Falling in love with Jesus
Luke 1:1-4
This series is based on the book by the same name written by Rubel Shelly.
Quotes are taken from the book
Part one
Objectives of this series:
1. This gospel tells us the single most important story in the world for believers. No church that gets sidetracked with secondary issues will thrive WITHIN the will of God. (NOT JUST THRIVING ON MAN’S TEACHING)
2. We want members of the church to know the story of Christ thuroughly, so they can share it with others. Jesus Christ is the only one who can save.
So it is critical that we be able to tell His story correctly and
meaningfully.
3. This series is to help us all to do a more meaningful study of the word of God.
There are a few things we need to look at first before we get into the study of the book of Luke. This will be a general study of the book not a verse by verse study.
I. What is a Gospel? Literary genre
A. The word gospel is spelled with a lower case g refers to the core truth of the Christian faith.
It is the message of salvation for all on the basis of God¡¦s grace that has been enfleshed in Jesus the Christ. Of all the truths that collectively make up the total body of information that pertains to the Christian faith, it is the gospel that is, to use Paul¡¦s language, ¡§of first importance¡¨
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance„T: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter,„T and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time (NIV 1st Corinthians 15:3-6a)
When we speak of the gospel in this sense, there is one and only one gospel. It is the good news that salvation is offered to undeserving people on the merits of
Christ finished work at Calvary.
B. When we spell the word with an upper case G it has a different meaning; it identifies a particular literary form. As distinct from the thirteen Epistles of Paul, for example, these are four Gospel. The Author¡¦s purpose is to tell the one gospel story for a particular audience and from his own sources of information about Jesus.
To make it simple think as the four Gospels as tracts designed for distribution in the first century world. Short documents that set Jesus as the Son of God who alone can save us.
Circulated among non-Christians; The Gospels presented a basic ¡§salvation truths¡¦ about Jesus that could bring someone to a faith in Him.
Circulated among Christians: The Gospels preserved the memory of Jesus¡¦ saving work, offered His life as a model for imitation and contained His teaching¡¦s for study and reflection
They were circulated separately. Why.
Because they were (and are) adequate to bring a seeking heart to a saving encounter with the Son of God
The nature of the Gospels is summed up best by John;
¡§Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.¡¨(NIV John 20:30-31)
II. The Author of the book of Luke:
Luke has the distinction of being the only non Jewish person to write any part of the New Testament. Paul list several coworkers in his ministry in Colossians 4:10-17 he names only Jews among my fellow workers in verses 10&11
¡§My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me.¡¨ Luke is therefore included among the Gentiles whose names are given.
Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. 13I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings.
Not only his name is given but his occupation is given as well in verse 14
Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings.
The sequel to Luke is the book of Acts of the Apostles. Together, these two books cover the account of Christianity¡¦s earliest days from the birth of Jesus to the time of Paul¡¦s first imprisonment at Rome.
In terms of the total number of words, Luke in his two volumes contributed more of the content of the New Testament than any other writer.
III. The Theme of the Gospel of Luke:
A. As a Greek, he writes to explain that Jesus the Christ is the Savior of all humankind.
Luke¡¦s method of telling the story of Jesus focused on the stories of individuals who met the Savior. As presented by Luke, the love of Jesus knew no bounds. He reached out to prostitutes (7:36-50)
Samaritans (17:11-19) Tax-collectors (18:9-14) and a dying thief (23:39-43).
Who would not fall in love with such a character as Jesus?
Who would be afraid to come to Him?
Who would have to fear rejection by Him?
He touched the diseased.
Restored the Dead to life
Gave up the glory of Heaven for a life of sorrow, sweat and tears.
Could He really have done this for you and me?
Luke thought so!!! This energetic doctor fell in love with the idea of God coming to save all people. In Jesus this idea, this abstract concept, this wishful thought became reality, became something to live for, and became flesh.
2000 years have come and gone. Once again this question is asked: Could Jesus really have done all this for me?
From the roof tops the answer is shouted----YES!!!!!
From the mountain tops------YES!!!!!
And from the very gates of Heaven------YES!!!!
And we shall see this in our study of this wonderful book of Luke.
Lets us look at the first 4 verses today!!
Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. (NIV)
1. Tested and scrutinized:
The opening verses of the Gospel of Luke affirm the confident historical base on which Christian faith rest.
We do not embrace myths and fables hoping against hope there is some value to these tales.
WE EMBRACE ONLY THOSE DOCUMENTED FACTS OF HISTORY that students such as Luke have ¡§carefully investigated¡¨ and preserved in writing for us. Eyewitnesses who had contact with Jesus and he was guided by the Holy Spirit.
Conclusion: It is easy to fall in love with a real person, who we can
Know. A person who is and was known. A person who loves us first.
THINK ABOUT THIS FOR A SECOND PLEASE!!!
¡§For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (NIV John 3:16)
God loved us first.
OR MAYBE THIS!
Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends.
(NIV John 5:13) Jesus loved us first
How much will you love Jesus?
¡§If you love me, you will obey what I command. (NIV John 14:15)
That is what Jesus said. Will you obey Him today?
He has already proved His love how about you?
