Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Luke+015

Luke 15 English Standard Version (ESV)

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

¹ Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. ² And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

³ So he told them this parable: ⁴ “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? ⁵ And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶ And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ ⁷ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

 

REFLECTION

1. Jesus portrayed a picture of God who is like the shepherd searching for his lost sheep so God searches for His lost ones, “for the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (19:10).
2. What is your picture of God? How do you view the “sinners” around you?  Is your attitude that of seeking the lost, the way Jesus did, or standing aloof and casting a disparaging glance, the way the religious leaders did?

 

PRAYER:

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the picture of you searching for the lost sheep.  Help me to relate your true picture to those I come in contact with: your love, not indifference, your grace, not judgement, your kindness, not criticism.  I pray especially for ……………………. (someone who does not know the Lord).

Prayer for unbelievers

• Lord, I pray that you draw ___________ to yourself.
• I ask you, Lord, to prevent Satan from blinding ___________ to the truth.
• Holy Spirit, I ask you to convict ___________ of sin and the need for Christ’s redemption.
• I ask that you send someone who will share the gospel with ___________.
• Lord, I pray that ___________ will confess Jesus as Lord, grow in faith, and bear fruit for your glory. Amen.

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Luke+014

Luke 14 English Standard Version (ESV)

The Parable of the Wedding Feast

⁷ Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them,⁸ “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, ⁹ and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. ¹⁰ But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. ¹¹ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The Parable of the Great Banquet

¹² He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. ¹³ But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, ¹⁴ and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

¹⁵ When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” ¹⁶ But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. ¹⁷ And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ ¹⁸ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ ¹⁹ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ ²⁰ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ ²¹ So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ ²² And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ ²³ And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. ²⁴ For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’”

 

REFLECTION:

1. At a banquet, Jesus commented on the behaviour of the guests, who competed with each other for “a place of honour”. The scrambling for position reflected the heart attitude of the guests. As Jesus pointed out, it was also foolish, as it exposed a person to the danger of embarrassment if asked to go down lower later. Jesus also had advice for His host. Don’t use the dinners for social advantage, or to seek a favour. God’s kingdom is open to everyone, especially those who can never return the favour.  God will repay us in eternity.
2. How do things like customs and status get in the way of you loving others in family, church, workplace, or community?
3. What does it mean today for you to throw a party for “the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind”? Who would you invite?  What would it be like?
4. Talk with Jesus about this idea and share the insights with a few close friends. Make plans to do it.

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Luke+013

Luke 13 English Standard Version (ESV)

A Woman with a Disabling Spirit

¹⁰ Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. ¹¹ And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. ¹² When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” ¹³ And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God.¹⁴ But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” ¹⁵ Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? ¹⁶ And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” ¹⁷ As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.

 

REFLECTION:

1. The synagogue ruler was indignant because Jesus broke the rule of Sabbath. Yet he could not see through the law and understand that it is out of compassion that Jesus healed the woman.  This shows how little he understood what grace was and how little he desired of it.  The woman who experienced grace praised God.  But the synagogue ruler rebuked Jesus for helping her.  Jesus pointed out their hypocrisy that they would easily release an animal in order to care for them, but wouldn’t rejoice for a person released from Satan’s bondage.
2. In their fervour to keep all of their rules and regulations, the Pharisees ended up neglecting to love others. We can also take the rules literally in order to rationalize our lack of concern for others (i.e. insisting on tithing but refusing to help the needy; insisting on attending worship on time but refusing to pick up someone out of the way).
3. Do you make excuses for neglecting to do good? Pay close attention to God’s whispering in your heart.

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Luke+012

Luke 12 English Standard Version (ESV)

The Parable of the Rich Fool

¹³ Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?”¹⁵ And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” ¹⁶ And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, ¹⁷ and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘Fool!

This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ ²¹ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

 

REFLECTION:

1. The challenge of this story of the rich farmer is this: Why pile up wealth here on earth? Why work to gather more than you will ever need?  This rich farmer rejected the word of God and based his life on the pursuit of earthly treasure.  Christ said, “Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?”
2. We all make value decisions that shape our lives. Jesus asks us to remember that those decisions shape our life here and in eternity.
3. What decisions are you facing? What value do you base your decisions on?  Will Jesus call you a fool?  Or a good and faithful servant?   How is God calling you to change your attitude toward your money and possessions?

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Luke+011

Luke 11 English Standard Version (ESV)

Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers

³⁷ While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. ³⁸ The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. ³⁹ And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. ⁴⁰ You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.

⁴² “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.⁴³ Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴ Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”

⁴⁵ One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” ⁴⁶ And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. ⁴⁷ Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. ⁴⁸ So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹ Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ ⁵⁰ so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, ⁵¹ from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. ⁵² Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

⁵³ As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, ⁵⁴ lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.

 

REFLECTION:

1. When eating at the home of a Pharisee, Jesus identified six common sins of the “religious” of His day that kept them from seeing the light. The Pharisees and experts in the law were furious and attacked Jesus.  Reading these verses should not cause us to criticize the Pharisee then.  Rather, they should draw us to examine ourselves.
2. With a humble heart, go through the following questions and ask: “God, do I……?”

• Do you spend more time trying to look holy, or seeking to be holy? (vv39-41)
• Do your priorities reflect God’s? (v42)
• Do you treasure the approval of others, or the approval of God? (vv43-44)
• Do you make living a Christian life harder for people by your expectations, or do you encourage and help them? (v46)
• Do you resist God’s word brought by His ministers, or are you open and teachable? (vv47-51)
• Do you distort the gospel by a legalistic attitude and approach to Christian faith? (v52)

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Luke+010

 

Luke 10 English Standard Version (ESV)

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

²⁵ And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” ²⁷ And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸ And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

²⁹ But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰ Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. ³² So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. ³⁴ He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.³⁵ And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” ³⁷ He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

 

REFLECTION:

1. The legal expert asked a good question. Just who is it we are to love as ourselves? To answer, Jesus told of a man who beaten and robbed. Two fellow Jews, a priest and a Levite, saw him lying there, and left him. The Samaritan, on the other hand, “when he saw him, he had compassion”. He helped him, and even paid for his care while he recovered.
2. With whom do you most identify with in this story? Why?
3. Who has been a Good Samaritan in your life? What was the situation?  How did that person help you?  What impact this has on you?
4. Listen to Jesus’ calling to you, “go and do likewise.” To whom do you need to be a Good Samaritan this week?  Write down his/her name and needs.  Pray for this person.  Plan a practical way to offer needed help.  Decide on the date and write down specific things you will do for him/her.  Make plan to accomplish it.

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Luke+009

 

Luke 9 English Standard Version (ESV)

A Samaritan Village Rejects Jesus

⁵¹ When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. ⁵² And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. ⁵³ But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” ⁵⁵ But he turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶ And they went on to another village.

The Cost of Following Jesus

⁵⁷ As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” ⁵⁹ To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” ⁶² Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

 

REFLECTION:

1. Jesus expects his followers to be totally faithful without any conditions or restrictions. He wants them to accept the cross as well as the crown, judgement as well as mercy, and to relinquish all and focus entirely on Jesus.
2. Jesus’ response to the first person, who wanted to follow Him, is: “Count your cost before following me.” According to the Jewish customs, the second person probably meant that “I’ll wait until my father dies before I come to follow you.” Jesus advised him to grasp the opportunity to respond to the moving of the Holy Spirit.  The third person probably wanted to settle his family affairs and if time allows, then he’ll come to follow Jesus.
3. The farmer has to look straight ahead in order to plow straight furrows for planting seeds. Jesus says that if we want to become a member of God’s kingdom, we need to focus our attention on God, and not allow the world to distract our focus elsewhere.
4. Jesus is calling you and every believer to come and follow him today, what excuses would you use to delay Jesus’ calling? Does Jesus delight in your excuses?  What are the things that are holding you back?  Are you willing to allow Jesus to take away these things from you?

