St. Luke Columbus

Following the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, his followers met together in their homes. Following a vision from God, Peter was led to be in the home of a gentile unbeliever named Cornelius who was a Roman centurion. We see in these and other events reported in the New Testament that the earliest Christian churches met in people’s homes and that the saving activity of the Holy Spirit happened in homes. Lessons: Acts 2:42-47, 10:24-48 Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel  

The Church of Jesus Christ is to be more sent out everywhere rather than gathered in a church building. In the book of Acts almost all of the work of God through the apostles happens away from any church building. The earliest Christian churches left the building and during the pandemic most churches today have left the building. The disciples met the risen Jesus outside somewhere and were sent to the ends of the earth to be witnesses of Jesus. While we are strengthened in the gathered community of Christ Followers, we are sent out into our communities to give witness to the salvation that comes through Christ.    Next step: Get to know the people you live life with and near (neighbors, co-workers, acquaintances, fellow volunteers, etc.) Spend time with them.  Plant and water the seeds of faith through praying for and with people, encouraging people, serving people, engaging in spiritual conversations, telling your story, and sharing the good news of Jesus.   Lessons: Acts 1:1-9, 8:1b-4   Watch: stlukecolumb

“Lamentation, a prayer for help coming out of pain, is very common in the Bible. Over one third (50 or so) of the psalms are laments. Lament frequently occurs in the Book of Job: “Why did I not perish at birth, come forth from the womb and expire?” (Job 3:11). The prophets likewise cry out to God, such as Jeremiah does: “Why is my pain continuous, my wound incurable…?” (15:18) and Habakkuk: “…my legs tremble beneath me. I await the day of distress that will come upon the people who attack us” (3:16).   One whole book, Lamentations, expresses the confusion and suffering felt after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians.   We find something similar in the New Testament as well. People who are afflicted cry out to Jesus for help. Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, shouts out, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” (Mark 10:47).”   During this service of lament, participants will be invited to lament the losses, the deep frustrations, and the painful areas of our lives in the presence of God and His people. 

While a societal evil might not directly be our fault, we still have a responsibility to bring good. Because we have received much, we are called to live out this truth in the racial reckoning that we are experiencing in our society today. Jesus taught, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Whether we understand that societal evils are in any way our fault or not, Jesus calls us to use our privilege, power, and wealth to correct the evils and bring good into the lives of others. We are to live more for others than for ourselves. We are to apply this teaching of Jesus in our work to bring justice for those who have been oppressed and discriminated against.   Next Step: If you believe that the oppression and discrimination that grows out of racism in our culture is not your fault and therefore not your responsibility to correct, spend some time thinking more about your opinion and ask the Lord what he thinks ab

Getting help is essential to making it through the land between. There are always challenges in the land between. The Israelites faced the hostile Amalekites in battle. As long as Moses held up in arms, the Israelites prevailed in the battle.  When Moses could no longer hold his arms up, those around him helped him and the battle was won. Our first move when we are in the land between is often to think that we can go it alone and prevail. That is very rarely true. When we rest on Jesus (the stone in v. 12) and allow others to help us and hold us up, we are much more likely to overcome the challenges we face in the land between.   Next Step: Identify where you are trying to go it alone and it is wearing you down. Change what you are thinking and doing in order to rest on Jesus, determine what help you need from others, and then secure that help.   Lessons: Exodus 17:8-16   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

God sometimes gives signs when we thirst for reassurance, but our trust in God cannot rest on God proving his love and care for us. Trust is the most necessary quality for an eternal relationship. In an account Water-from-the-rock account found in Numbers 20:1-13, the necessity of trusting God is tragically illustrated when Moses goes beyond the direction of God and strikes the rock and is therefore not permitted to enter the Promised Land. Trusting in God is so vital to our relationship with Him that He used what appears to be a momentary and minor lack of trust on Moses’ part to teach us the tragic results of not trusting in God. This is because only God fully understands that trust is most necessary for an eternal relationship.   Next Step: Determine where you might be putting God to the test to prove that he is with you and working for you. Spend some time listening to what He thinks about this and determine whether this is helpful to your faith. Make a change in your thinking if necessary.     Lessons:

