The Open Word (Audio)

There are times in the life of a Christian when God’s glory radiates bright in our lives. However, there are also seasons of trial and suffering when doubt can threaten to crush our faith. In today’s message from the Gospel of Luke, Pastor David encourages us to remember that even spiritual greats like the Apostle Paul and John the Baptist had low moments. Pastor David teaches us that God is strong in our weakness. Just as God is our Lord on the mountain top, He is also our Shepherd in life’s valleys.

The moment someone becomes a true disciple of Jesus, he also becomes an alien in this present world. Therefore, Christians are rejected by the world. However, we must not grow weary in doing good in the face of trails. In today’s message from Luke, Pastor David teaches us that even John the Baptist struggled with doing the right thing in an ungodly world. When he was thrown into prison for rebuking Roman authority for wrongdoing, a good report concerning Jesus’s ministry encouraged John to continue speaking God’s truth.

In today’s message from Luke chapter 7, Pastor David asks the question, “How much loss can one person bear?” When Jesus was entering the town of Nain, He came across a solemn funeral procession. A widow was burying her only son outside the city. Christ had great compassion on her. So Jesus touched the coffin and commanded the dead son to arise. At those words, the boy did indeed come back to life. Pastor David points out that the Lord shows compassion on those who hurt, sometimes even before we cry out to Him.

We do not serve a namby pamby God. He is mighty and strong. Our Lord Jesus reigns over all and has authority over all things. In today’s message from Luke 7, Pastor David teaches us about a Roman Centurion whose beloved servant was ill. Because the Roman understood that Jesus had authority over all things, including illness and disease, the Centurion had total trust that Jesus could heal his ailing friend with only a word. Christ was so moved by the Roman’s faith that the servant was made well.

In Luke chapter 6, Jesus describes two different men, one wise and one foolish. The wise man builds a house upon a rock. This house can withstand the elements. The foolish man builds his house upon the sand. When hardship comes, the foolish man’s house falls. Pastor David teaches us that the wise follower of Jesus Christ is willing to pay the full price of following after the Lord. While it may take more time to build a firm foundation, the wise man can endure trial and testing because he has Jesus as his foundation.

As our society drifts further and further away from its Judeo-Christian roots, Believers in Jesus will be persecuted more and more in the United States. However, we should never be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In today’s message from the Luke chapter 6, Pastor David admonishes us to never water down our faith for temporary acceptance. We must continue to stand firm and never waiver from the truth. While suffering may endure for a little while, we will receive a crown of reward for never faltering the day we meet our King.

Jesus said that a good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. In today’s message from Luke chapter 6, Pastor David expounds upon Jesus’s words. Pastor David explains that a true Christian will have evidence of God working in his life. He will be more generous, kind, and loving than he was a year before because of the Spirit of God working inside him. This is the good fruit Jesus talks about. Conversely, no one can be a Christian and continuously produce the fruits of evil and rebellion.

Have you ever perused the self help section at your local library or book store? It’s enormous and getting longer every day. However, as this section grows, it seems that people are becoming more depressed, dissatisfied, and confused. In today’s message in the Gospel of Luke, Pastor David teaches us that it is not man’s wisdom we need, but it is God’s. 1,000 human counselors, authors, and teachers cannot provide the help me need. However, the Lord and His Word can.

The Bible says that the earth and everything in it is the Lord’s. However, because the Lord is a kind and generous God, He allows us to look after and manage His stuff. In today’s message from the Gospel of Luke, Pastor David encourages us to be wise stewards of the things and talents the Lord has entrusted us with. We should waste little time investing in things that can only earn us temporary rewards in this life. Instead, we should give generously towards those things that will advance the Lord’s Kingdom.

Greedy people are not fun to be around. Selfish people are mean and usually full of anxiety. Generous people, on the other hand, are full of joy and a pleasure to be around. In today’s message from the Gospel of Luke, Pastor David encourages us to be generous. All that we have comes from the Lord. Our physical gifts, our talents and abilities, and even our very lives are gifts from above. As we are good stewards and generous with all we have been given, God’s joy is poured out in our lives.