Athey Creek: Audio Podcast

Jesus encounters four disheartened people in Luke 7 and meets their individual needs through His love, compassion, and truth. As we watch Jesus heal the sick, raise the dead, encourage a doubter, and forgive a sinner, we find He will likewise meet us when we are struggling, doubting, weak, or experiencing hardships.

In Luke 7:5, we read about a Roman centurion who had an unusual love for the nation of Israel, prompting us to consider why we should care about the Jews. From the Abrahamic Covenant to current events to prophetic significance, we look into God’s plan for the nation of Israel and why it is imperative for Christians to understand.

After a time of prayer, Jesus gathers His 12 disciples and preaches a message known as the Sermon on the Plain. As we listen to His words in Luke 6:12-49, we learn the unexpected causes of happiness and sorrow, how to treat others, and what we should build our lives upon.

The religious leaders are lobbing accusations at Jesus in Luke 6:1-11 because He isn’t following Sabbath rules and regulations as they think He should. Today, in much the same way, we often impose our own ideas and traditions on how we should observe the Sabbath and follow God’s commandments. As we study, we look into the purpose of the Sabbath, why and how we should keep it, and how imposing our own dogmas over it can lead us away from God’s intentions.

Luke 5 recounts several interactions from Jesus’ early ministry that begin to set the stage for Him to fulfill His purpose. As He calls His disciples, heals, cleanses and forgives people, and starts to draw the ire of the religious leaders, we learn more about God’s Word, sin, gifts, and how Jesus Christ can change our lives too.

After fishing all night and catching nothing, Peter and the gang are washing their nets by the Sea of Galilee when they get an interesting command from Jesus. As we watch their somewhat reluctant obedience to these instructions in Luke 1:1-11, we see how Jesus turned their failure around and called them to join an amazing ministry that would change the world.

After 40 days of prayer and fasting, Jesus is tempted by Satan, but He successfully resists by using Scripture as His weapon. As we learn the devil’s tactics and watch Jesus’ response, we see how we can use the same method to resist temptations and achieve victory through God’s love and the power of the Holy Spirit.

After Jesus speaks in Luke 4:22, the crowd marvels at His gracious words because they were so different from the burdensome ones they normally heard from the religious leaders. Today, we still hear misconstrued messages about the Bible, but when we take time to see God’s heart behind the Scriptures, we find it full of grace, blessings, and peace.

In Luke 3, we find John the Baptist in the wilderness of Jordan, baptizing people and preaching a message of repentance to those who flocked to see him. As we listen to what John tells these people, we see how he is paving the way for Jesus, who will emerge to begin His ministry of salvation when He comes to John to be baptized.

John the Baptist speaks a seemingly harsh word in Luke 3:7, but behind his message, we find that he is pointing to Jesus and what He has come to do. And as we will learn, Jesus is not just the subject of John’s message but encompasses the whole of Scripture – from the historical Old Testament books to the prophets to the Psalms to the New Testament – and is the key we can use to unlock our understanding of the entire Bible.

Following a census decree, Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem in Luke 2:1-40, where she gives birth to Jesus, wraps Him in swaddling cloths, and places Him in a manger. After the shepherds come to worship Him and give glory to God, we see Jesus presented in the Temple by His parents, where they encounter two elderly people who have been waiting a long time to see the Messiah finally arrive.

We briefly peak into Jesus’ childhood in Luke 2:41-52 and learn an interesting tidbit concerning His relationship with His earthly parents and His submission to them. As we look into this subject, we search the Scripture to see who we should submit to, why we should do so, and in what circumstances we should follow God’s Word instead.

An angel comes to a young virgin girl named Mary with the incredible news that she was to become pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit and give birth to the Messiah. As we study Mary in Luke 1:26-80, we learn who this highly favored woman is, see her reaction to such shocking news, and watch as she interacts with her relative, Elizabeth, who is also carrying a remarkable child.

After being mute for nine months, Zacharias can finally speak again when his son, John, is born. As we hear the first words he said on this momentous occasion in Luke1:67-79, we gain key insight into Jesus, who will be born soon after, and what He will accomplish during His life and through His sacrificial death.

We begin our study in the Book of Luke by learning about the author, his sources, and what makes his gospel account unique. Then, as we dive into the text in Luke 1:1-25, we see the beginnings of John the Baptist as his parents learn they are miraculously expecting an extraordinary son.

While performing his priestly duties, Zacharias receives an amazing message from an angel heralding the miraculous answer to a prayer he and his wife had long prayed. However, Zacharias' unbelief dampened what should have been a joyful moment. As we study Luke 1:5-22, we learn about persisting in prayer and how to be believers who believe.

A group of women arrive at Jesus' tomb early on Sunday morning only to discover that Jesus was not there, for He had risen – just as He said He would. As we look at the details of this momentous event in Mark 16, we see how the events surrounding Jesus' resurrection unfolded and why it is the most important event in all history.

Jesus gives a final command in Mark 16:15 for us to go into all the world and tell everyone the good news about His death and resurrection. While we may think this is a complicated or intimidating commission, it’s actually quite simple when we rely upon God’s power to help us share the salvation, joy, and hope we find through Jesus Christ with a hurting world.

The final hours of Jesus' death on the cross arrive in Mark 15:21-47, and they are full of prophetic fulfillment, mixed reactions, and significant occurrences. As we watch the story unfold from when Simon the Cyrenian carries the cross, through Jesus' unbearable suffering, to His burial in a tomb, we see the spectacular culmination of God's plan to save mankind come to pass.

As Jesus makes His way to Golgotha and is nailed upon a cross in Mark 15:10-40, several groups gather around Him who observe and react to these events. As we study who is there and why, we see how this is still relevant today and consider how we also respond to Jesus and what He did on the cross.