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Wake up Call: a Study Through the Gospel of Luke

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Wake up Call: a Study Through the Gospel of Luke Wake Up Call: a study through the gospel of luke The goal of Wake Up Call is to try and help us all get to know Jesus better. One of the best ways to get to know Jesus better is by reading about His life, knowing what He really said, and living a life like He’s asked us to live. The best and easiest way of doing this is by reading and studying the Bible. Jesus’ ministry on earth lasted 3 years and each of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark Luke and John) give us great insight into what Jesus said, how He lived, and what He taught us about God; how much God loves us and how He wants us to live...and treat others. But let’s be honest, it’s hard to read the Bible sometimes. It’s hard to carve out the time and some of the stuff we read in the Bible is hard to understand. And that’s why we created Wake Up Call--to help in studying and understanding some of what we read. Wake Up Call has been set up to fit just about anyone’s schedule. We’ve broken up each day ofWake Up Call into 2 parts: The 10 Minute Plan and The 20 Minute Plan--giving you two options, depending on your ability to spend 10 minutes in study each day or 20 minutes (or more). Here’s a quick look at the 2 plans: THE 10 MINUTE PLAN STEP 1) Read the daily Bible passage from Luke. STEP 2) Answer the two questions included--one related to the daily reading, the other, an application question. STEP 3) Take a moment and pray. We’ve included some things to pray about each day--mostly related to the reading. This should help with busy schedules, but if you have a little more time, move on to the 20 Minute Plan... THE 20 MINUTE PLAN STEP 1) Complete the 10 Minute Plan--reading through the daily Bible passage from Luke and answering the two 10 Minute questions. STEP 2) Move on to the 20 Minute Plan and answer the additional questions. STEP 3) Read through the additional pages which include all kinds of facts and information related to that day’s reading. Going through the additional pages will help to put some of the daily reading into context--historically, culturally and biblically. STEP 4) Take a moment and pray using the pray time from the 10 Minute Plan as a template. We really want to encourage guys to go through Wake Up Call with their wives, their kids, their buddies, and so on. We also want to encourage you to go through Wake Up Call with your small groups. We’ll have weekly wrap up questions for small groups to work through. We will post the weekly Wake Up Call discussion questions on the Men’s Community Page at: www.flatironschurch.com/mens. Now, let’s get started... READ LUKE 1:1-38 Today’s Reading: The beginning. A quick intro from Luke to his friend 1 Theophilus, then the story of how the births of John the Baptist and DAY Jesus were foretold to Zechariah and Mary by an angel. THE 10 MINUTE PLAN...IF ALL YOU HAVE IS 10 MINUTES TO SPARE TODAY Read today’s Bible passage (Luke 1:1-38) and answer the following questions: 1) Luke tells Theophilus that he’s written “an orderly account” so that he may have “certainty concerning the things “ he’d been taught. What are some of the orderly aspects you see in this section that you think Luke is writing about? _______________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 2) Who do you relate to the most in this section of Luke, and why? ____________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ Take a couple of minutes to pray. Ask God to help you with this study through Luke. Ask Him to open your heart and your eyes to new things you’ve never noticed or heard before in the Bible, and to help you understand Jesus (and His impact on the world) in a whole new way. THE 20 MINUTE PLAN Do the 10 Minute Plan, then answer the following questions and read through the rest of the Day 1 pages: 1) Luke was the only Gentile to write a book of the New Testament. He was also a doctor and his Gospel is understood to be the most comprehensive. Why do you think Luke was chosen for this work? ________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 2) Zechariah played a key role in these verses and is given a revelation from God. As a priest at the temple in Jerusalem (a very great honor and sign of great respect), should he have been “above” doubting? Explain. _________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 3) Have you heard from God, and if so, how did He speak? _________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 4) We’ve all doubted God at some point, but how do you handle your doubts? _____________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 5) How much guilt do you carry for having ever doubted God? ______________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ DID YOU KNOW? FIND MORE Herod the Great reigned 37-4 B.C., and his kingdom also included Samaria, Galilee, Perea, and Traconitis. He was a non-Jew, an Idulmean, who was DAY 1 appointed king of Judea by the Roman Senate in 40 B.C. and gained control in 37. He was ruthless, murdering his wife, his three sons, mother-in-law, u brother-in-law, uncle, and many others. He also ordered a massacre of infants in a futile attempt to kill the infant Jesus (READ: Matt. 2:13-18). NEXT PAGE DAY 1 THE JEWISH PRIESTHOOD: ZECHARIAH’S JOB ...more What was the priesthood like in Zechariah’s day? In first century Palestine there was no separation between church and state. The priests at the temple in Jerusalem not only officiated over the religious life of the THE ARC Jews, they were also rulers and judges. • The Arc of the Herod, who was himself a pawn of Rome, had his own pawns installed in the Covenant was Jewish priesthood. By the first century, the election of the High Priest was more the only piece of political than religious. The Romans wanted the priesthood to support their furniture in the occupation, and the Herods made sure their desire was carried out. However, Holy of Holies it would be unfair to categorize all of the priesthood as sympathetic to Rome. (think “Raiders of Some did support rebellion against Rome, but those at the highest levels were the Lost Ark”) undoubtedly in Rome’s back pocket. The priests lived lavish lifestyles while the average Jewish peasant struggled to survive. The temple taxes combined with taxes imposed by Herod and Rome were literally threatening the existence of the Jewish people. The people of the land were carrying a burden they could scarcely bear or tolerate. Palestine had become a powder keg waiting to ignite. THE TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM • Kept hidden from view at all times What’s the big deal about the temple? by a floor to ceiling The temple was very important to the Jews. Anyone that curtain “defiled” the temple or any of the holy articles inside would be • Wooden box destroyed by God, literally, in the Old Testament. overlaid with gold Why all the fuss? 3.75’W x 2.25’ L x 2.25’ H This is where God designated He would dwell so that His people could have access to Him. You can scan through most • Anyone who of the second half of the book of Exodus and see the details touched it would and requirements. die (thus the poles Some quick temple facts: to carry it) • Contained the Ten • The Main Temple (the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies) Size: Commandments 45’L x 15’W x 15’H • The Main Temple was separated into these sections: the • Was kept in the Tabernacle Tent Outer Courtyards, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies and later the • Main Temple was made of a wood skeleton, overlaid with Temple gold • A 15’ high curtain separated/concealed the Holy of Holies • God spoke to from the Holy Place Moses through the • The closer temple items (lampstands, bowls, etc.) were to 2 Cherubim on top (thus the big deal) the Holy of Holies, the more valuable the metals of which they are made (bronze, silver and gold) • There were outer courtyards where animals were sacrificed (Source: Templemount.org) NAZARETH TODAY... FIND MORE DAY 1 An archaeological excavation the Israel Antiquities Authority recently conducted has revealed new information about ancient Nazareth from the time of Jesus. Remains of a dwelling that date to the Early Roman period were discovered for the first time u in an excavation. It was there that Mary received the revelation by the Angel Gabriel NEXT PAGE that she would conceive a child to be born the Son of God -- Jesus. (Source: Antiquities.org) DAY 1 ...more facts, etc. 400 YEARS OF SILENCE: THE TIME BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS At the time when Zechariah was a priest, when God sent the angel Gabriel to inform him of John the Baptist’s birth, the Jews had gone for 400 years with- out hearing from God in any form or fashion, known as the 400 Years of Silence. This quiet time between the Old Testament and Jesus’ Birth looks like this: Time Table: Malachi (last OT book) was written somewhere around 400 years or so before Jesus birth. There was no contact recorded between God and man until around the time of Jesus’ birth.
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