Iowa Falls Evangelical Free Church Sermon Podcast

Jesus died, was buried, and was raised from the dead. Those are the historical events. But what impact do those events have on us today? On this Easter Sunday we turn to Romans 6 which answers that question. Baptism gives us a picture of the glorious realities we will explore today and we will have the great privilege of witnessing some baptisms later in the worship service.

Today is Palm Sunday but we didn't want to skip that far ahead in Luke! So we are just moving on to the next passage which takes place about 4 years before Jesus' triumphal entry on what we now call Palm Sunday. John and Jesus are now adults and most of the passage is about how John prepared people for salvation in Jesus. This will prompt us to think about how we do the same. Along the way, we'll hear a lot about baptism and we'll end with Jesus' baptism in the Jordan which actually prepares us well for Good Friday.

What was Jesus like as He grew up? The majority of the 4 gospel accounts are focused on His life as an adult but as Luke 2 closes we get a snapshot of Jesus as a 12 year old boy. What did He already know and reveal about Himself at that age? What can we learn from this account? Today's passage is rich with application for kids, for parents, for people who are struggling to "get it"...for everyone.

Simeon see's God's salvation and Anna reminds us that our hope is here in Jesus.

The anticipation and expectations are high as we walk through Luke and await the birth of the Son of God, the Christ, who will reign forever. How will he come and how will people respond? Today we look at Luke 2 and see that the surprisingly humble entrance of the Christ elicits a fittingly worshipful response.

Anticipation has been building as we work our way through the gospel according to Luke. Two babies are about to be born. God's promises are being fulfilled and there is rejoicing, wonder, and praise as even greater fulfillment is anticipated.

Elizabeth is pregnant and now Mary is, too. While they wait for their babies to be born, the 2 women, separated by many years and many miles, get together. The result is humble joy and Scripture-saturated rejoicing. We can learn a lot from these two women.

There are important identity questions that we all must answer. Namely, "Who is Jesus?" and "Who am I?" Our culture is confused about a lot of things and isn't a helpful resource in answering these identity questions. Thankfully, God's Word is and the next passage in our Luke sermon series helps us immensely as Luke lays out the account of how God would accomplish His plan through a willing young servant (Mary) and ultimately through His Son.

In a world with many uncertainties, we can be certain of this: God's plans will be fulfilled. Today in our second sermon in the Luke series, we'll see some of the final preparations for the climax of God's plan. The passage will push us to wrestle with the intersection of God's plan and our prayer.

If you are going to stake your life on something, don't you think it would be wise to make sure it's true and trustworthy? Today we begin what we expect to be a long, fascinating, certainty-producing journey through the gospel about Jesus according to Luke. We begin by looking at the purposeful prologue which is only one sentence spanning four verses.