Jesus did not practice separation from sinners. Rather, Jesus befriended sinners for the purpose of bringing them to God. Jesus explained the Father’s desire to see sinners come to repentance in the parables of the sheep and coins. In these parables we learn that the Father delights and the angels rejoice in heaven when sinners come to repentance. These facts being true – God desires for sinners to repent, He rejoices when they do and He is glorified by the rejoicing of angels in His presence when sinners repent – are behind Jesus befriending sinners for their good and God’s glory. We should do the same. To listen to this sermon, please click the following link: Luke 15:1-10.
Though it may be a bit too simple, the Christian life is largely about trusting the promises of God and rejecting the lies of men.  Most significantly: we trust the promise of God that we were made for His glory and that Jesus is the only way to heaven; we do this at the same time that we reject that man was made to be his own boss and please himself while entertaining any notion of earning our salvation by good works. There are many ways that Christians can demonstrate (or prove) that we trust God and not men. In Luke 14 Jesus points to two practical things: be humble and do good to those who cannot pay you back. To listen to this sermon, please click on the following link: Luke 14:1-14.
When tragedy strikes people are quick to question the goodness of God. How could a good God allow such a tragedy? Implicit in the question is an understanding of a sovereign God: One who could have prevented the tragedy.  When Jesus is confronted with the question of extreme human sinfulness as the cause for tragedy, He redirects to a more pressing matter: the necessity of each person to repent and believe. Tragedy should not cause us to question the goodness of God, but remind us of a merciful of God who allows sinful people to continue to live in rebellion against Him. We should be led to marvel at a God of such mercy and know that this time of mercy is meant to lead us to repentance. We should also recall that this time of mercy will not continue indefinitely - so repent today. To listen to this sermon, please click on the following link: Luke 13:1-17.
Jesus addressed the topic of anxiety. He knew that as finite and fallen creatures we would have plenty of things about which we would worry.  At root, anxiety is born out of unbelief. That is, we do not believe that God is sufficient to overcome our fears. While we are resting in Christ alone for justification and reconciliation with God, we are hesitant to rest in the fact that He can see us through our worries in life.  Jesus points us to at least two great help in battling anxiety: a proper understanding of the God in whom we should trust and a proper understanding of those thinks about which we should worry. To say it another way: God as revealed in Scripture is infinitely trustworthy and you may worry because you are concerned about the wrong things. To listen to this sermon, please click on the following link: Luke 12:1-34.
Jesus taught His disciples to pray.  In this we learn to pray that Jesus be glorified by His kingdom coming. Later Jesus announces the coming of His kingdom. Today, we must be faithful to testify about the kingdom of God, for rejection of God’s kingdom and its Christ has eternally fatal consequences. To listen to this sermon, please click the following link: Luke 11:1-23.