St. Luke Columbus

Because of Jesus, God has given everyone alive at this moment more time to turn and trust in Jesus. No where you are in your thinking about God or your behavior in regards to God’s commandments, you have time today to honestly consider the claims of Jesus and turn and trust in Jesus. In Jesus, you have complete forgiveness of your sins. Now is a great moment for you to trust in Jesus, begin to follow Jesus, and live out the good work that God has for you.   Next Step: If you have not yet put your trust in Jesus, do it now,     Lessons: Isaiah 55:6-7, 2 Peter 3:9-15a, Luke 13:1-9   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

God promises us. Our hope is that God will honor the promise he has made to us of eternal life with God in others in the earth-like paradise. This life ends and we die, then our only hope is that God will honor his promise to raise us to eternal life. From start to finish The Bible communicates God’s many promises to us.   Lessons: Exodus 6:1-8, Psalm 91:1-2, 9-12, 14-16, Revelation 21:1-7, John 14:1-3   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

Living a new life is us. When Jesus redeems from our slavery, he frees us into the lives of others to serve, invite, and give to meet their hopes and hurts. Living the new life in Christ means living more for others than ourselves and putting others ahead of ourselves. This is following the example of Jesus and reflects the heart of God who spoke throughout his written word that we are our faith is to be active in love towards others.   Next Step: Identify what changes you need to make in your thinking and behavior to increase your living for others more than yourself.    Lessons: Isaiah 56:6-11, Psalm 23, Acts 2:42-47, John 13:34-35   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

Being redeemed is us. In Jesus, God redeemed us from our slavery to sin, death, and evil. Through his death Jesus manumitted us from this slavery. From Genesis 3:15 on the Bible teaches that it was always God’s plan to set us free from death and restore us to God’s original blessing through God’s Son, who is Jesus. God spoke through the Old Testament prophets to teach that the long-awaited Jewish Messiah would be the one to redeem us. Although Jesus rarely used the word, redemption became a central theme among the apostles to understand what Jesus accomplished for us.   Next Step: Trust in Jesus and be free. Share your redemption with those who are still in slavery.    Lessons: Isaiah 43:1, 44:21-24, Psalm 11:1-10, Galatians 3:10-14, John 3:16-17   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

Being chosen is us. We do not chose God, God choses us. This third major theme is taught throughout the Bible and fills Christ followers with ridiculous assurance, but causes others to scoff at what the Bible teaches. The amazing grace of being chosen by God is the clearest insight into the love God has for us.   Next Step: Whenever you have doubts, look in the mirror and say, “God chose me, I am chosen.”   Lessons: Deuteronomy 7:6-9, Psalm 105:1-11, Ephesians 1:3-14, John 15:15-19   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

Rebelling against God is us. As much as we don’t want to admit, we have rebelled against God and God’s values. Our rebellion has broken our relationship with God, with each other, and with all of creation. Our rebellion has led to physical death for all creation and all the death-like experiences in this life. This is the second major theme of the Bible. Very many passages in the Bible teach the reality and consequences of our rebellion. It is both unbiblical and unrealistic to deny this truth.     Next Step: Be honest with God about your rebellion and confess your sins.   Lessons: Genesis 3:1-8, Galatians 5:16-21, John 8:34-35   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

  Being created is us. By His Word God fully creates me and all that is. The first major theme of the Bible is that God has created and sustains all that is. In the New Testament the theme of creation grows to include that Jesus created all that is, that through Jesus God is recreating us and all that is, and that there will be a new heaven and a new earth. It is helpful for each of us to understand the original blessing of God’s creation in a personal way - that God has personally, lovingly, and carefully created each of us to be in an eternal and perfect relationship with God and all of creation.   Next Step: Marvel at one of God’s creations.   Lessons: Genesis 1:1-2:3, Psalm 139:1-6, 13-17, 23-24, 2 Corinthians 5:16-17, John 1:1-5, 10-14   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel   Discussion Guide   Sermon Outline   About the series: This Is Us – God’s Word Our Story This series will help us understand the Bible more deeply by exploring six great themes of the Bible: Creat

