In this installment of “Ask Me Anything,” Pastor Luke spoke about six topics. This message was delivered in gathered worship on Sunday, August 30, 2026 at Jewel Lake Parish in Anchorage, Alaska. TIMESTAMPS 00:10 which of the Seven Deadly Sins is least talked about? 03:14 what is the state of JLP's merger with Trinity and disaffiliation from UMC? 12:01 what Bible translation do you prefer for scholarly research? 15:34 can Extra-Terrestrial life forms be part of our religion or is it confined to humans? 18:10 how was the Old Testament compiled into the Hebrew Bible as we know it today? 22:00 why did Jesus ignore the Canaanite woman's request? Pastor Luke preaches from Matthew 15:21-28 in "Ask Me Anything."

Jesus told his followers they shone like a city on a hill, which can't be hidden. But seeing things doesn't guarantee seeing them correctly. We can misunderstand people, and people can misunderstand us. If we're looking for the wrong thing, and we don't see it, doesn't that say more about us than the thing we're trying to evaluate? How can we do this better? Pastor Luke teaches from 2 Corinthians 4:5-12 in "Hoards."

Socrates was once asked if people would behave as virtuously with a ring of invisibility as they do without one. Jesus asks a more practical question: how people should behave if we don’t have such a ring — because we don't. Pastor Luke teaches from Matthew 5:13-16 in "Hilltown."

Within the worldwide movement of Christ, there are various interpretations about how the parts relate to the whole. What sort of groupings exist between a local congregation and the capital-C Church, and what authority do they have? And what should Christians do when they have questions or concerns about the direction of a group they belong to? Pastor Luke teaches from Romans 14:1-15 in "Pick Your Battles."

While America's Founders believed that "all men are created equal" and that God had endowed them with "unalienable rights," many of them also owned slaves. Even more of them did not believe that slavery was a great evil. Were they right, or wrong? If it is evil, why couldn't they see that? What should Christians today do about the legacy of slavery? Pastor Luke looks at Numbers 32:5-23 in "Insufficient Funds," the concluding message in his series, "Presbyterian Rebellion."

America owes a great debt to the political preachers that were sometimes called the Black-Robed Regiment. But do we still need political preaching today? If we do need political preaching, who should do it? Pastor Luke teaches from Micah 6:8 in "The Black-Robed Regiment," part 7 of his 8-part series, "Presbyterian Rebellion."

The Great Awakening laid groundwork for the American Revolution a few decades later. But more importantly, it taught the church a lesson about missional effectiveness and the work of the Holy Spirit. Is it time to learn that lesson again? Pastor Luke preaches from John 4:35 in "White Fields," part 6 of his 8-part series, "Presbyterian Rebellion."

At the time of independence, most of the countries in Europe had established (state) religions. So did many the former colonies in the new United States. Why don't we have them anymore? What persuaded religious people that state support for their religious activities wasn't really a good idea? Pastor Luke preaches from John 18:36 in "Antidisestablishmentarianism," part 5 of his 8-part series, "Presbyterian Rebellion."

Once you’ve declared your independence, then what? When you escape tyranny, are you going to have a government? What kind of government do you want to have? What makes a government good, anyway? It turns out, you can get really good results when you think the worst of people. How were the Framers influenced by the Reformed Tradition? Pastor Luke looks at Mark 10:42-43 in "If Men Were Angels...," part 4 of his 8-part series, "Presbyterian Rebellion."

America's Founders and the public they represented were immersed in Christian doctrine which taught that "The Powers That Be are Ordained of God." How could people so well-versed in teaching about submission to civil institutions arrive at a decision to rebel against it? How do we navigate that decision in our own society? Pastor Luke preaches from Romans 13:4 in "To Throw Off Such Gov't," part 3 of his 8-part series, "Presbyterian Rebellion."