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Luke+008

Luke 8 English Standard Version (ESV)

Jesus Heals a Woman and Jairus’s Daughter

⁴⁰ Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. ⁴¹ And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus’ feet, he implored him to come to his house, ⁴² for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying.

As Jesus went, the people pressed around him. ⁴³ And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. ⁴⁴ She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. ⁴⁵ And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!” ⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” ⁴⁷ And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. ⁴⁸ And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”

⁴⁹ While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler’s house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.” ⁵⁰ But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.” ⁵¹ And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child. ⁵² And all were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.” ⁵³ And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. ⁵⁴ But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.” ⁵⁵ And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat. ⁵⁶ And her parents were amazed, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Often we thought that when we are in desperate need of something from God – in a crisis caused by cancer, bankruptcy, chronic depression, inescapable grief, or loss of faith – we must come boldly and confidently into God’s presence if we expect him to answer our prayer. Yet this woman came in fear and trembling, having no idea what might happen, but thinking, “If I can just touch the edge of his cloak, who knows?”
2. Sometimes all we can do is to struggle toward God from behind and stretch out with what little we have left to touch the edge of Him, hoping He will not be angry with us or ignore us, hoping something will happen even though we are almost beyond belief.
3. Have you ever been too frightened to come to God with a problem? Why?  How would this story help you as you face desperate situations?
4. Talk to God about the problem you are facing. Bring all your fear, uncertainty, lack of faith, or eagerness, hope and thanksgiving to God.  Talk to D and wait for Him to speak.

 

HYMN:

“What a Friend We Have in Jesus” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SCorW9r_Is

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Luke+007

Luke 7 English Standard Version (ESV)

 

A Sinful Woman Forgiven

³⁶ One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.³⁷ And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, ³⁸ and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. ³⁹ Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” ⁴⁰ And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”

⁴¹ “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” ⁴³ Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” ⁴⁴ Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. ⁴⁶ You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. ⁴⁷ Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” ⁴⁸ And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” ⁴⁹ Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” ⁵⁰ And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

 

REFLECTION:

1. This woman washes Jesus’ feet with her tears and wipes them with her hair. She kisses them and pours perfume over them.  The host, a Pharisee, considers that Jesus has “contaminated” Himself by touching or being touched by someone considered morally, spiritually or physically filthy.
2. But Jesus asked Simon “Do you see this woman?” Jesus asked Simon if he truly sees her – not a sinner, but a person forgiven by God, and is weeping with gratitude and relief, a child of God who is loving as much as she can, who is saved by her faith and who is free to go in peace.
3. Jesus is asking you the same question, “Do you see ……?” Do you truly see people on the street, on the subway, in the mall, in the supermarket?  Do you see people as how Jesus sees them?  How would that make a difference?  How would seeing people as Jesus sees them change your attitude toward them?
4. Talk to Jesus about your “poor spiritual eyesight”, your reluctance, your stereotyping. Wait for the Holy Spirit to touch you and change your perspectives.

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Luke+006

Luke 6 English Standard Version (ESV)

 

Love Your Enemies

²⁷ “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. ²⁹ To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. ³⁰ Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. ³¹ And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

³² “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. ³⁵ But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. ³⁶ Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Jesus calls us to love our enemies, to bless, to pray for them, and turn the other cheek. This often frightens us, and we tend to ignore it. What Jesus is actually asking is for us to break the cycle of hostility and animosity.
2. God, after all, broke this pattern by one bold act of love, sending His son to suffer and die for our sins. As we respond to that love, accepting the salvation Christ brings, our whole attitude toward God has changed, and we now love and want to please Him.  It is not easy, but following Christ has never been easy.  Yet, it does make us free.
3. Name a person who has wronged you. Ask Jesus to give you His forgiveness for that person and take away the hatred and revengeful attitude in your heart.