Luke 6

"Dear Disciple, Having lived among you, I know the challenges and temptations of human flesh (Hebrews 4:15). Something that troubles Me, however, is....."

"Dear Disciple, Leadership and choosing leaders are very important in any group, but especially among My followers. Please notice two things of great...."

"One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples broke off heads of grain, rubbed off the husks in their hands, and ate..."

Do you see and listen to these folks around you? Rubel uses a street person named Jack and his friend to remind us that each of these people have a name and need to be valued and noticed as real people.

"[Jesus continued,] "I will show you what it's like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building..."

"[Jesus continued,] "A good tree can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never..."

"[The names of the apostles are] Simon (whom [Jesus] named Peter), Andrew (Peter's brother), James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas,..."

"The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man's hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the..."

"Then Jesus gave the following illustration: "Can one blind person lead another? Won't they both fall into a ditch? Students are not greater than their..."

"[Jesus continued,] "What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of..."

"[Jesus returned to his teaching on our interactions with others:] "And why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own?....."

"[Jesus continued his teaching on our interactions with others:] "And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even...."

"Why do you notice the little piece of dust in your friend’s eye, but you don’t notice the big piece of wood in your own eye? How can you say to your....."

"One day soon [after healing the man with the deformed hand,] Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. At daybreak he..."

"[The crowds] had come to hear [Jesus] and to be healed of their diseases; and those troubled by evil spirits were healed. Everyone tried to touch him,..."

"On another Sabbath day, a man with a deformed right hand was in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching. The teachers of religious law and the..."

Who would go first among the religions in showing honor to the other? Rubel Shelly talks about world religions, love, respect, honor, and violence.

Will we help others in the same way that Jesus did? Will we help those who need it simply because we follow Jesus and because they need it with no strings attached?

Not every foundation is the same! If we build our lives on the teachings of Jesus, we'll have a solid foundation that will see us through even the hardest times. If we choose to build somewhere else, we may very well find ourselves with a life that can't stand up to life's trials.

"[Jesus continued,] "God blesses you who weep now, for in due time you will laugh.""

"[Jesus continued his teaching on our interactions with others:] "Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then..."

"[Jesus continued his teaching on our interactions with others:] "If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners..."

"[Jesus continued,] "What sorrow awaits you who are fat and prosperous now, for a time of awful hunger awaits you. What sorrow awaits you who laugh..."

"[Jesus continued his teaching on our interactions with others, commanding,] "You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.""

"[When Jesus healed the man with the deformed hand on the Sabbath], the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him."

"[Jesus continued his teaching on our interactions with others, commanding,] "Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others,....."

"[Jesus continued,] "God blesses you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied.""

"[Jesus continued his teaching on our interactions with others, commanding,] "Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don't....."

"[After answering the Pharisees' legalistic accusation against his disciples concerning the Sabbath,] Jesus added, "The Son of Man is Lord, even over....."

"[Jesus continued,] "So why do you keep calling me 'Lord, Lord!' when you don't do what I say?""

"[Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said,] "Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like..."

""But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you...""

"[Jesus taught his disciples with these words:] "Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.""

""Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use,...."

"[After Jesus' confrontation with the Jewish leaders about healing on the Sabbath, he] looked around at them one by one and then said to the man [with...."

"[Jesus continued his teaching on our interactions with others, commanding,] "Do to others as you would like them to do to you.""

"If ever one of woman born might have lived without prayer, it was our spotless, perfect a Lord, and yet none was ever so much in supplication as he!....."

"[Jesus continued,] "What sorrow awaits you who are rich, for you have your only happiness now.""

"Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said, "God blesses you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours.""

"[Jesus continued,] "What sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds, for their ancestors also praised false prophets.""

"When [Jesus and his disciples] came down from the mountain [after Jesus prayed and then chose his apostles], the disciples stood with Jesus on a..."

"[Jesus continued his teaching on our interactions with others, commanding,] "Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.""

"[Jesus continued,] "Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full — pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running..."