A first move in following Jesus is establishing a discipline of Bible reading. When Jesus began to teach, he was guided by the Holy Scriptures. He continued to be guided by his knowledge of the Holy Scriptures throughout his ministry. In faithfully following Jesus, there is no substitute for regularly reading and reflecting on God’s written Word.   Next Step: Seek to more deeply understand the Bible by establishing a regular discipline of reading and hearing it taught.     Lessons: Psalm 119:105-112, 2 Timothy 3:14-17, Luke 4:14-30   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

A first move in following Jesus is finding vital friendships with a few other Christ followers. One of Jesus’ first moves before he began his public ministry was to find a small group of friends with which to do life. We do exceedingly better in faithfully following Jesus with a small supportive community around us.   Next Step: Find a small life group of Christian friends.   Lessons: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, Romans 1:8-12, John 1:35-51   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

A first move in following Jesus is to learn, trust, and follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Immediately following his baptism, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the desert where he fasted for 40 days and was tempted by the evil one. We learn from the example of Jesus that one of our first moves in following him is to become sensitive and obedient to being led by God, the Holy Spirit.   Next Step: Ask God a question about your life and trust the answer you receive.   Lessons: Ezekiel 36:24-28, Galatians 5:16-25, Luke 4:1-13   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

A first move in following Jesus is to be baptized. As illustrated in the baptism of Jesus, our baptism is God coming to us to make us his children, declare his personal love for us, and express confidence in us to do God’s work through equipping us with the Holy Spirit.    Next Step: Be baptized if you have not. Find your confidence in what Jesus accomplished in your baptism.   Lessons: Acts 19:1-7, Romans 6:1-8, Luke 3:15-17, 21-23a   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/firstmoves1   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

Epiphany of the Lord   When we search for truth, God invites us to scrutinize honestly. The account of the Magi is one of searching carefully for the one who has been born king of the Jews. The search eventually involved King Herod and all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law. They rightly turned to God’s written Word for guidance. The Magi also were guided by God’s Word in as direct revelation. When we search for truth God wants us to honestly scrutinize what the Bible and our experience teach us. Jesus once said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8) Our God invites us to honestly scrutinize him and his truth claims. Doing this will lead us into a more honest, vibrant, and deeper faith.   Next Step: What is one real question you have for God? Honestly ask it and search for God’s answer.     Lessons: Isaiah 60

When faced with the evil slaughters of innocent people, we must avoid despair and complacency by trusting that God works through us to thwart evil. We continue to live in a world so broken by sin that we frequently experience innocent people being slaughtered by evil and broken people with the means to commit these atrocities. We are divided as to how to respond to these evil acts. As witnessed in the Slaughter of the Innocents recorded in Matthew 2:13-23 and in very many evil acts through the centuries, the slaughter of innocent people is an appallingly regular part of our human experience. This can easily move us into despair or complacency. Our trust in God calls us to hopeful action to thwart the slaughter of innocent people.    Next Step: Allow God to work through you to make one hopeful action to thwart the slaughter of innocent people.        Lessons: Psalm 91:1-2, 9-12, Hebrews 2:10-18, Matthew 2:13-23   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/slaughter   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

This Christmas remember that through the Incarnationof God in Jesus we have Regenerationto a new life and Salvationthat is eternal. What is one of your fondest memories from Christmases past? What will you remember from this Christmas? Our account of the first Christmas comes through Mother Mary, who kept in her memory all that took place on that holy night by continuing to ponder over the events for the rest of her life. To declare the obvious, for Mary it was a Christmas to remember. For us who have pondered over all the accounts of Jesus for many years, we remember that God was physically born into our world in Jesus (Incarnation), that we have been born again into a new life through Jesus (Regeneration), and that because the death and resurrection of Jesus we have been given the wondrous gift of eternal life (Salvation).     Next step: Make this Christmas a Christmas to remember by holding in your memory that through the Incarnation of God in Jesus we have Regeneration to a new life and Salvation that is

