completed message of Jesus given to the apostles). The passage enlarges our understanding of what Jesus died to accomplish. He not only achieved our personal salvation, but he set in motion a global mission for his own glory.

For Reformation Sunday we had the privilege of having Missionary Matt Gass preaching from 1 Corinthians 16. The sermon outline was:

I. Recognize what God has done.

II. Understand where we fit

III. Move Out

In Luke 17:7-10, Jesus continued giving instructions to his followers that contrast with the attitudes and actions of the Pharisees. This time, the topic is their role as servants of God. Jesus reminds them that the LORD is their owner and master. Anything work that the servant does is mere duty and can never obligate the master to the servant. Thus, we serve by his grace.

In Luke 17:1-4 (last week’s text), Jesus gave the disciples difficult instruction regarding forgiveness. Their response (Luke 17:5-6) was a plea for greater faith. Jesus taught them that God can do great things in the lives of those who have faith—even a little faith.

In Luke 17, Jesus continued to contrast the path of those who trust him with the way of the Pharisees. The focus of Luke 17:1-4 is the Christian’s relationship to others. Specifically, we must “pay attention to ourselves” so that we do not sin against others, thus causing them to stumble, and we must quickly extend forgiveness to those who sin against us.

Luke 16:19-31 contains one of Jesus’ most famous stories, a tale about an unnamed rich man and a poor man called Lazarus. Jesus contrasted the two men in this life and the life to come. The climax of the story condemned the Pharisees for rejecting the Scriptures that point to Jesus, the Christ.

Mark Buhr will deliver the message this Lord’s Day as pastor Thomas will be speaking at a Bible Conference out of state.

In Luke 16:1-13, Jesus spoke to his disciples, warning them against following the example of the Pharisees. Unlike the Pharisees, his followers must invest in the eternal good of others, display their character by faithfulness in little things, and resist divided loyalties, which is idolatry.

The sermon text (Luke 16:14-18) tells us that the Pharisees heard Jesus’ teaching but ridiculed him. Jesus unmasked the true condition of their hearts. Despite all their talk about the message of the Law and the Prophets, they didn’t believe it. If they did, they would listen to Jesus and would thus enter the Kingdom.

This Lord’s Day our guest speaker is Joel Owen. His message is a study in Divine Providence in the life of David as found in 1 Samuel 19:1-24

Takeaway Truths:

1. God is able to make a way.

2. God has all means at His disposal.

3. God’s ways are not our ways.

4. God always gets His way in the end.

The sermon text for this Lord’s Day is Luke 16:1-13. It contains the most puzzling parable that Jesus told: the parable of the “unjust steward.” We will retell the story but focus mainly on the clear principles that Jesus drew from it (vv. 9-13). A major theme undergirds the text, namely, that our choices reveal our character (“one who is faithful in very little is also faithful in much . . .”). Jesus illustrated his point by discussing material wealth, though the thrust of the passage takes us far beyond matters of money.