David Raley kicks off our annual Immanuel series with a reflection on God's faithfulness and the life of faith we are each called to.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

Passing through Jericho, Jesus told the crowd a parable. He told them the parable because they believed his kingdom was about to appear. We take a closer look at Jesus' parable and how it contrasts the kingdoms of this world with Jesus' coming kingdom.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

As Jesus enters Jericho, he is met by two men: a blind beggar and Zacchaeus, the tax collector. Amongst the pressing crowd, neither was likely to get Jesus' attention, yet Jesus took time to stop for both. We look at these critical stories and how they anticipate Jesus' arrival as king to the city of Jerusalem.…

Many are familiar with the scene of Jesus welcoming children to his side, but Luke uses the image in a far more profound way than most recognize. Jesus commands us to become like those children to receive his kingdom; it is a call to radical need and vulnerability and a warning that our own self-sufficiency is prone to rob us of the gifts of God.…

Pastor Barry Kinzer takes a look at Jesus' parable of the persistent widow and the prayers of the tax collector and Pharisee. He explores Jesus' models of prayer and how we should approach God in prayer as his disciples.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

The Pharisees wanted to know the signs of Jesus' kingdom coming. His own disciples wanted to know where it would happen. What they all missed was the way Jesus' kingdom was present in their midst. We take a closer look at Jesus' predictions of his return and where true disciples should focus their attention.…

Jesus has spent the last several chapters teaching and switching between the Pharisees, crowds, and disciples. In this week's passage, we'll take a look at how he summarizes that content in warning his own disciples not to be come obstacles but to serve as faithful servants.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

The Pharisees continued to ridicule Jesus and his teaching. After everything they had seen and heard, they still could not understand what Jesus was teaching. Jesus recognized that though they appeared righteous, it was a question of the heart that blinded them to his words.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

Joshua Kansiewicz takes a look at one of Jesus' most intriguing parables and helps us better understand how the shrewd manager shapes our lives as disciples and followers of Jesus.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

Having offered the crowd one of his most challenging words, Jesus turned his attention to three parables, each describing something lost and found. Though Jesus calls his disciples to die to self, he also offers an image of God searching for those who are lost,Di Pastor Chase Replogle

Having given a strong warning to the religious leaders, Jesus turned his attention to the crowd. They could not continue following Jesus if they were unwilling to count the cost of being a true disciple. A true disciple is called to the cross. We take a closer look at Jesus' hard words.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

Barry Kinzer shares from Jesus' parable of the great banquet. He explores Jesus' warning to hosts and digs into those who reject the host's invitation. God will fill his banquet, compelling those in the streets to come in. We must be willing to not only hear his invitation but also to respond with determination.…

Again, Jesus went into the home of a Pharisee, and again, they took offense at his work. But Jesus was watching them. And again, he saw what they could not see about themselves. Jesus told a parable to illustrate their self-obsession and their addiction to honor.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

Jesus' description of his kingdom as a seed and leaven confused the crowd. Did that mean God's kingdom was small? Did it mean only a few would be saved? Jesus answered their question by turning it on them. Were they each striving for the narrow door to enter? We take a closer look at Jesus' answer and his compassion for the lost Jerusalem.…

Jesus healed another woman plagued by a demon. And again, it caused controversy. This time, it was a leader of the synagogue who saw Jesus's healing as a violation of the Sabbath. It is a familiar story in Luke. The leaders continue to oppose Jesus, and the crowd grows more impressed with his miracles. But few recognize how the kingdom is actually …

Having concluded a long teaching on fear and having called the crowd to repent, it must have been frustrating that they still did not understand. Jesus wanted to talk about their need for salvation; all they could think about was other people. The beginning of chapter 13 offers us a honest look at our own humanity but it also offers a remarkable vi…

Jesus concluded his conversation on fear by discussing the coming judgment. For many people, the idea of judgment can create fear, but Jesus understood judgment as a revealing of what is true from what is false. We take a closer look at the images Jesus uses to explain the judgment of God.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

