Luke 22:28–30 -- Remaining Faithful when the Way is Hard

Luke 22:28-30 

English Standard Version 

  The Gospels are always fascinating to me because the disciples get a lot of things wrong.  It's clear that they're often uncertain as to the fullness of Jesus' identity.  Jesus corrects them at times, and sometimes he has to explain things over and over again.  You start to get the feeling that Jesus could've chosen people who might have had more precise insight into the identity of the Messiah.

  But they stayed with him in his trials.  For all their faults, they were faithful.  They were steadfast.  And here, Jesus promises them a seat at the table and a throne in the Kingdom.  Not for their perfection, but for their faithfulness.

  There's a lesson here for us.  We don't have to be perfect.  We don't have to understand everything.  But stay faithful.  Remain.  Even when it gets hard, when the way is unclear and the road is shrouded in shadows... stay faithful.  Cling to God, trusting that God is holding on to you.  Stay faithful -- the Kingdom is at hand.

The Great Company of Saints: Sermon for Nov 1, 2026 (All Saints Day)

 

The Great Company of Saints: All Saints' Sunday What does it mean to be a saint? Is sainthood reserved for extraordinary Christians, or does it describe something much bigger? On All Saints' Sunday, we discuss the ancient Christian tradition of remembering those who have gone before us in faith and the remarkable promise that unites believers across generations. Drawing from Psalm 24:1–6, Matthew 5:1–12, and Revelation 7:9–17, we discover that the saints are not people who have earned their place before God through perfect lives, but those who have been claimed by the grace of Jesus Christ. From the Beatitudes to John's vision of a great multitude gathered before God's throne, these passages remind us that the church extends far beyond the people we see on Sunday morning. We belong to a great company of believers, past and present, united by faith and sustained by the promise that one day God will wipe away every tear.

Luke 22:24–27 -- What is Greatness?

Luke 22:24-27 

English Standard Version 

  Here are the disciples, in the midst of a sacred moment at dinner, and they decide they're going to have an argument about which one of them is the greatest.  It's comedic... and yet so appropriate.  Humanity is always getting distracted, chasing the flavor of the month, turning from investing serious time with God to pay attention to some notification on your phone.  We plan on getting around to serious things tomorrow, right?

  In the midst of this, Jesus is teaching us that God's Kingdom works differently.  It's not a place where you strive to reach the top.  Rather, you pay attention to the people around you and how you can serve them.  You love them, selflessly, because that's the way God's Kingdom works.  You're not crawling over one another to succeed.  Even Jesus, who is fully God and fully human, is here to serve, to model perfect love, and introduce us to God's Kingdom, where we stop keeping score and pray for the wisdom to love selflessly.

Books of the Bible in 5 Minutes: 1 Chronicles

Why does the Bible tell the story of David again in 1 Chronicles?

And why does the book begin with nine chapters of genealogies?

In this installment of Books of the Bible in 5 Minutes, we look at where 1 Chronicles fits into the larger story of Scripture.

Written for God’s people after exile, Chronicles looks backward in order to remind them that they are still part of God’s unfolding story. The book traces that story from Adam to Abraham, from Israel to David, and then focuses on David’s role in preparing for the Temple.

The Bible is not simply a collection of disconnected books. Each book has a place in the larger story God is telling.