St. Luke Columbus

Verses 3-4 of Acts 1 tell us, “After [Jesus’] suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father.”   What’s intriguing to me is Jesus’ “staying” with the disciples in Jerusalem while they waited there for the “promise of the Father.”  As they waited, Jesus waited. Unlike the disciples who could not stay awake and wait with Jesus before he was arrested, Jesus waits with his them.  He doesn’t go ahead and say “I’ll be back! Wait here.” He, like the disciples, is waiting for the promise to be fulfilled.     We are in a period of waiting, wondering what is to come.  The risen Lord meets us in our waiting, moving us deeper in relationship with him.     Next step:  Wait patiently for a good thing is coming   Lessons: Acts 1:1-14, Mark 6:7-13   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube cha

When our dreams are taken away, the Lord has the words of eternal life that matter most. In coming to terms with the postponement of the 2020 Olympics, Olympic hopeful, Allyson Felix, wrote recently, “This has been a sobering reminder that we are not owed our dreams.” The COVID-19 pandemic has been a sobering reminder that our dreams often do no come true and we experience disappointment and loss in life that can be crushing. John 6 records a turning point in the ministry of Jesus when it appeared that the mission dreams Jesus’ disciples seem to fall apart. When Jesus asked them whether they wanted to leave the mission, Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Certainly when Jesus was executed on the cross, the disciples thought their mission dreams has been crushed. When Jesus rose from the dead, his words of eternal life became real and the basis of our hope for the future. We are not owed our dreams and sometimes our dreams are threatened or taken away. In those time

The Word of Forgiveness - "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." Luke 23:34 - Speaker: Robert Flagg The Word of Promise - "Today you shall be with me in paradise." Luke 23:43 - Speaker: Carrie Whatley The Word of Love - "Woman, behold your son! Behold your mother!" John 19:26-27 - Speaker: Mary Lou Owens The Word of Loneliness - "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Matthew 27:46 - Speaker: Colleen Zielke The Word of Suffering - "I thirst." John 19:28 - Speaker: Emily Reese The Word of Victory - "It is finished." John 19:30 - Speaker: Pastor Steve Brown The Word of Trust - "Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit." Luke 23:46 - Speaker: Pastor Mike Weaver Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

We’re reminded that Jesus took the lowest place to serve those around him.  He’s always moving lower, so that we move higher. His selfless, kind and generous service on behalf of his friends brightens the room and their experience with light.  It is an example that we follow as disciples. We “adorn the darkness” of this world through generous acts of service.     Next Step: Take the lowest place with others.  As the apostle Paul writes in Romans 13:8-10, we are indebted to one another to love one another.   Lessons: Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19, Romans 13:8-10, John 13:1-17, 31b-35   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

Today, we encounter the paradox that defines our faith: Jesus Christ is glorified king and humiliated servant. We too are full of paradox: like Peter, we fervently desire to follow Christ, but find ourselves afraid, denying God. We wave palms in celebration today as Christ comes into our midst, and we follow with trepidation as his path leads to death on the cross. Amid it all we are invited into this paradoxical promise of life through Christ’s broken body and outpoured love in a meal of bread and wine. We begin this week that stands at the center of the church year, anticipating the completion of God’s astounding work.

When you have Jesus you have life; when you do not have Jesus you do not have life. The New Testament clearly teaches that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in Jesus. Whoever lives and believes in Jesus has real and eternal life, now and forever. Those who do not believe in Jesus stand condemned because of their unbelief. Jesus is the resurrection and the life.   Next Step: Put your trust in Jesus and you will have life.     Lessons: Ezekiel 37:1-14, 1 John 5:9-13, John 11:17-27   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

“When a life is a work of art, it is always more than simply an expression of ourselves.  Life becomes a work of art when we live it not for ourselves but for others. We live and tell our story, and through it we carry the hope of the world.”   Jesus turning water into the best wine is the work of his reflection of his essence.   “The greatest art of an intersection of contrasts.”   Jesus didn’t have to tell the people a miracle had happened, the quality of the product did it.   God turns water into wine time and time again, the “water” being the quality of our ordinary lives.    Lessons: Jeremiah 1:4-10, 2 Corinthians 4:1-12, John 2:1-11   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

