Luke 9

"Dear Follower, Before you read anything else, I want you to hear the ending of the verses below from the events leading up to and then the actual..."

"Dear Disciple, To whom are you listening? Let Me put that in plainer language, but poorer English: Who are you listening to most in your life? The....."

"The next day, after [Jesus and the disciples] had come down the mountain, a large crowd met Jesus. A man in the crowd called out to him, "Teacher, I....."

"Dear Child of God, I know that you love mountain-top experiences. Unfortunately, sooner or later you have to come down from the mountain and face the..."

"Dear Child of God, I know that you love mountain-top experiences. Unfortunately, sooner or later you have to come down from the mountain and face the..."

"Dear Beloved, Have you ever been blinded by fear? Have your decisions ever been erratic or inappropriate because you were acting out of terror and..."

"Dear Disciple, Don't miss this truth: "The Son of Man didn't come to ruin the lives of people, but He came to liberate them." No matter what happens...."

"As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare...."

"[Jesus wanted to slip quietly away with his apostles.] But the crowds found out where he was going, and they followed him. He welcomed them and taught..."

"About eight days later Jesus took Peter, John, and James up on a mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed,...."

"Then [Jesus sent the twelve disciples] out to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. "Take nothing for your journey," he..."

"Peter and the others had fallen asleep [at Jesus' transfiguration]. When they woke up, they saw Jesus' glory and the two men standing with him. As..."

"Awe gripped the people as they saw this majestic display of God's power [when Jesus cast an evil spirit out of a boy]. While everyone was..."

"When Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, heard about everything Jesus was doing, he was puzzled. Some were saying that John the Baptist had been..."

"[Jesus told the apostles to feed the crowd, but they said there wasn't enough food.] For there were about 5,000 men there. Jesus replied, "Tell..."

"Dear Disciple, Following Me is hard. I want your heart. I want your focus. I want your future. I want to be your consuming passion. Yes, I know..."

"[Jesus continued,] "If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the....."

"One day Jesus called together his twelve disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases. Then he sent..."

"[Jesus] said to another person, "Come, follow me." The man agreed, but he said, "Lord, first let me return home and bury my father." But Jesus..."

"As [Jesus and the disciples] were walking along, someone said to Jesus, "I will follow you wherever you go." But Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens....."

"John said to Jesus, "Master, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he isn't in our group." But Jesus...."

"[After Peter's confession of Jesus as the Messiah,] Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone who he was. "The Son of Man must suffer many..."

"One day Jesus left the crowds to pray alone. Only his disciples were with him, and he asked them, "Who do people say I am?" "Well," they replied,...."

"Jesus 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...."

"Another said, "Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family." But Jesus told him, "Anyone who puts a hand to the plow...."

"[At Jesus' transfiguration,] a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him." When the voice finished, Jesus was there..."

"Awe gripped the people as they saw this majestic display of God's power [when Jesus cast an evil spirit out of a boy]. While everyone was..."

"But Jesus knew [the disciples' thoughts when they were arguing about who was the greatest], so he brought a little child to his side. Then he said to...."

"[After saying his followers must take up their cross daily, Jesus said,] "If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up..."

"Dear Disciple, As Paul gets ready to talk about the new covenant of the Spirit in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, he pauses long enough to make an important..."

Do we really want the Cross to define us? We want a Christianity without the Cross, a Savior without a Lord, and a Tinkerbelle Jesus, reprinted.

If you can't keep something, why not give it up? There is nothing foolish about turning our back on the things of this life in order to gain a life that has no end.

Sometimes the scoreboard only reveals the game's outcome, not the winners and losers! Phillip Morrison reminds us that not all who lose are losers, in fact, the greatest victor of all could have been called a loser before he won the greatest victory of all time.

What's the ultimate loss of control? Paul Faulkner reminds us that we have to give God control now, even though we fear it, because death comes and sooner or later we're going to have to yield control to him, now.

How are you going to get it all done? A plan to help us get things done we need to get done in a world of too much to do.

"[After Jesus blessed the five loaves of bread and the two fish and the disciples distributed them to the crowd of more than 5,000 [1] people, they]..."

"Then [Jesus'] disciples began arguing about which of them was the greatest."

"[When his disciples wondered how to feed the huge crowd who had been with them several days and were famished, Jesus] replied, "You give them something to eat."..."

""But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God.""

"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.""

""What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?""

""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..."

"[After Jesus commissioned the disciples,] they began their circuit of the villages, preaching the Good News and healing the sick."

"When the apostles returned [from their teaching and healing mission], they told Jesus everything they had done. Then he slipped quietly away with them..."

