Redeemed and Restored Stories of Jesus with Thrown Away People From the Gospel Book of Luke City Presbyterian Church citypresokc.com
2013. A product of the ministry of City Presbyterian Church in Oklahoma City by Doug Serven and Bobby Griffith. Not much of this material is original or unique since we are striving to present historic Christianity to the 21 st Century world. Therefore, we are building on the shoulders of those who have gone before us. Please feel free to use this material in discussions with others and even in other Bible studies. Feel free to adapt and modify for your own purposes. All Scriptures come from the English Standard Version, Crossway. Used by permission. City Presbyterian Church is a missional community that seeks to worship Christ and serve Oklahoma City. Our goal is to Love God, Love People and Love the City. You can learn more about us at citypresokc.com.
The Gospel At City Pres, the gospel is our greatest treasure it truly is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, and that continues all throughout our Christian lives. However, in our day and culture, there is confusion as to just what the gospel is. The following article, adapted from an article written by Pastor Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, clearly defines the gospel. The Third Way of the Gospel The Gospel means good news. It is the basic message that: God made (Christ), who had no sin, to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). The gospel says that we are so sinful, lost and helpless that only the life and death of the Son of God can save us. But it also says that those who trust in Christ s work instead of their own efforts are now holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation (Colossians 1:22-23). The gospel tells us that our root sin is not just failing in our obedience to God but relying on our obedience to save us. Therefore, the gospel is a third way, neither religion nor irreligion. The religious person may say, I am doing the right things that God commands 1 and the irreligious person may say, I decide what is right and wrong for myself. But both ways reject Jesus as Savior (though they may revere him as Example or Helper). Both ways are strategies of self-salvation both actually keep control of their own lives. So the gospel keeps us from legalism and moralism on the one hand and from hedonism and relativism on the other. The Gospel s Power for Change The gospel is not just the ABC but the A-Z of the Christian life. The gospel is not just the way to enter the kingdom but is the way to address every problem and is the way to grow at every step. If we believe we can find our own worth and meaning through performance, then we will become either proud or disdainful of others (if we reach our goals), or else discouraged and self-loathing (if we fail our goals). But the gospel creates an entirely new self-image. The Gospel tells us that we are more wicked and sinful than we ever dared believe but more loved and accepted in Christ than we ever dared to hope at the same time. In fact, if the gospel is true, the more you see you sin, the more certain you are that you were saved by sheer grace and the more precious and electrifying that grace is to you. So the gospel gives us enormous power to admit our flaws. Then secondly, the knowledge of our acceptance in Christ makes (for the first time) the law of God a beauty instead of a burden. We come to use it to delight the One who has enriched us so mightily, instead of using it to get his attention or win his favor. The first way makes the moral and sacrificial life a joy; the second way makes it a burden. Therefore the gospel changes everything. It brings down racial barriers by melting away facial pride or inferiority. It brings down psychological problems by melting away self-inflation or self-hatred. It brings down personal facades, for we are free to admit who we are. It effects the way we do everything how we motivate people, how we help them work through counseling problems, how we worship, how we take criticism. 1 Our core problem, say St. Augustine, is that the human heart, ignoring God, turns in on itself, tries to lift itself, wants to please itself, and ends up debasing itself. The person who reaches toward God and wants to please God gets, so to speak, stretched by this move, and ennobled by the transcendence of its object. But the person who curves in on himself, who wants God s gifts without God, who wants to satisfy the desires of a divided heart, ends up sagging and contracting like a little wad. He desires are provincial. There is something in humility which, strangely enough, exalts the heart, and something in pride, which debases it. - Cornelius Plantinga, Not the Way It s Supposed to Be, p. 62, (at the end quoting Augustine, The City of God)
How to Do This Bible Study With those important preliminaries aside, we re excited that you have decided to join us in exploring some of the foundational truths of the Christian faith. Whether you are investigating Christianity or have been a believer for as long as you can remember, we hope that this study will be fruitful for you. You may come with lots of questions or even with some apprehensiveness. Whatever the case, we earnestly desire this to be a time where you can honestly ask questions and explore the foundations of Christianity. You may have been in a Bible study before, or you may be joining us for the first time. I want to make a note on our method of study. In each of the texts before us, we will use the simple O-I-A method of study: Observation Interpretation Application. Observation We simply want to know what the text actually says. The answers are sometimes so obvious that you may feel like it s a trick question, but its not. In observing the text, we want to ask, What does the text say? Interpretation This admittedly is the toughest part of studying the Scriptures. Usually, we ll be comparing Scripture with Scripture. We are interested in how the Scripture speaks to us, not in what we may want it to mean. Here, we are asking, What does the text mean? Application This is where the rubber meets the road. Sometimes in observing the text and understanding its meaning, the application flows naturally. Sometimes, we will need to do some discussing to work it into our lives. Having understood and accurately interpreted the text, we now ask, So what? How does this affect my beliefs, my words, my actions, my community? Attendance If you are working through this study in a group, please commit to coming each week. Not only will you benefit by this commitment, but the other people in your group will by your presence. It can be really discouraging for each week s study to be only optionally attended. While coming each week is by no means a badge of righteousness for you, it will mean something if you put this as a priority in your week s schedule and make every effort to be there.
