Luke 22:31-34 1. Our Confidence Cannot Be in Ourselves On the night of His betrayal, Jesus tells Peter that Satan has asked to sift the disciples like wheat. Yet Jesus says, “I have prayed for you… that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Peter is confident—overconfident. He […]
LUKE 18:9-14 1. The Danger of Self-Trust Jesus tells this parable to those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else. At the heart of the issue is not religious effort, but misplaced trust. The Pharisee’s confidence rested in his obedience and comparison with others, while remaining blind to
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Luke 10:25-37 Love Tested in the Tension of Real Life We hear powerful quotes from influential voices—some calling for compassion, others for exclusion. They sound convincing… until love costs us something. Imagine walking down a trail. Someone you deeply dislike—maybe even despise—is lying there hurt. Bleeding. Helpless. Here’s the tension Jesus presses into:Do you pass
Luke 16:19-31 Tension Reveals What We Long For Every tension we feel points to something deeper. Our desire to know what’s next reveals a longing God has placed in us—a yearning for eternity. Scripture teaches that while God has always existed, we were created as finite people who will exist beyond death. Resurrection and judgment
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Luke 7:11-17 Is God Really All-Powerful? As children, many of us heard the riddle: Can God make a rock so big He can’t lift it? It tugs at the idea of omnipotence—God’s unlimited power. But more than what this riddle can provoke is a deeper tension we all feel: If God is good and all-powerful,
Luke 5:1-11 When God Feels Ordinary We live in an age of endless stimulation—yet boredom is higher than ever. We scroll, stream, and swipe, but still feel restless. And sometimes that restlessness seeps even into worship. We gather to meet with the living God—the One without whom there would be no reality at all—yet our
LUKE 3:21-22 Seeing God as He Truly Is Scripture speaks of God’s glory with words like greatness, power, splendor, and majesty. Glory—kavod—carries the idea of weight, substance, something that presses in on us and demands a response. Yet whether God feels glorious to us often depends on how we actually view Him. If God is
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(Luke 1:67–79) Longing for Assurance We know the feeling—the text bubble appears, then disappears. Silence follows, and with it a swirl of questions and unease. We crave clarity, especially when it comes to love. In Advent, we’re reminded that God knows this longing. Zechariah’s long silence ends not with uncertainty, but with praise—because God finally
SING IT, MARY(Luke 1:46–55; 1 Samuel 2:1–11) Joy That Can’t Stay Silent Throughout Scripture, moments of deep joy are often sung, not merely spoken. Hannah sang when God met her in her barrenness. Mary sang when God met her in her lowliness. When hearts overflow, words alone seem insufficient. God has designed singing to shape
When Peace Feels Impossible Most of us can relate to feeling stressed, stretched thin, or worn down by life’s struggles. Advent reminds us that peace—true biblical shalom—is more than the absence of conflict. It’s wholeness and flourishing. Mary’s story helps us see this clearly. A young teenage girl, engaged and dreaming of her future, suddenly