We prepare for the coming of Jesus by sacrificing for justice. Jesus came to bring God’s justice to us. That means those who are little, least, last, lost, and dead are given new life. We rightly prepare for the coming of Jesus when we sacrificially participate in justice work. Bringing justice for people directly reflects the ultimate and merciful justice we receive through Christ and is dear to the heart of God.   Next Step: Identify one person you can bring justice to and let that justice roll down through you.   Lessons: Amos 5:18-24, James 1:26-27, Luke 3:7-18   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/prepare3   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

We prepare for the coming of Jesus by letting go of our barriers to God. We foolishly put up barriers to God’s saving working in our lives. Jesus came to remove those barriers and to bring God’s salvation into our lives. It is a death to life experience when we make a straight and clear path for God to work in our lives.   Next Step: Identify and let go of one barrier that is preventing you from taking a next step in your life with God.    Lessons: Malachi 3:1-2, Philippians 1:3-11, Luke 3:1-6   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/prepare2   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

Angels Prepare Us For the Coming Of Jesus This year we are focusing on what it means to prepare for the coming of Jesus. During the Wednesday Advent services we will look at how angels prepared people for the birth of Jesus. We will seek to learn from these accounts how angels may be continuing to prepare us for the coming of Jesus into our lives and the lives of others.   This message: Angels prepare us for the coming of Jesus by announcing that God looks upon us with favor and takes away our shame. We learn several truths about angels in Luke 15:5-25. Angels are heavenly beings that can be seen, who speak in a language we can hear and understand, who are fearfully awesome in appearance, who calm our fears, who know our prayers, who have names, who speak very specifically into our current and future situations, who stand in the presence of God, who can hear and understand us, who respond to our words on behalf of God, and who can meed out God’s justice. The most comforting truth we learn about angels is th

We prepare for the coming of Jesus by not being weighed down by addictions and anxieties. Jesus is coming again to judge the living and the dead. This is good news for those who trust in Jesus and obey his commands. It can be a frightening future for those who are consumed by the addictions and anxieties of life in this world. The frantic and fearful preparing we fall into leading up to Christmas is a parable for this. We rightly prepare for the coming of Jesus when we get free from sinful addictions and anxieties that weigh down our hearts.    Next Step: When you get weighed down, remember that our real life is yet to come.   Lessons: Jeremiah 33:14-16, 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13, Luke 21:25-36   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/prepare1   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

Christ the King Sunday   Jesus is our King and Lord so we trust in him and obey him above all else. This is both good news and a challenging truth for us. The good news is that the kingdom of Jesus is not of this world and does not function by the norms of this world. For, though we are guilty of many sins and deserve only punishment, our Saving King is the one who died to make us right with God. We, therefore, already know that he judges according to the forgiveness of our sins and made us to be his eternal kingdom. Because Jesus is our Lord, our challenge now is to demolish all arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the truth of Jesus and to take captive every thought, word, and action to make it obedient to Christ. (1 Cor. 10:5)   Next Step: Surrender to Jesus as your Saving King and then surrender to him as your Lord.   Lessons: Revelation 1:4b-8, 2 Corinthians 10:1-5, John 18:33-37   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/jesusourking   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

The more you mature in following Jesus, the more you live for others. Thanking God is first verbally directed to God and then is lived out by unleashing God’s love to others. True thanksgiving results in generosity.   Next Step: As an act of thanksgiving to God, commit to what your generosity through St. Luke will be for 2019.   Lessons: Psalm 100, Hebrews 6:1-2, 7-11, John 13:12-15   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/livingforothers   Subscribe to our Youtube channel