"[Jesus continued his teaching on our interactions with others, commanding,] "If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone..."

"[Jesus began teaching on our interactions with others:] "But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate..."

Inspirational illustration of Luke 6:38 -- "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

Inspirational illustration of Luke 6:27 -- "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you..."

Bless those who curse you, and prayer for those who mistreat you. - Luke 6:28

Inspirational illustration of Luke 6:40 -- Every disciple when fully trained will be like the teacher

How much is enough for you? When do we have enough stuff and can we say no to acquiring more?

Who is your pilot? If anyone controls our life but Jesus, then our life is headed for disaster.

"Dear Beloved, Learn to wait and think before you speak. Give the Holy Spirit an opportunity to guide your conversation instead of being thrust into....."

How well do you show genuine mercy toward those who let you down? We have to show mercy to others when they let us down because we need mercy for our mistakes and mess ups!

Tired of sitting on the dock? Then jump in! Rick Brown challenges us to get off the dock and into the water, to quit talking and to start obeying, to dive in and to swim.

Is rest really necessary for holy and whole living? Phil Ware talks about the importance of rest and the Sabbath principle.

What will people hear from you? We create echoes by our life, so what kind of echo will you hear from the people around you?

Does your faith move you beyond just talk? Real faith leads us to act and not just talk about problems.

Why is it hard to let Jesus have control of our lives? I wonder what would happen if we truly let Jesus have control of our lives.

What is the real homewrecker? Paul Faulkner looks at the role maturity and unselfishness play in good families.

Is it really worth the cost? Ron Rose reminds us of the need to forgive, not just because we are commanded but because we are imprisoned in bitterness when we don't.

What gift of value could 6 dollars buy? Nothing blesses us than to see those we love being generous with others -- that's true thanksgiving!

What do you have to share with others that is a little extra? Katha Winther shares a tradition she picked up from her mother and that we should pass along to others along the way: give a little something extra.

How does this happen? Rubel Shelly tells of a tragic murder in a family over a soccer game and a TV show about faith.

Are you giving from the heart? Giving gifts at Christmas helps us understand and appreciate the importance of people in our lives.

Have you been listening lately? We need to listen to our Teacher: Jesus is the one we must look to for our answers in how to help and bless others.

Will your character collapse under pressure? Are we anything more than a facade, or does our character run deep and can it be seen in the world of quiet and inner places in our lives.

What ever happened to kind, courteous, and respectful speech? We need to put kind and courteous speech back into our lifestyle.

What does the doctor hear when he hears your heartbeat? Rick Brown reminds us that what we need is a heart transplant from God so our heartbeat is that of Jesus.

Does any of the Father's love splash over and touch the people in your family? Overhearing a questioning about loving children enough gets Sarah thinking about the need for meaningful touch, focused listening, and hanging around together.

So do we make people think of Jesus? Phil Ware continues his series on What is Core by calling us to true discipleship, people being conformed to be like Jesus and living out the cross, burial, and resurrection in their lives.

Prayer changes something much more important than our circumstances! Phil Ware continues his series on building a culture of honor focusing this week on prayer, especially prayer as a redemptive tool of offering forgiveness and blessing to those who are our enemies and who mistreat us.

God isn't after change, that happens all the time: God wants transformation! Phil Ware continues his series on Jesus and transformation and focuses today on our walking with Jesus each day in the gospels and learning his words and talking with him and taking on on his character and compassion as the Spirit transforms us.

It sure is hard doing the right thing. Doing the right thing is hard, but the retirement benefits make it worth the effort -- just ask Jesus!

Into whose image are we trying to make new Christians conform? So often we force new Christians into the mold of something or someone who isn't really Jesus.

Do we realize the grace of getting to tune our lives to Jesus? Phil Ware and James Nored remind us that the core of our faith is Jesus, that Christ is our defining note around whom all of us must tune our lives and recognize the grace of being called and transformed to be like him.