Special guest Donna Barrett offers an exploration of the prayers in Luke's gospel and how they can shape a life or prayer for believers today.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

In the middle of talking about fear, Jesus turned his attention to the fact he would one day be gone and would then return. He commanded his disciples to keep watch. We look at how the promise of Christ's return offers hope and peace in the anxieties of our world today.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

While Jesus was teaching about fear and anxiety, a man from the crowd interrupted. He wanted Jesus to command his brother to share the inheritance. Jesus saw something deeper. He forced man to see his own covetousness, and Jesus warned us not to measure life and meaning based on the things we possess.…

Before the crowd and the growing opposition, Jesus turned to his disciples and taught them not to fear those in power. Jesus explained that only the fear of the Lord can free us from the fear of this world. We take a closer look at his words and how they guide us toward courage today.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

The Pharisees had often criticized Jesus, but it was not until chapter 11 that Jesus fully addressed what was wrong with the Pharisee's perspective on life and faith. We take a closer look at Jesus's warning and discover that the leaven of the Pharisees is still a danger today.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

Having witnessed Jesus cast out a demon, his opponents accused him of dark powers, but the crowd asked for more miracles. Jesus answered their questions but also pushed the conversation further. They came to evaluate Jesus and his power, but he challenged them to evaluate their own hearts and their own eyes.…

Jesus's disciples often saw him praying, and they recognized something he possessed in prayer that they did not. Coming to Jesus, on disciple asked, "Teach us to pray." Jesus answered the man's question, but he pushed the disciple further and shifted the question from how to why.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

Many remember the familiar images of Mary and Mary, Martha busy with her work, and Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus. In this week's sermon, we take a closer look at why Luke has included this little story and how it fits into the questions Jesus was trying to answer. We discover there is more going on in this scene than most remember.…

Jesus's story of the Good Samaritan is one of his most familiar teachings in the Bible. It's so familiar that it's easy to miss the true point. We take a closer look at the parable and the conversation that provoked it and discover the wisdom of Jesus's probing questions.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

Jesus had been increasingly talking about suffering, but he also turned his disciples to the topic of joy. And Jesus chose to locate the source of true Joy in an unexpected place. Unlike the disciples who took join in their achievements, Jesus suggested that true joy came from the grace of having been included in his kingdom, with our names written…

Jesus's disciples continued to struggle to understand Jesus's talk of suffering. Again, they failed to understand the way of his kingdom. They were prepared to call down fire to destroy their enemies. But Jesus turned their attention to the price they would pay to be his true disciples. The hour had come for them all to go to Jerusalem and for Jesu…

We've seen Jesus's disciples struggling to understand Jesus's increasing talk of suffering and rejection. But Jesus realized there was more going on in the logic of their hearts. We take a closer look at the disciple's struggles and how the temptations they faced are ours as well.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

Having come down from the mountain of his transfiguration, Jesus was met by another crowd. This crowd was in chaos. A man came yelling, desperate to have his son delivered, and explaining the disciple's failure to help. Jesus used the moment to again speak of the suffering that awaited him and challenged the crowd for their lack of faith. We look c…

Jesus often withdrew to pray. And it's surprising how often his disciples fell asleep praying with him. When Peter, James, and John woke from their sleep, they discovered Jesus had changed. We take a closer at Jesus's transfiguration and the important place of prayer in the story.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

Jesus waited until the crowds were at their peak to begin discussing with his disciples what awaited. The Son of Man would have to suffer, be rejected, and die. It was a message the disciples were not prepared to hear. But Jesus went further. He explained that all his disciples must learn to bear their own crosses and die daily.…

The crowds continued to grow around Jesus. And as they came, Jesus saw their need. The crowd was great and without food. Jesus, by his miraculous work, fed the crowd and continued to demonstrate his compassion for them.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

Jesus's sending out of the twelve disciples marks a transition in his ministry. Having spent most of his time in the towns of Galilee, Jesus would increasingly turn his attention to Judea and the suffering that awaited him. It would be a hard lesson for his disciples to understand.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

