Other Churches

WORD@WORK HINDERANCES Luke 10:4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. (NIV) Jesus was briefing 72 disciples (in addition to the twelve trainee-apostles). He tells them to go without any visible means of support, nothing in reserve, just the provision that God would arrange for them. In today's terms, no overnight...

WORD@WORK BEING AN ANSWER TO PRAYER Luke 10:2-3 He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves." (NIV) Jesus often used the harvest analogy. It was His way of explaining that He wants people to belong...

WORD@WORK MISSION STRATEGY Luke 10:1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. (NIV) In case anybody should think that only the disciples were being trained in ministry (and therefore 'ordinary' believers had no responsibility in evangelism), Luke includes...

WORD@WORK URGENT PRIORITY Luke 9:61-62 Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-bye to my family." Jesus replied, "No-one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." (NIV) In this, the last of three practical lessons about discipleship for the trainee apostles,...

WORD@WORK RADICAL PRIORITY Luke 9:59-60 He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." (NIV) Following Jesus, if it is done properly, is not a whim or personal preference. It is a conscious decision...

WORD@WORK TRAVELLING WITHOUT COMFORTS Luke 9:57-58 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." (NIV) Jesus was popular; at least He was at this stage of His ministry. He attracted a following...

WORD@WORK REBUKE No. 4 Luke 9:51-56 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this,...

WORD@WORK NON-EXCLUSIVE COVENANT Luke 9:49-50 "Master," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us." "Do not stop him," Jesus said, "for whoever is not against you is for you." (NIV) The disciples knew that they were special to Jesus. He had selected them and trained them and they...

WORD@WORK LESS IS MORE Luke 9:46-48 An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and made him stand beside him. Then he said to them, "Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least...

WORD@WORK CODED MESSAGE Luke 9:43b-45 While everyone was marvelling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, "Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men." But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid...

WORD@WORK SPIRITUAL BATTLE WON Luke 9:41-43a "O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here." Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. And they...

WORD@WORK POWERLESS WITHOUT JESUS Luke 9:37-42 The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. A man in the crowd called out, "Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him...

WORD@WORK LISTEN TO THE ONE WHO KNOWS Luke 9:34-36 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him." When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves, and...

WORD@WORK SPEAKING WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE Luke 9:33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, "Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters--one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." (He did not know what he was saying.) (NIV) Some people seem to have an urge to respond to something they do not understand, by speaking,...

WORD@WORK GLORY ASSURED Luke 9:28-32 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendour, talking with Jesus. They spoke...

WORD@WORK SHAME OR GLORY Luke 9:26-27 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." (NIV) The early days of being with Jesus must...

WORD@WORK DANGEROUS ASSIGNMENT Luke 9:23-25 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?"...

WORD@WORK DANGEROUS IDENTITY Luke 9:21-22 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life." (NIV) Peter had just declared that Jesus was the promised Messiah -...

WORD@WORK A QUESTION OF IDENTITY Luke 9:18-20 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life." "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say...

WORD@WORK POWERFUL PROVISION Luke 9:14-17 (About five thousand men were there.) But he said to his disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each." The disciples did so, and everybody sat down. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the...