Do we realize the grace of getting to tune our lives to Jesus? Phil Ware and James Nored remind us that the core of our faith is Jesus, that Christ is our defining note around whom all of us must tune our lives and recognize the grace of being called and transformed to be like him.

Why in the world would anyone want to go to such an effort? Serving may be hard work, but like good exercise, it develops us into a healthier people.

How good are you at your communication skills? A humorous story about a date is a reminder of how hard it can be to communicate well.

When we open our hearts and lives to him, God fills them with wondrous, eternal treasures. Phillip Morrison reminds us that giving of ourselves and our funds brings untold blessings to both the receiver and the giver!

What kind of church tater are you? Let's not be critical people -- Taters in chruch parlance.

So what are you really offering to the Lord for His service? While we are to give a tithe, the tithe is just a reminder to us that everything we have belongs to God.

Who do you look like? Rubel Shelly reminds us that even when things or people look alike doesn't mean they actually live the same way or live out the same role.

What can we learn from this faithful friend? Teresa draws a parallel between what we can learn from our dogs and what we can learn from Jesus.

Do we realize the grace of getting to tune our lives to Jesus? Phil Ware and James Nored remind us that the core of our faith is Jesus, that Christ is our defining note around whom all of us must tune our lives and recognize the grace of being called and transformed to be like him.

What we say is a reflection of our heart and mind. The wisdom of the world often reflects the words of God. For example: what you say reflects what is in your heart.

All anyone wants to talk about is Jesus! Phil Ware concludes his series on Inviting Jesus back to church with this message on Jesus being our center.

Jesus is not only our Savior and Lord, but he is also the model on whom we are to build our lives! James Nored and Phil Ware share in video and word how we can share in the life of Jesus in our lives today.

Some of us have had good fathers. Others have had absent fathers or bad fathers. In Christ, however, we have been adopted into God's family, and we all have a loving, powerful, tender, and attentive Abba Father! Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to help us honor and praise our Father in heaven on this Father's Day.

Jesus shared his love, his life, and his amazing grace with us on the cross, so will we follow Jesus and live the way of the cross in our lives? Phil Ware and Demetrius Collins lead us into worship in song and the Word to experience, proclaim and rejoice in the power of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and his call to us to remember and renew and relive the forgiveness of the cross to our daily

Whose heart are you blessing these days? Jane Vincenzi shares some insight in the old southern phrase bless your heart and realizes that it is really what our Christian life is all about.

What's in it for God? Bill Sherrill reminds us that the spirit of the Christmas season is giving, not receiving and that we need to be a people with a spirit of thanksgiving.

Is it really faith if it doesn't do anything? Belief and faith are not the same thing. Belief becomes faith when it goes into action.

Is there any other kind of Christian? All Christians have the Holy Spirit and are spirit-filled so their lives must demonstrate this reality.

Jesus isn't calling us to keep a list of do's and don'ts; he is challenging us to obey the Father from our hearts, in love. James Nored and Phil Ware remind us of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and that he was not giving us a list of do's and don't do's, but was calling us to put into practice the way of God from the heart.

What do we do in the face of evil and meanness? Phil Ware continues his series of messages related to "The Story" curriculum, using Abraham's call to be a blessing to be a reminder to us as well.

Jesus said this was the right thing for him to do! James Nored and Phil Ware remind us of an important reason to be baptized: not only was Jesus baptized, he also said it was the right thing to do and called on all his disciples to be baptized and baptizers.

What can we learn about God by looking at Jesus? Phil Ware compares Jesus to a keyhole through which we look at God and the closer we get to Jesus the more clearly we see God.

I remain convicted that these passages give us the CORE of what we must believe and practice as Jesus' disciples. Phil Ware brings his series on 'What is CORE!' to a close, giving us a short summary to help us remember these three CORE passages and what they teach and call on us to do.

We've allowed our modern definition of faith to be drained of depth and turned into a shallow kiddie wading pool of little more than mental assent. Phil Ware reminds us that faith as understood in the New Testament was much more robust than what we often call faith today.