Chapter 8 of Luke's gospel recounts some of the most powerful miracles in Jesus' ministry. It also recounts one of the smallest. We take a closer look at the surprising compassion of Jesus and his willingness to see even those overlooked needs.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

Having calmed the storm at sea, Jesus arrived at the far side of the Sea of Galilee. He was immediately met by a man possessed by a legion of demons. But the encounter does not develop as Jesus' disciples might have expected. The encounter gives us another opportunity to see how people respond to the revelation of Jesus' true identity.…

As a part of our Easter worship, we take a look at Jesus' conversation with two disciples on the road to Emmaus. We discuss the surprise of resurrection and how this truth reworks our lives and future.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

As they crossed the sea of Galilee, Jesus slept. Even through the storm, he did not wake. But as the boat began to take on water, his disciples woke him in a panic. We take a look at this familiar story and what it teaches us about faith and the storms we all face in life.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

We have been looking at how various people respond to Jesus. In this week's sermon, Joshua Kansiewicz explores how Jesus uses common sayings to express spiritual truths, including Jesus' image of a light not being hidden from the world. Jesus final advice was to be careful how we hear.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

Jesus continued to gather followers as he taught throughout Galilee, but those followers would increasingly recognize the crowd's and the leaders' rejection of Jesus. Warning them not to lose hope, Jesus offered them an everyday image—a parable—about seed and soil.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

Luke has been trying to show us the kind of humility required to understand Jesus. That humility often came from unexpected people. In this week's passage, we get another example of humility but also a Pharisee who, though he appears to be humble, is revealed to be proud and unable to recognize Jesus.…

Somewhat unexpectedly, Luke turns our attention back to the character of John the Baptist. John would die in prison, and he seems to have been confused by the news of Jesus' ministry in Galilee. We take a closer look at our own expectations of Jesus and how we can recognize his true identity.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

Having finished his sermon on the plain, Luke records another two miracles in the region of Galilee. But these miracles stand out from those so far recorded in Luke's gospel. We take a closer look at the Centurion's servant and the widow's son.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

As we finish our study of Jesus' sermon on the plain, we take a closer look at two images: the fruit tree and the house. Jesus explained that it is the good plant that produces good fruit and that only a house that has been built upon a solid foundation can withstand the flood.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

We are taking a closer look at Jesus' sermon on the plain. Jesus's warning about judgment is perhaps among his most well-known words. But do we really understand what Jesus was saying? We reexamine this section of Jesus' sermon and heed his warning to pay close attention to the log in our own eye.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

Having begun his sermon on the mount with the beatitudes, Jesus next turned his attention to the topic of love. And not just any love. Jesus commanded his followers to love their enemies. We take a closer look at how to love and Jesus' logic for the real source of loving enemies.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

Jesus went up on the mountain to pray. Coming down, he gathered his twelve disciples and, before the crowd, laid out a surprising series of blessings and warnings. Jesus spoke with remarkable clarity, neither distracted by the crowd's approval nor by the scribe's opposition.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

Controversy continued to build around Jesus. The Pharisees watched Jesus's disciples plucking grain on the Sabbath and asked why they did not keep it holy. The controversy grew worse when Jesus healed a man with a withered hand. But Jesus saw things very differently. Quoting from the scriptures, he explained that "the son of man was lord of the sab…

The Pharisees continued their objections. Jesus may have come to call sinners to repentance, but his ministry didn't look like one of repentance. Jesus's disciples were busy eating and drinking. So Jesus turned to the image of marriage and God's promise to restore his bride.Di Pastor Chase Replogle

As Luke records the crowds continuing to grow and the Pharisees increasingly suspicious, he also records Jesus's recognition of certain individuals whom he called to be his disciples. We have seen Jesus's call of Peter who was cleaning his nets, in this weeks passage we look at Jesus's call of Levi who sat at his tax booth.…