Luke 4: Jesus and the Demon-Possessed Man Read Luke 4. Take a minute to scan over Luke 1-3 before you read through all that happens in Luke 4. Opening Questions What types of people are most thrown-away that you come into contact with right now? What part of your life do feel is most thrown-away? Luke 4 Consult a study bible and write down the date and author of Luke. Date: Author: What Is Jesus Up To? Jesus begins his ministry. Where does God take him first and what happens there? List five observations you can make about the interaction, temptation and victory of Jesus in Luke 4:1-3. Next Jesus goes to the synagogue, the local place for Jewish gathering for worship. What happens there? Notice the reaction of the people to Jesus short sermon. What do you think about it? How do people still react like that today? What does Jesus do next after the temple in Luke 4:31-41? He was a busy guy! Do you think you could ever be like Jesus? Why or why not? Identify someone in this chapter that you are more like.
What is Jesus Up Against? Jesus faces Satan, misunderstanding, opposition, sickness and demons. Do you think there are demons and angels still today? Why or why not? What did the demons know about Jesus? What didn t they know about him? How can we relate to this? What is a good application for us today? Do you have something in your life that you just can t seem to get rid of or maybe cannot explain? What Is Jesus Here To Do? Read 4:42-44. Put in your own words what this means, and be ready to describe this scene. Jesus did miracles in Luke 4, but he says he came for something else. What? Look back at Jesus sermon he just delivered in Luke 4:16-30, especially 4:18-19. What types of people did Jesus come to help? What do you think he means by those types of people? Do those describe you in any way? How could you see yourself as identifying with those people? Can you? How does Jesus help them? How does he love them? Jesus says in Luke 4:43, I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other towns as well, for I was sent for this purpose. What is a good definition for this phrase, the good news of the Kingdom of God? Write that down below.
Luke 5:1-16: Jesus, Peter and The Leper Read Luke 5:1-16. Opening Questions What is the sickest you have ever been? Think about and describe the situation and how it made you feel. Luke 5:1-16 Jesus and Peter Consult a study Bible and write down things you can find out about who Peter was. What type of guy was he? What is the situation Peter s in here in this passage? What does Jesus tell Peter to do? Does Peter listen to Jesus? Does he obey Jesus? What do you think Peter must be thinking? What happens next? What does Peter tell Jesus? Why do you think he says that? What is right with what Peter tells Jesus? What is wrong?
Jesus and the Leper Consult a study Bible or even the internet and write down some about leprosy. What happened to lepers? This man shouldn t have approached Jesus, but he did. Why? Jesus shouldn t have touched this man, but he did? What did the people expect to happen next? What happened instead? What did the man ask Jesus? Have you ever told Jesus to get away like Peter did? When was that? Have you ever asked Jesus to help you like the leper did? When was that? What keeps us from relating to Jesus like Peter did and the leper did? How was Jesus kind and merciful to Peter? How did Jesus display his kindness and mercy to the leper? Many think that leprosy is a picture or metaphor for sin. If so, how would that be true in your life? What needs healing in your life right now? How would Jesus be able to help?
Luke 5:17-26: The Paralyzed Man Read Luke 5:17-26. Opening Questions What are a few things that are really easy to say but really difficult to do? Luke 5:17-26 The Outer Thing That Happens Make 5-10 observations about this story who are the characters, what is the situation, etc. What is a Pharisee? Consult a study Bible or the internet to find out. What do you think about these friends of the paralyzed man? What are they like? Do you have friends like that who would do that for you? Are you friends like that for someone? What gets in your way of that type of friendship? What happens to this paralyzed man? What does Jesus do? Draw a picture of the way the man must have responded and reacted:
The Inner Thing That Happened Jesus healed this man. But that s not all he did. What did he do first? What is strange about what Jesus says to this man about forgiving his sins? What do the Pharisees understand him to mean? What is their dilemma? What do you think? Can Jesus forgive sins? Why or why not? Has this man wronged Jesus? If so, how so? Which is more difficult for Jesus to heal the man or for him to forgive his sins? Make your case. Luke wrote that the people said, We have seen extraordinary things today! What were they talking about? Do you think forgiveness is extraordinary? Can you think of some stories about forgiveness that have stood out to you lately? These can be from your own life or from the news or from something you ve seen or read lately. Do you need healing? Where in your life do you need healing? Do you need forgiveness? Where in your life do you need forgiveness? On the back of this paper, write a prayer to Jesus asking him for forgiveness.
Luke 5:27-32: The Unlikely Disciple Read Luke 5:27-32. Opening Questions Are there people who you do not think are worthy of respect or love? Luke 5:27-32 The Unlikely Disciple What does Luke tell us about Levi s occupation? Do you think Levi was a lovable person? In this time period, tax collectors were traitors. How do you treat people who betray you? Does it surprise you that Jesus tells Levi to follow him? What does this say about God s grace? Did Levi deserve to be a disciple? If you were one of Jesus disciples, how would you feel about Levi joining the team? What does Jesus inclusion of Levi tell us about God s love? Do you ever feel unworthy of love?
