Part 1: The Coming of the King Growth Group Study Booklet (Luke 1:1—3:20) Living for Jesus By making, maturing and mobilising disciples For His Glory Part 1: The Coming of the King Welcome & Vision Update - Page 3 Introduction to Luke - Page 4 Suggested Reading - Page 5 Study 1 – Luke 1:1-4 - Page 6 Study 2 – Luke 1:5-25 - Page 8 Study 3 – Luke 1:26-38 - Page 10 Study 4 – Luke 1:39-56 - Page 12 Study 5 – Luke 1:57-80 - Page 14 Study 6 – Luke 2:1-20 - Page 16 Study 7 – Luke 2:21-40 - Page 18 Study 8 – Luke 2:41-52 - Page 20 Study 9 – Luke 3:1-20 - Page 22 The Genealogy of Christ - Page 24 Luke Overview & Map - Page 27 Diary Dates Thursday July 23 TGC Australia Launch Event Wednesday July 29 Senior’s Christmas in July Saturday August 8 GROW Women’s Conference Monday August 17 Parenting Seminar Sunday August 30 AGM Forum Saturday September 5 Art.Coffee.Music Night Sunday September 13 Annual General Meeting Fri 18 – Sun 20 Sept. SPRING Camp (Youth Group) Sunday October 11 Vision Series begins Sunday November 1 Commitment Sunday Sunday November 8 Luke Series Recommences Sunday December 13 Community Carols 2 Welcome Welcome to our first Study Booklet for our major series the second half of 2015. In the gospel of Luke we will come face to face with our Saviour King Jesus, and hear his invitation to stop living for ourselves and live for him as our Lord. We will see the beauty, majesty, and overflowing grace of God’s plan to redeem a people for himself through sending Jesus. And we will be called to commit our own lives to living out the gospel of Jesus in our own relationships and neighbourhoods on the Sunshine Coast. 2015: Disciples Making Disciples In 2015 our focus is a year of ‘disciples making disciples.’ We are commanded by Jesus to go and make disciples in Matthew 28. This year we are going to put our energy into being better equipped and prayerful for that purpose. For this to happen, we need to be a church that is Christ-centred, Bible-saturated, servant-hearted and mission driven. Christ-Centred As Christians we know that we would be lost without Jesus, our only hope in life and in death. We know that God’s entire plan, as we read it in the Old and New Testaments, is centred on Jesus. We know that if we leave Jesus out of any part of our lives or our church, than that part of our lives or our church will become unhealthy and dangerous. Because of this, Jesus needs to remain at the centre of everything we do. Bible-Saturated Jesus is the living Word of God, and the Christ-centred wisdom and plan of God is revealed in the 66 books of the Bible. Through the Bible, God provides everything we need for life and godliness. By his Holy Spirit, he graciously enables us to understand his Word and to live in response. The Bible must saturate all that we say and inform all that we do. Servant-Hearted The life of a Christian is to love others as Christ has loved us. We know that Jesus has served us by dying for us, because he loves us. As a result, we can live lives of loving service, laying down our lives for those around us. As we do this, the beauty of the Gospel of Jesus is seen. Mission-Driven The greatest act of loving service we can do for any person is to introduce them to Jesus, through the same gospel message that has changed our lives. The purpose of God in all of history is to redeem a people for Himself. We are called, as individuals and as a church, to be part of that mission, as a costly priority in all that we do. 3 Introduction to Luke Luke was a physician and a travel companion of the apostle Paul (Col. 4:14). He wrote this Gospel and its sequel, the book of Acts. The earliest possible date of Luke–Acts is immediately after the events that Luke recorded in Acts 28, which would have been c. a.d. 62. Both Luke and Acts are addressed to “Theophilus” (Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1), about whom nothing more is known. Luke’s broader audience consisted primarily of Gentile Christians like Theophilus. Luke informs us from the beginning (1:1–4) that his is not the only Gospel to have been written nor the only Gospel account that could be written (cf. John 21:25). Nevertheless, the church has always recognized the great gift that the third Gospel is to us. There are many beautiful and essential teachings of Jesus and pictures of the gospel that come to us from Luke alone. While the historical and theological witness of all four Gospels