St. Luke Columbus

Faith is the only basis upon which an eternal relationship can be built. Martin Luther said that the teaching upon which the Church stands or falls is fourth article of the Augsburg Confession which teaches that we cannot be justified before God by our own strength, merits, or work but are freely justified for Christ’s sake through faith when we believe that we are received into favor and that our sins are forgiven on account of Christ, who by his death made satisfaction for our sins. This faith God imputes for righteousness in his sight. Our trust in Jesus is enough because it is 100% God’s gift to us so that we will receive God’s gift of salvation.   Being saved by grace alone through faith alone means that God gives us both the actuality and the means by which to have his gift of salvation.   Trust that faith in Jesus is enough for salvation.   Lessons: Genesis 15:1-6, Romans 5:1-2, John 3:16-18   Sermon Outline  

Salvation is 100% God’s work that he accomplished for us through the death and resurrection of Jesus and is given to us as a true gift. God planned, initiated, accomplished, and gives to us his gift of forgiveness, new life, and eternal life.   Lessons: Genesis 15:1-17, Ephesians 2:1-10, Luke 23:38-43  

Paul calls us to always be ready to give a defense to anyone for the hope that we have in Christ Jesus. Through unpacking the story of the woman at the well, we will gain a better understanding of the nature of God, his ability to overcome any barrier, and his desire for us to share our faith and make disciples of all nations.   Lessons: Isaiah 59:15b-16, 1 Peter 3:13-18, John 4:1-42

The parable of the Unjust Steward may be the most difficult of Jesus’ parables to interpret, let alone find a life application. (Now, get ready for a really long, but magnificently crafted sentence.) But, if we see the Unjust Steward as Jesus who loses everything and is cast out (dies) from the employment of the rich man (God, the Father), becomes the hero (raised again) in the eyes of the rich man (God), brings all the scheming debtors (us) into the good graces of the rich man (God) by having our debt scandalously and fully paid (through his death and resurrection), and eternally changes the whole bookkeeping of the rich man (God) so that now all functions by grace (that always is disputable in the eyes of our karma-run world), then we have an interpretation that fits the context of Jesus heading to Jerusalem to die and rise again to scandalously make us right with God. A thing of beauty! This interpretation is for us incredibly good news and gives us a Savior that is considered “unjust” by the moral bookkee

The Sabbath rest that God graciously commanded us to practice is for our benefit and yet, in our culture, we have so thoroughly turned our back on God’s gracious weekly plan for our lives. God intends that our practice of Sabbath rest and worship be a weekly reminder to us of the eternal experience of refreshment that we will enjoy in the paradise that Jesus has prepared for us.    We hope you will make a plan how to have one day a week of Sabbath rest, recreation, and worship.   Lessons: Exodus 20:8-11, Hebrews 4:1-3a, Mark 2:23-28

The examples of Jesus and the apostles (like Paul), the command of Jesus, the testimony of Christ followers over the last 2000 years, and the work of the Holy Spirit within us compels us to “boldly and without hindrance” preach the kingdom of God and teach others about Jesus. What holds us back from doing this? What is at stake in our reluctance? How can we overcome our reluctance?   After hearing this sermon, we encourage you to name the 1-3 fears or conditions that hold you back from telling others about Jesus. Ask God to help you overcome these fears and serve you up an easy evangelism opportunity.   Lessons: Acts 28:16-31, Matthew 9:35-38

We can’t do in rows what we can do in circles. It is not good for us to walk the discipleship path without the encouragement of vital friendships with other Christ followers.   We encourage everyone to participate in a Life Group this fall.   Lessons: Genesis 2:19-24, Galatians 6:1-2, Mark 2:1-12

Jesus’ answer to wealth inequity includes that we give to the poor. When a rich young man asked Jesus what he must do to get eternal life, the conversation led to Jesus saying to him, “Go, sell your possessions and give to the poor.”   The earliest followers of Jesus took his teaching to heart. When Zacchaeus understood that salvation had come to his house, he responded by giving half his possessions to the poor. Acts 2 & 4 report that in the earliest Christian church that the believers were selling their possessions and goods in order to give to anyone as they had a need. The simple direction of Jesus to address wealth inequity is to give to the poor.   After hearing this sermon, we hope you will figure out what you can do to give more to the poor and what we can do to bring out a more just society for those who are poor.   Lessons: Isaiah 58:6-9, Acts 4:32-37, Luke 12:22-33

We are being told that the gap between the rich and the poor is growing and that wealth inequity is increasing. One sign of this may be the growing number of self-storage places where people store up their stuff. If this is true, is the growing wealth inequity just and what would Jesus say about it? In one instance (recorded in the gospel lesson) when Jesus had the opportunity to rectify the wealth inequity between two brothers, he avoided making a judgment and instead used the opportunity to teach that we are to seek first being rich towards God.  How tightly do you cling to your wealth? After hearing this sermon, we hope you will, in prayer, ask God to guide you in taking a vigorously honest assessment at how you view your wealth. Consider using these questions to help guide your self-reflection: How do I react to statements about wealth inequity growing? How does my reaction reflect the importance that my wealth is to me? How does the importance of my wealth affect my attitude towards those who are r

This week our students take the stage and share how God is working in their lives and through their camp experience.