Are there people who you do not feel should be loved? How does this text speak to who gets love and who does not? The Party of Losers What does Levi invite Jesus to attend? What kind of people are there? Why were the Pharisees mad? What do Christians normally do to new converts? (example: do you keep your friends?) Why do you think Jesus spent time with Levi s friends? Did Jesus try to fix Levi s friends? Is it more loving to enter someone s world or try to fix them? Why or why not? Is it easy to enter into someone s life? Why or why not? Who are some people that you can love? Think about a time someone entered into your life? How did that affect you? What does Jesus interaction with Levi s friends teach us about the nature of the Gospel? What are ways we are called to imitate this story as a response to God s love?
Luke 7:11-17: The Widow of Nain Read Luke 7:11-17. Opening Questions When has death been the nearest to you lately? Luke 7:11-17 Do not weep. We need to study the situation of this story. Luke 7:11 tells us how many people were following Jesus. What does it say? Why were they following him? Luke 7:12 tells us how many people were in the other group. What does it say? They were following the woman and the body being carried out to the burial spot. What does Luke tell us about this woman and her son? She was stricken with grief, and now in a desperate situation. Why would that be? In the midst of all of this commotion, what does Jesus do? How does Jesus see her? How do we know Jesus cares for her? Do you see people? Why or why not? Do you care for people? Why or why not? Do you let people see you? Why or why not?
Do you let people care for you? Why or why not? Where is one place in your life right now where you feel the most alone, the most dying, the most hopeless? Could Jesus enter that place to see, care and help? What do you think? Young man, I say to you, arise. Jesus saw. Jesus cared. And Jesus helped. How did he help in this story? What would have been wrong about Jesus going up and touching the body (7:14)? What does that say about Jesus? What is incredible and strange about Luke writing, And the dead man sat up and began to speak. There was a collision that day between life and death. Jesus stopped death. He raised this man to life. He reunited his soul to his body, and he reunited this man to his mother. There s a theme of resurrection and reunification. What do you think happened? Why did Jesus do that? How could that give you hope today? What are you longing for? How can Jesus see, care and help you? What did the people who were there say about Jesus? What were they right and wrong about? What about you? What do you say about Jesus? Who is he?
Luke 7:36-50: A Sinful Woman Read Luke 7:36-50. Opening Questions What has been your most embarrassing moment? Luke 7:36-50 Scornful Contempt Use a study Bible to write out what you can discover about Pharisees: Who is the Pharisee in this story? What is he like? A woman breaks through to touch Jesus. This isn t normal. What is the Pharisee thinking about her? About Jesus? How does the Simon show contempt for both the woman and Jesus? What types of people do you not have time for? What types of people do you tend to dismiss? What types of people really push your buttons? Do you have something in your life that you can get self-righteous about (a cause, a position, a way to do something)? How are you like Simon?
Extravagant Love This woman shows Jesus some extravagant love. What are some ways you notice? (You may need to consult a study Bible to find out some of the unusual things she does). How is she being financially embarrassing? How is she being socially embarrassing? Why is she doing that? What is Jesus point with his little story in 7:41-43? How do you think that applies to this woman and Simon? How do you think that applies to you? Are you more often cool and aloof or more often passionate and out there? Why? What about towards Jesus? How would you describe your interactions with him? Why? How does Jesus love this woman? What does he give to her and what does he take from her? Do you love much? Have you been forgiven much? Write a prayer to God on the back of this paper expressing your thoughts from this lesson.
Luke 9:18-27: A Thrown-Out Savior Read Luke 9:18-27. Opening Questions What in your life feels the most thrown out right now? Luke 9:18-27 The Way of Jesus Read what Jesus tells his disciples in 9:23-27. What do you notice about this way? Why is this way so difficult? What does it mean to take up our cross and follow him? What might that look like for you? What does Jesus promise if we do follow this way with him? The Wow of Jesus Read 9:18-20. What do you think about the answers the disciples give about who the crowds think Jesus is? In our culture there are many opinions about Jesus. List some of who and what people say Jesus is today. Then Jesus asks them a direct question about who he is. Peter says, The Christ of God. Use a study Bible to determine what that answer means. What about you? Who do you think Jesus is? How confident do you feel about that?
The Work of Jesus After Peter s confession about Jesus being the Christ of God, Jesus wanted to make sure they knew what that meant. What does Jesus say the Christ of God will be about in 9:21-22? Why might that answer be troubling for the disciples? What is that answer troubling for us? Why did Jesus have to suffer, be rejected and be killed? Look at Romans 6:23. Why is the way, work and wow of the Savior? Jesus loves thrown out people, but then he was thrown out himself on the cross. Why did he go through that? Read Luke 24:1-12. What happened after Jesus was buried and laid in the tomb? Do you think this really happened? Why or why not? If it did happen, why would this matter to you? What do you think about this resurrected Jesus? How is his life, death and resurrection important to you? How do you see the thrown away parts of your life loved by a Savior like this?