contains many consistent themes, Luke describes for us the gospel and its application in several specific and important ways. At the broadest level we learn from this Gospel account that the gospel is multi-faceted and full-orbed. That is, the gospel is explained and applied as being about our whole lives, physically and spiritually, externally and internally, for now and for the future, in our relationship with God and with others. The gospel is not simply a message about religion and the “religious” portion of our lives. Rather, Luke’s presentation helps us see clearly that the gospel of Jesus is about the comprehensive blessedness of God available to us through Jesus Christ. At a more specific level Luke retells the stories and teachings of Jesus in a way that consistently emphasizes that the gospel is a matter of the heart, the inner person, not mere external religion. Jesus constantly reveals the heart motivations behind our actions and pushes us toward opening our hearts in humility toward God. As a result, the gospel in Luke is often presented as a call to reevaluate everything in the world according to God’s perspective, not ours. This means valuing humility over prestige, mercy over justice, favor with God over favor with people, and—especially challenging to us—valuing a rich relationship with God over the power of money. To emphasize this comprehensive understanding of the gospel, Luke uses a variety of complementary images to describe it. The gospel includes the message of peace, the offer of forgiveness of sins through repentance, the promise of inheriting eternal life, the invitation to enter the kingdom of God, and the joy of being with Jesus as a disciple. In all of this, the gospel is good news because it announces the grace and peace that have now come to sinners in Jesus Christ. From the Gospel Transformation Bible (Study Notes for Luke by Jonathan Pennington). 4 Suggested Reading Some recommendations for further reading related to the content and themes of Luke: Luke: An Unexpected God A Spectator’s Guide to Jesus By John G. Mason By john Dickson A helpful and readable introductory A great book to give someone who is commentary on the book of Luke, interested but doesn’t know much written by an Australian. about Jesus. The Gospel: How the Church The Cross of Christ Portrays the Beauty of Christ By John Stott By Ray Ortlund A book for those who would like to A short, readable book that looks at think more deeply about the death of the way the gospel should be lived out Christ on the cross. in the life of a church. Resources used in preparing this study booklet: - David E. Garland, Luke, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (2011). - Luke’s Gospel: Investigating the Man Who Is God, Community Group Study Guide, Mars Hill Church (2010). - Luke: The Saviour King, Small Group Discussion Questions, Christ Church Gladesville (2014). - Tom Wright, Luke, Bible Study Guides for Everyone, SPCK Publishers (2011). - The ESV Gospel Transformation Bible, Crossway Publishers (2013). - The ESV Study Bible, Crossway Publishers, 2008. - Websites: www.visualunit.me, www.challies.com. 5 STUDY 1 Luke 1:1-4 Kick Off: What things in life are you certain of? What gives you certainty? Key Verse: Luke 1:3 Big Idea: You can be certain about your faith in Christ because it is based on historical facts we have reliable accounts for. Investigate: 1. Read Colossians 4:14; Acts 16:10 and Acts 28:16 a) Who is Luke? b) What aspects of his experience add to the credibility of what he has written? Read Luke 1:1-4 2. How did Luke get his information? 3. How did he write his account? 4. Why did Luke write his account? Think & Apply: 5. Luke assumes that believers have doubts and need help being ‘certain’ of what they believe in. How is this an encouragement to you? 6. a) What in your life right now calls for certainty, security and stability? 6 b) How do you think you might find it as you fix your eyes on Jesus in Luke? 7. If faith comes by hearing the Word, how are you going with your personal reading of the Bible? Practical Action for the week: The Parenting Seminar is coming up on Monday, August 17th (7:30-9:00pm at the church). a) Who can you invite? Use the postcards available at church. (This is a great opportunity to put into practice things you learned last term in “Five Steps to Talking About Jesus”.) b) Can you help serve on the night? If so, let LT know.