"[After Jesus said he would be killed and resurrected,] he said to the crowd, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way,..."

"[After the disciples responded about who people said Jesus was,] he asked them, "But who do you say I am?" Peter replied, "You are the Messiah..."

Inspirational illustration of Luke 9:26 -- 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.

Inspirational illustration of Luke 9:23 -- If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Inspirational illustration of Luke 9:25 -- What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?

Inspirational illustration of Luke 9:13 -- He replied, "You give them something to eat." They answered, "We have only five loaves of bread and two fish--unless we go and buy food for all this crowd."

Inspirational illustration of Luke 9:20 -- "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God."

Inspirational illustration of Luke 9:23 -- 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."

How much do you value small things? Tom Norvell reminds us of the importance of small things and to not get so hung up on big things.

"Dear Precious Disciple, One of the great gifts you received with your salvation was the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38-39). I pour out the Spirit on all who...."

Why is it so important to recognize that the bread is broken? Because we are broken, too! Phil Ware continues his series of Communion Devotionals called Beyond Bread and Wine that focuses on all the depth, meaning, and significance to the Lord's Supper.

Why are you putting so much stuff off? Procrastination nearly always makes things worse, so why do we put off so much stuff; and let's stop procrastinating and seize today!

How do we define what is so easily distorted? Bill Sherrill reminds us that the measure of success in Jesus' eyes is whether or not we helped those in need who are around us.

So who are you based on your living? Danny Sims takes a weird mixture of folks and reminds us that we are what we are, so look at your life and see if that is who you want to be!

Do you know how to get in the flow? Rubel Shelly reminds us that life's purpose rather than externals or someone else trying to make us happy is the real key to peace and joy in life.

What does the Cross mean to you? The Cross must be more than a mere magical symbol to ward off evil, it must be the power of God for our lives.

Does it have to be sensational to be faithful? Things don't have to be sensational to be of God; God is often found in doing the faithful challenges of each day.

Are you ready to quit your New Year's resolution? Whatever commitments you made for the new year I hope you're keeping them, but more importantly my hope and prayer is that you are holding on to the commitment to love Christ. are holding on to the commitment to love Christ.

Why in the world would Phil get nine shots in four weeks? Phil Ware talks about his upcoming trip to Uganda with Compassion International and the opportunity to help children in poverty with the love of Jesus.

So what's the big problem with all this self stuff? When we put self in the middle of everything, then everything becomes about I, me, my, and mine, and not about God and we mess up our self-absorbed lives.

What are you expecting to get for your Christian commitment? Are we only interested in bargain basement Christianity, or are we willing to pay the price to be productive.

How can I escape my past? Paul Faulkner reminds us that we need to live for the present to help others and keep our focus on the matters of the Kingdom rather than let our lives get filled with regret for the past.

Making a decision to follow Jesus is really not about you at all. The decision to follow Jesus is not about you. If anything, it is about rejecting yourself.

Why are we so afraid to do what God makes clear is our next step? Phil Ware completes his two article series on being strong and courageous and being ready to see God do great things among us.

We found out that something free does not mean it is easy. The gift of Jesus is free to us. That does not mean it is easy.

How can the younger brother of Jesus help us find our way to hope? Phil Ware lets us journey with James, the half brother of Jesus, through the cross and resurrection to find our way to hope and confidence about our future.

If it was easy to follow Jesus, everyone would do it. Following Jesus is difficult ... but worth it. Sacrifice leads to joy, peace, hope, and purpose.

You can't have your big teeth till you get rid of the old ones. Life is like that too. Jesus promises new life. Part of new life is getting rid of the old one.

How are you going to find your way through the mess? Rubel Shelly talks about how we can navigate through the economic and political storms and also reminds us that adversity is the opportunity for new beginnings.

Jesus did not come to give us what we want... but to give us what we need. Jesus does not call us so He can fit into what we want. He calls us to fit into what He wants.

Do not let your Christianity be like the Kindergartner who did not realize he had to go back to school the next week too. Christianity is choosing Jesus every day. Today, and tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. Forever.

Jesus rose from the dead, so we choose to live based on the conviction that this world is not our home, while we long for our lasting and more glorious one! Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to glorify God as we remember the life-changing implications of Jesus' resurrection.

Are you dead enough to catch on fire? Mike Barres challenges us to die to self so we can catch fire with the Spirit of the Lord.

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.

If we follow Jesus outside the box, what will we find? Phil Ware begins a series on Jesus called "Outside the Box" and challenges us to follow Jesus and ask the question, "Who is this man?" because it is the most important question in the world.