DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE

Sermon Series: The Gospel of Luke

Sermon Text: Luke 15:1-32

Sermon Title: Lost

Sermon Points: 

1. The Lost Sheep

2. The Lost Coin

3. The Lost Son

The Big Idea: Jesus came to seek and save sinners, even the religious ones.


Daily Devotional Guide

Some celebrations are so good that they make all others look like imposters. 


Suppose one weekend you attended two parties. The first is thrown by the president. He has you flown in and, once you arrive, provides you with the finest foods and amenities. The next day you go to the other party. You're required to go to it as part of your job. Your employer is celebrating some arbitrary milestone that was just met but has nothing to do with you. Upon your arrival to the second party, you are showered with stale crackers and week old potato salad. 


Some celebrations are so good that they make all others look like imposters. 


In this week's text, we see several celebrations that could be categorized into two groups; the real and the imposters. In the imposter category we see a very wealthy young man squandering his inheritance on friends who, in a short time, will no longer be his friends. This party was rooted in pleasure but ended in despair. In the real category, we see a shepherd celebrating the safe return of a lost sheep, a woman celebrating the finding of a lost coin, and a father rejoicing over a son who came back home. A real party, one that is true and holy, is rooted in the goodness of God and foreshadows heaven. 


Some celebrations are so good that they make all others look like imposters. 


We've all been to those imposter parties. There have even been a few times when we've thrown them for ourselves. They can be fun but they always let us down. And when we found ourselves working in the proverbial pig pin as a result of our foolishness, the Father was there to welcome us back with joy. There is no joy like God's joy. There is no party like a heavenly party. 


Some celebrations are so good that they make all others look like imposters. 


Monday - Proverbs 1

Tuesday - Proverbs 2

Wednesday - Proverbs 3

Thursday - Proverbs 5

Friday - Proverbs 14

Saturday - Psalm 32

Sunday - Psalm 51

DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE

Sermon Series: The Gospel of Luke

Sermon Text: Luke 14:1-35

Sermon Title: Three Killers

The Big Idea: You can be very religious and still miss Jesus

Sermon Points:

1. Pride

2. Distraction

3. Worldliness


Daily Devotional Guide

It all started with Jesus healing a man. The religious leaders could have just celebrated the fact that a man's illness had been taken away. Jesus knew they wouldn't respond this way. That's part of why He did what He did. In this miracle, Jesus was doing more than making a sick man well. He was exposing the calloused hypocrisy of the religious elites. 


In this passage, Jesus confronts a few silent spiritual killers that still plague us today. But the way he goes about doing it is very subtle. Jesus confronts no demons in this passage. And this isn't one of the more spectacular miracles from Jesus' ministry. Instead, we have Jesus healing one man and telling parables about invitations to banquets and people who love their family too much. These hardly seem like pressing matters, well, unless you're the one who needed to be healed. But this passage exposes just how much like the Pharisees we really are. If we're not careful, we can miss Jesus just as easily as they did. 


As you read, pray, and listen this week, I hope that you will see the goodness of God more clearly along with your similarities to the religious elites who opposed Him. 


Monday - Genesis 25:19-34

Tuesday - Genesis 27:1-46

Wednesday - Genesis 28:1-22

Thursday - Genesis 29:1-30

Friday - Genesis 32:1-32

Saturday - Genesis 34:1-31

Sunday - Luke 15:1-32