Photo Cred: (1) | Updated: 10/12/2024

Sermon Prep

Now that it’s almost 2025, looking back at the beginning of 2023 is really interesting. It was the first full calendar year of marriage for my wife and I. We had our own place and finally had a flow to our daily routine as a couple, yet that wasn’t without its hiccups. Below is how this month was for us when I journaled the day of this sermon:

“I’m not good at change. Whether bad or good, change is always incredibly difficult for me. The last two weeks have been hard for Glory and I. With the new job… I’ve had to make drastic adjustments to my schedule. Now I wake up at 4:50am and drive 30min to Nik’s gym and then to work, along with the hour to commute home. It’s a long day that ends at 6pm where I’m finally home to relax for a few hours. It’s brutal some days, but in the long run the discipline is good for me.”

What I failed to mention was that I kept working once I got home combing through medical textbooks I bought to learn my new job. Glory was doing her own job hunt trying to find something new to do too. She was emotionally ready to move-on from her family’s nonprofit, but in retrospect not really since she still works there as of this writing. I think she felt more-so guilty that all of our finances were on me now and wanted to contribute more too.

Between the events of my last sermon and this one, we had lots of other changes happen in life as well. My younger brother, Corban, moved back to Colorado from Tennessee. Glory’s sister ended a years-long relationship with her then boyfriend. Our church’s truck was totaled, which made set-up and tear-down that much more difficult in the middle of winter. Lastly, a young man who was homeless and attended our church died of hypothermia sleeping outside on a cold night in December. The changing of seasons it seems had an effect on not just us, but the community we lived with at large.

It’s in light of these changes and the expectations for what 2023 would be, that I shared this message. I must say, the contrast between my confidence in teaching through Ecclesiastes versus Luke was night-and-day. This series was much more up my alley given it was a character study on Jesus and there’s always something to be found when studying our Lord’s life. With that backdrop, here’s my notes:

Sermon Notes

Opening Line

• Becoming an uncle.
  • How it changed me and my family.

Intro

• Luke begins his gospel account with 2 key moments: announcement and arrival.
• These 2 themes run throughout Luke.
  • Luke 1 = Announcing the king
  • Luke 2 = Arrival of the king

Transition To Main Point

• The king’s arrival both exceeded expectations and extinguished them.

Main Point

• 1) Announcement
  • Modern messiahs (i.e. Herod the Great, Judah the Hammer, etc.) have had a lot of expectations put on them, but they can never meet them as just men.
    • The same was true of Jesus’ time.
    • There were many previous messiahs, but none of them saved the world.
  • John the Baptist’s role was to announce King Jesus to the world.
    • He’s like the hype man of Jesus.
    • He set the stage for the savior.
    • Final old covenant and Old Testament prophet.
      • Story-wise, his death is a turning point.

• 2) Arrival
  • Bethlehem was brutal.
    • Roman rule set up crosses of resistance.
      • Horse thieves, murders; revolutionaries.
    • As Jesus’ family arrived to get registered, they would’ve seen these crosses.
  • As a boy, Jesus acted in command and with an awareness of who he was.
    • This put tension between his family.
    • Joseph’s absence in Luke theories:
      • 1) Died when Jesus was young.
      • 2) Emotionally absent.
      • 3) Omitted by Joseph’s request.

Why It Matters

• Jesus exceeded and extinguished expectations.
  • Exceeded = Grace, wisdom, love, and healing.
  • Extinguished = Not rich or warrior king.
• Not the king they wanted, but needed.
  • Back then, the Hebrews wanted a lord.
  • Today we want a savior, but not a lord.
    • Jesus will always be lord and savior.

Final Thoughts

As one of the first messages within the study on Luke, I’m quite proud of the delivery here. The same can be said of the messages I shared in this timeframe for this series. I just had an assurance in knowing this material and learning as I taught that was different then Ecclesiastes where I was speaking on things I didn’t truly know yet. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

Footnotes

1. Reunion Church