To experience happiness, craft your life into a work of art within God’s boundaries.   Erwin McManus writes, “Every creative endeavor becomes a realization of both how limited and how unlimited we are...Every medium carries within itself inherent limitations, and every artist comes with limitations. True creativity is not the outflow of a world without boundaries. The creative act is the genius of unleashing untapped potential and unseen beauty within the constraints and boundaries of the medium from which we choose to create” (The Artisan Soul, pp.145-146)   The commandments of God are boundaries for our lives. Jesus taught that he did not come to abolish the commandments of God but to fulfill them. Jesus and the apostles fulfilled and deepened God’s Old Testament laws through their teachings and by embodying the law of love. The laws of God are boundaries within which we most flourish in life and experience authentic happiness in our relationships, accomplishments, and well-being.   Take Away: Memorize the

Paul was a tentmaker.  Peter, James and John were fishermen.  Jesus was a carpenter. Remarkably, Jesus became a common laborer and dedicated his life to a craft.     What’s the best way I can do the most good?   What is your “genius”?  What is your unique talent?  Where might you be considered, if you worked at it, the best in the world?  Craft means strength.   Lessons: 1 Chronicles 28:19-21, Acts 18:1-4, Mark 8:22-26   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

We transform invisible ideas into visible reality to unleash God’s love to others. Having been created as artisans in the image of God, Erwin McManus teaches that we transform the invisible into the visible. Everything that exists began as an idea in the imagination of someone’s mind, including our personal creation that began as an idea in the mind of God. An artist brings a piece of art into visible reality from the invisible imagination of the artist’s mind and  we craft our lives into works of art by bringing what we can see only in our imaginations into the visible reality of how we live. BUT, as followers of Jesus, we do not create art or craft our lives into works of art only for our sake. We are primarily motivated by love for others to transform the images in our minds into visible reality so that others will have real and eternal life. It is therefore necessary that we strive to take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ and his command to love others as he has loved us.     Next Step:

All of life is interpretation. It is through interpretation that we discover the truth.  The word, theology, broken down is “Theos Logos”, literally “God words.” Theology is the process by which we interpret the work of God to discover the truth about God’s nature and involvement in our lives.    “The power of the story of Job is in Job’s struggle through multiple interpretations of his life, to discover and embrace the true meaning of his suffering.”   In order for us to create lives that are works of art, we must interpret it to discover the essence of what God is doing through us.   “What is your interpretation of life?”   Lessons: Job 42:3-6, Philippians 1:9-11, John 9:1-7, 13-17, 24-41   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

We find our true voice in God’s voice. Our voice is the internal narrative that drives our thoughts, words, and actions. Our voice shapes our experience of the world.  When our voice dwells in the voice of God, we begin to find our true and unique voice – our true story. We will struggle to fully live when we allow other voices to silence our own unique voices.  Shame silences us. Grace invites us to boldly tell our unique story. God’s voice in us becomes our story that we offer the world. What story is God speaking through you?    Next Step: Identify whether the voice that speaks most loudly in your internal narrative is God’s voice. If it is not God’s voice, work to disregard that voice and discover God’s voice in you. Begin and end each day this week answering this prayer question, Lord, what are you telling me about my story today?     Lessons: Genesis 3:7-11, Psalm 31:14-21a, 2 Corinthians 5:16-17, Luke 5:1-11   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