Since we have been raised to a new life in Jesus, we are truly running on full and have our minds set on living a life that is pleasing to Christ. When we are running filled up with Jesus, we live lives that may seem peculiar and yet attractive to others. We know that we are running on full when … We put to death what violates God’s values (3:5-9) We put on the character traits and behaviors that reflect God’s heart (3:12-17) We behave like Jesus in our relationships with others. (3:18 – 4:5) After hearing this sermon we hope you will answer this question for yourself: “Based on what I live out in my life, am I running on full or empty?” If running on full, pick one of the 33 Christ-like character traits, behaviors and disciplines (one for each year that Jesus lived) listed in the lesson from Colossians to grow in your life. Ask God, the Holy Spirit, to help you understand how this can grow. If running on empty, ask God to help you understand why this is so and what is needed for you to be filled w

Lessons: Colossians 2:6-23, John 1:1-14

When Jesus is on the throne of our lives, he fills us to overflowing. Jesus does not fill us part way, he fills to overflowing. From that overflow, we are compelled by our deep Christ-like desire for all people to be filled with Jesus. Like the Apostle Paul, we commit our entire lives to the grandeur vision that all people would be reconciled with God.   After hearing this sermon, we hope you will answer this question for yourself: “Am I serving, inviting, and giving to meet the hopes and hurts of others from the overflow of Jesus in my life?” If yes, then let God’s love continue overflow to others. If no, ask God to help you understand why this is so and what is needed for you to be filled to overflowing.   Lessons: Colossians 1:21-2:5, John 4:13-14

Because of our rebellion against God, we are born spiritually empty and experience the despairing void of being alienated from our Father Creator. When we try to fill (put on the throne) the great emptiness within us with anyone or anything other than Jesus, we are running on empty. Jesus is the only one who belongs on the throne of our lives and is the only one who can authentically and eternally fill us. When anything else is on the throne, it takes away and empties us. When we are in Christ, we are filled with his holiness and made perfect with God. The love that Jesus has for us compels him to fill us. This is the restoration of our intimate relationship with God that was part of God’s original blessing.   After hearing this sermon, we hope you will answer this question for yourself: “What is on the throne of my life and how well is that filling me?” If it is not Jesus, identify what barriers you would have to remove for Jesus to be on the throne of your life. If you are ready, begin praying for God

Jesus modeled his way of being the greatest and was how human culture defines greatness. It did not involve judgmentally dividing people into “us” and “them.” It was not a grab for power. The path of following Jesus is a counter-cultural life of valuing our relationship with Jesus above everything else and sacrificing for the sake of others. While this can be a difficult path to follow, followers of Jesus continue to press forward along this path because of what Jesus did and accomplished for us.   After hearing this sermon, we hope you will take the first step of thinking that nothing else matters as much as faithfully following Jesus and accepting that this will involve sacrifice.   Lessons: Luke 9:46-62

In our lesson today, we see a woman who humbled herself before the Lord.  She gave all she had because of her love for the Lord.  Today we will dig into this story and look at how this "sinful" woman showed us what it means to lay it all down at the feet of God.   Lessons: Luke 7:36-50

Prayer #5: That you would recognize that God has purposefully placed us here – at this time, in this place – for His glory.   Prayer #6: That you would develop a taste for truth – even difficult ones.   Prayer #7: That you would embrace Biblical Christianity – not American evangelicalism.   Prayer #8: That you would experience a holy discontentment with where our lives are – and that you would espouse the hope of what our lives can be.   Lessons: Psalm 1, Acts 17:22-27, John 17:15-26

Our friend, David Drees, returns to St. Luke to give us his final two sermons before moving. In these next two weeks, he will preach through Eight Prayers he has for us as a church and individually.    Prayer #1: That you would see that the greatest problem in the universe is not mere moral failure – but rather a failure to honor God.   Prayer #2: That you would understand that discipline rarely brings about love – but love always brings about discipline.   Prayer #3: That you would realize that children of God are not under wrath – but under mercy.   Prayer #4: That you would find that the fullness of all things – including life and joy – is in Christ.   Lessons: Jeremiah 2:1-5, John 10:7-11, John 17:15-26

Faith is something that is vital for a relationship with God.  In our scripture lesson, we will read about how a Centurion has faith that amazes Jesus.  Today we will look at faith how we can strive to have a faith that amazes Jesus.   Lessons: Luke 7:1-10

We all suffer and the longer we live, the more we will suffer. According to Romans 5:1-5, one who trusts in Jesus will experience a progression of profound, extraordinary, surprising and God-given benefits when suffering is endured with faith; suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character, hope.   After hearing this sermon we hope when you are in times of suffering, you will continue to practice the faith through spiritual disciplines (coming to worship, participating in a life group, reading the Bible, prayer, etc) in order to press forward in faith where you will experience perseverance, character, and hope.   Lessons: Romans 5:1-5, John 16:12-15