Grumbling.  The Lord heard their grumbling, the text tells us, and instead of rebuking them for their grumbling against Moses and Aaron, He provides abundantly: quail and manna.   But on the seventh day, some looked for food but there was none.  Others saved some until morning, but it was spoiled by the maggots.  The people’s lack of trust in God’s abundance caused problems in the community.  The people had a scarcity mindset which caused them to hoard food and not rest.     During this time, when certain items have been on short supply, and when we’ve seen our bank accounts dwindle, we may feel scared...and wonder if God really will provide.  Times of scarcity certainly can cause fear and lead us into a scarcity mindset.   An abundance mindset rests in the grace of God revealed.  An abundance mindset is able to rest on the Sabbath because they know that there will be more tomorrow and there is enough for today.  An abundance mindset allows us to be content with our “daily bread” and not store up for ourselve

The Israelites were thirsty, really thirsty.  They had traveled three days and found no water, and then the water they found was bitter.  One can imagine the disappointment and possible frustration with Moses.  After all, they were out there because he had led them there.  Couldn’t they find some water after all? Bitterness, psychologists tell us, is a smoldering resentment.  We are wronged, we feel angry and then we ruminate on the wrong.  We become bitter.  We think, “Someone must be to blame for my misery.”  In this case, Moses.  Fueling their complaint to Moses, “What are we going to drink?” is a frustration and growing bitterness.   The people were helpless in the face of the growing and real threat of dying of thirst in the wilderness.  Their situation went from bad to worse at Marah.  The people wondered, and then concluded, that there was nothing that could be done.  They had learned helplessness.   Life is filled with adverse conditions, including this pandemic, which leaves us feeling helpless and p

This Sunday, we are continuing our sermon series, God's Grace in the Land Between: Finding God in Difficult Transitions. In this series, we are seeking direction on how to navigate this season of our lives by taking a fresh look into the Exodus account, where God rescued his people from slavery in Egypt and guided them through the wilderness to the Promised Land.   Now I don't know about you, but life today feels a little like the wilderness to me. Can we get this period of our lives over already!? When can life return to normal? I'm sure we are all wrestling with questions like these, hoping for a little more stability and go back to what we enjoyed most about life before public health restrictions were put in place.   This week, we will take a look into one of the most powerful ways God delivered his people at a time when they were fearing for their lives the most.   Next Step: When we can release our fears, trust in God’s plan, be silent, and move forward as he directs we experience His love in very powerf

God provides clarity when we are confused, but we will often have to change. The Hebrews had to leave their bondage in Egypt in a rush and probably were confused as to which route to take to the Promised Land. Their first move was to take the shortest route there along the Mediterranean Sea. They were confused. God brought clarity through providing the pillars of cloud and fire to lead the Hebrews in the way that God would have them go. What they first had to do was to turn around (repent) and go back from the direction they had initially started to follow.   When we are in the land between it is often confusing which direction we are to move. We trust that God’s desire is to provide clarity when we are confused and lead us in the direction God would have us move. It is often the case that God’s first move for us is for us to repent and move in the opposite direction from which we were headed. This will involve us having to change.   Next Step: Where are you experiencing confusion in your life? Consider that

If the things we are doing in our daily lives are not fueled by the time we are spending with God, we eventually forget that He's there and think we can make our own decisions; that we are god. We are fueled by spending time with God, not by the physical "busyness" of our lives.   Lessons: Luke 10:38-42   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

In this is scripture passage we see that Jesus is a masterful storyteller as he is able to tell a story that speaks to all of us.  No matter who we see ourselves as in this story Jesus reminds us all that you don’t have to be fixed to be found.     Lessons: Luke 15:11-32   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel  

The yoke of Jesus is a structure that gives a restful lifestyle. Many people are feeling overwhelmed because of the changes brought on by the COVID 19 pandemic. Many were already feeling overwhelmed before the pandemic hit. Finding true rest does not mean becoming lazy. Rather, Jesus promises that following his way of living (his yoke) will bring a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light. To experience this you may have to take off a heavy and burdensome yoke that you are trying to carry and take upon yourself the yoke of Jesus and learn from him. Think of this yoke as structures you put in your life to experience a restful lifestyle. Even as you press on to take hold of this change, know that you have already been taken hold of by God. Rest in the assurance that Jesus took hold of the cross in order to take hold of you.   Next Step: Identify a structure you could put in place to help you to be less overwhelmed and then establish that structure.    Lessons: Matthew 11:25-30   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/o

Listen to the full interview between Pastor Tyus Nedd, Alvin White, Pastor Mike Weaver, and Pastor Steve Brown.

Pastor Tyus Nedd, Alvin White, Pastor Mike Weaver, Pastor Steve Brown Lessons: 2 Chronicles 7:14, Romans 12:2 Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

In response to the upheaval in our country following the killing of George Floyd at the hands of law enforcement officers, we decided to change our sermon plans and begin to seek what love requires of us in this time. Given the short time-frame for planning, the enormity of the issues, and the schedule constraints for June and July, we decided that we would spend two Sundays beginning to address racial reconciliation. Our hope is to revisit this in the coming months and hopefully bring about lasting change in ourselves, our congregation, and the community.    Our first response to racism is to listen more and talk less. The racism that is displayed by some is overt, easy to identify, and clearly calls for us to speak against. The racism that lies within most of us is much more difficult to identify. It often is found in deep-seated suspicions and opinions of which we may not even be aware. Jesus taught us by his example of the importance of sitting and listening to those who are different from us. While ther

Pentecost Sunday   Focus text, “Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you’...he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’”   Interestingly, just before the disciples reentered the world around them, after spending time behind locked doors, the Lord blesses them with peace and blesses them with His presence in the Holy Spirit.   What if Jesus stood among us today as we move outward, reentering the world around us after this long quarantine period?  What does peace mean now?  What did that peace allow the disciples to do then and what does it allow us to do today that we couldn’t before?  The Holy Spirit will enable them to co-create the emerging new normal, we now know as normal.  What will the Holy Spirit enable us to create today?   Next step: Receive and move ahead.   Lessons: Acts 2:1-21, John 20:19-23   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

We live in hope today because tomorrow’s worst is taken care of. The resurrection of Jesus was never far from the minds of the apostles. The resurrection of Jesus infused the apostles with justifiable hope for their future, freed them from the dread of death, and empowered them to sacrificially serve others for the sake of the gospel. What have you learned about your fears during this pandemic? It is possible for our sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life to empower us to live lives of great courage in the face of external threats.   Next Step: The Apostle Paul wrote this, “I desire to depart and be with Christ.” (Philippians 1:23) By “depart” Paul meant to die. Try saying this verse out loud and be aware of how this feels.    Lessons: 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, 12-26, 54-57   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel  

To live an excellent life, love drives everything we do.  When love is the beginning, middle, and ending of everything, we increase our ability to be influential in the lives of those around us.  What’s possible now is leaving a legacy of faith, hope, and love to generations beyond us.   Take away: excellence begins with how we approach things, our intentions.  Embrace the intention of living each moment, each interaction, and each task with faith, hope, and love.    Lessons: 1 Corinthians 12:31b-13:13, Mark 12:28-31   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

It is possible for us to be perfectly united. As crazy as that sounds, it is possible when we are united in our essential beliefs, show liberty in our non-essential beliefs and practices, and live by charity in all our beliefs and practices. The first Christian Church described in Acts 2 experienced this perfect unity for a brief period of time. They resolved their conflicts. Next to the gospel itself, in the letters of the Apostle Paul unity in the body of Christ is of greatest importance. Paul called the earliest Christians to a very high standard of unity. As we move out of the pandemic restrictions, it is possible for us to reset our priorities so that we live in perfect unity within the family of faith.   Next Step: If you have an unresolved conflict with another person within our family of faith, do what is needed to resolve that conflict. Become an encourager of others.    Lessons: Acts 2:42-47, 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, Mark 9:33-35   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channe