The Artisan Soul The most important work of art is the life that we create.  Based on Erwin McManus’ book, The Artisan Soul, this series will call us to reclaim our creative essence and craft our lives into a work of art.  Within each of us is the essence of an artist. We need to create and be part of a process that brings to the world something beautiful, good, and true.  God is the master artisan of our lives, working within and through us, to make the world a better place.     Week 1 - Soul McManus writes, “Art in its purest form is an extension of the soul...“God didn’t have to make everything he created good; everything he created was good because he made it.”  Anyone who has a soul is an artist. There is no such thing as “artist/creative-types” and “non-creative types”. When we believe this, we spend our lives “admiring those who have the gift of creativity while seeing our role as simply celebrating their uniqueness.”  We are all creative. “We breathe, therefore, we create.” The real question for all o

Your life is a sacred stewardship. Regift sacred stewardship to the next generation. If that means you have to understand and practice sacred stewardship first, do it. Be motivated by the likely life disasters if we do not learn and then teach sacred stewardship. Learn and teach God’s understanding of sacred stewardship. Learn and then teach that managing our money is a tool for making our values and priorities line up with God’s will. Begin with the simple understanding of what it means to Give, Save, and Spend in that order. Learn and teach to be guided by God in your money decisions.   Next Step: Pick the one next step from today’ message that you sense God is nudging you to take and take it.   Lessons: Proverbs 3:9-12, 1 Timothy 6:9-10, Matthew 25:14-30   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

“Many people in America today would say that divisiveness is one of the most dangerous issues in our common life, that factionalism and misguided allegiance keep us from being able to address the very serious challenges that confront us today: increasing disparity between rich and poor, climate change, global violence, competition for natural resources, migration due to war and famine.   And of course, each of these issues has its local manifestation: isolation of people in homogeneous neighborhoods; fear of strangers, of other races and nationalities, refugees, the homeless—or the despair of being the stranger, the refugee, or without a home; addiction, mental illness, trauma; a lack of individual commitment to the well-being of an entire town or city; a sense of powerlessness when it comes to self-regulating the use of fossil fuels, water, food.” ~Jane Lancaster Patterson Paul is not necessarily emphasizing uniformity, completely, but a unity of thought and opinion about the Gospel.     What’s a

Lessons: Isaiah 49:1-7, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, John 1:29-42 Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

Lessons: Isaiah 44:1-5, 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, Matthew 3:13-17   Now that the season of giving Christmas gifts is over, we could say that we are in the season of regifting as we consider what Christmas gifts we will regift to others. Regifting can describe what we do with the gifts that God has given us as we share with others the great gifts God has given us. The priceless difference is that God’s gifts are unlimited and therefore we can keep these gifts that we surely desire and also give these gifts to others. We are in the season of Epiphany, or more precisely the Sundays after the Epiphany. The account of the Wisemen bringing gifts to baby Jesus is called The Epiphany and is the seminal story this season. Using the account of the Wisemen as an inspiration, this series will explore five priceless gifts that God has given us and that we can regift to others, especially those in the next generation.    Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

Now that the season of giving Christmas gifts is over, we could say that we are in the season of regifting as we consider what Christmas gifts we will regift to others. Regifting can describe what we do with the gifts that God has given us as we share with others the great gifts God has given us. The priceless difference is that God’s gifts are unlimited and therefore we can keep these gifts that we surely desire and also give these gifts to others. We are in the season of Epiphany, or more precisely the Sundays after the Epiphany. The account of the Wisemen bringing gifts to baby Jesus is called The Epiphany and is the seminal story this season. Using the account of the Wisemen as an inspiration, this series will explore five priceless gifts that God has given us and that we can regift to others, especially those in the next generation.    Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

In every way our brother Jesus empathizes in our trials. Based on the lesson from Hebrews, we learn the depth of the connection that God the Son, Jesus, has with us. He both empathizes with us and saves us from our bondage to sin and suffering. This brings a deeper understanding and comfort to the words, “The Lord is with you.”    Next Step: As we practice the discipline of staying, “The Lord is with you, and also with you.” pause to ingest all that this greeting means.    Lessons: Isaiah 63:7-9, Hebrews 2:10-18, Matthew 2:13-23   Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

Meet the God that is FOR you this Christmas! Lessons: Isaiah 9:2-7, Titus 2:11-14, Luke 2:1-20 Watch: stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel