January 20 / Luke 8:4-21

Luke 8:4-21 Good afternoon, RTB’ers! After a long day of travel that began at 4:00 am this morning, Carol and I are somewhat settled in for the week. My sincere apologies for such a delayed post, but sometimes it can’t be helped. I read our passage much earlier today, but only now have a chance …

January 19 / Luke 7:36-8:3

Luke 7:36-8:3 Good morning, RTB’ers! Today begins a week+ of travel for Carol and me, so my regular morning posts may be a little off. I asked you a few days ago that it’s a good practice for us to “put ourselves into the story”. Today there are two main actors, the Pharisee and the …

January 18 / Luke 7:18-35

Luke 7:18-35 Good morning, RTB’ers! John the Baptist, again. An item concerning John the Baptist… In a sermon not long ago (correct me if I’m wrong) I recall that Ben referred to John the Baptist as “John the Baptizer”. And Ben’s different title for John is not the first time that I’ve heard John the …

January 17 / Luke 7:1-17

Luke 7:1-17 Good morning, RTB’ers! A couple of days ago we saw the scribes and Pharisees challenging Jesus. Today we see a different Synagogue group, “elders of the Jews” (v. 3) who were members of the Synagogue (v. 5), but clearly not a group wanting to challenge Jesus. Instead, they come to Him with a …

January 16 / Luke 6:37-49

Luke 6:37-49 Good morning, RTB’ers! Continuing Luke’s “Sermon on the Plain”. Mathew’s “Sermon on the Mount” is three chapters long – Mt. 5-7. Here, in Luke we have Jesus speaking only twenty verses (Luke 6:20-39). However, Luke has more of what Matthew includes in other passages. (See Luke 11:2-4; 12:22-31, 33-34). The suggestion is that …

January 15 / Luke 6:12-36

Luke 6:12-36  Good morning, RTB’ers! Jesus choosing the twelve; the “Sermon on the Mount/Plain”. My Study Bible suggested a plateau in the hills, which would satisfy both the “mount” in Matthew and the “level place” in Luke (Matthew 5:1, Luke 6:17). Thus far in Luke we have seen Jesus calling Peter and Andrew, James and …

January 14 / Luke 5:27-6:11

Luke 5:27-6:11 Good morning, RTB’ers! Calling Levi/Matthew; clashes with the scribes and the Pharisees. The scribes and Pharisees speaking: “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?”(5:30b); “The disciples of John often fast and offer prayers, the disciples of the Pharisees also do the same, but Yours eat and drink.” (5:33); “Why are …

January 13 / Luke 5:12-26

Luke 5:12-26 Good morning, RTB’ers! Faith and healings. Today’s STS asks a good question, comparing the faith of the individuals involved in each of today’s healings. It’s a good question to ponder – and then to ask ourselves about our own faith when we pray for healings. Ben has announced a St. Andrew’s healing service …

January 12 / Luke 5:1-11

Luke 5:1-11 Good morning, RTB’ers! In today’s first verse Luke refers to the Lake of Gennesaret. This lake is also known as the Sea of Galilee in Matthew’s and Mark’s gospels and as the Sea of Tiberius in John’s gospel. It is a prominent feature on the map that I posted yesterday and is referred …

January 11 / Luke 4:31-44

Luke 4:31-44 Good morning, RTB’ers! Today we see Jesus leaving Nazareth and going “down” (in elevation) to Capernaum, some 40 miles to the northeast. I’ve imbedded a map below showing much of the Galilee region. (BTW, Galilee is a Jewish region between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, bordering Samaria on the south and …