Whitehall Bible Fellowship Church Sermon Podcast

Jesus is able to bring life and hope where death and hopeless reside. In this passage, Jesus heals a young girl and an older woman, both of whom were in dire situations. Jesus is right there for us today too!

Jesus goes out of His way to rescue one person in dire circumstances. He can calm our stormy hearts, too.

We all assume that, of the four soils of which Jesus spoke, we are certainly the good soil. The point of the sermon however is to really challenge us to think of how we receive His Word into our way of life.

On this Easter, we want to look at the depth of the forgiveness of God and a call to love Him in tangible ways.

1. What pleases the Lord? How can we please the Lord? 2. What did Jesus do that pleased the Lord? (v10) 3. What was the Lord pleased to do for Jesus? (v10)

We sometimes wonder if Jesus mission really worked. Even John the Baptist wondered about Jesus. Even in moments of doubt, Jesus is there to bring courage to us.

Luke contrasts two reactions to Jesus. One is a gentile centurion who humbles himself and trusts Jesus can heal a servant by just speaking from a distance. The other is of a town of His countrymen who react to His raising a dead boy to life by fearfully praising God.

Jesus wants us to build our life around Him and make decisions that honor Him.

Jesus does want us to be able to hear the positive constructive criticism from others about our lives. We should want to give and receive feedback so that this good tree can bear good fruit.

Jesus invites us to love in extreme, counter-intuitive ways. He calls us to love our enemies even though they treat us in hostile ways.

Jesus invites us to forsake all that the world craves: riches, food, experiences, and respect. Instead, we are to crave Him and He will reward us one day if we do so.

Jesus called the Twelve to be disciplers. He has called us too! What can we observe from this passage that shows us how to disciple others?

Jesus Himself is our rest. Anything or any practice that robs our joy in Him is destructive, unhealthy, and the enemy of God.

Questioned about His lack of religious observance, Jesus shows us that He did not come to put a patch on broken and dying religion, but rather He came to bring humanity something new, deep relationship with God.

This unique story is the only one capturing Jesus as a child. During His entry into manhood, Jesus travels to the Temple with His parents for Passover. He learns to obey His parents and learns from the Scribes and Teachers.

Simeon and Anna have waited a very long time for the Messiah. When Jesus is brought to the Temple by His parents, these two prophets unleash glorifying praise and honor Jesus.

Jesus shows us, through His birth, the beauty and majesty of the nature and character of God. God, while sovereign, chooses to be humble. God extends grace to the least likely by human standards. God is worthy of our reverent awe and constant praise!

John the Baptist is the town crier that prepares all Israel to meet their King and Savior. Luke uses the birth of John the Baptist in much the same way to prepare us for the birth of our Savior.

Mary needs counsel and friendship after her big news. She is comforted and encouraged by Elizabeth and together they process what is happening to the both of them. We too need those kinds of friendships, people who will listen and people that will speak into our lives.

God is ready to send Jesus to earth. Going on ahead of the Lord, Gabriel visits Mary to prepare her for her important task of being the mother to our Savior.