Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke J.C. Ryle Luke 22:14-23 “We should notice, for one thing in these verses — that the principal object of the Lord’s supper was to remind Christians of Christ’s death for sinners. In appointing the Lord’s supper, Jesus distinctly tells His disciples that they were to do what they did, ‘in remembrance of Me.’ In one word, the Lord’s supper is not a sacrifice. It is eminently a commemorative ordinance. The bread that the believer eats at the Lord’s table, is intended to remind him of Christ’s body given to death on the cross…
Sunday Morning Calls to Worship
Call to Worship January 6 2019
Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke J.C. Ryle Luke 22:1-13 “We see, firstly, in these verses — that high offices in the church do not preserve the holders of them from great blindness and sin. We read that ‘the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill Jesus.’ The first step in putting Christ to death, was taken by the religious teachers of the Jewish nation. The very men who ought to have welcomed the Messiah — were the men who conspired to kill Him. The very teachers who ought to have rejoiced at the appearing of the…
Call to Worship December 30 2018
Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke J.C. Ryle Luke 21:21-38 “Let us learn from these verses — the spiritual danger to which even the holiest believers are exposed in this world. Our Lord says to His disciples, ‘Watch out! Or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life — and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap!’ These words are exceedingly startling. They were not addressed to carnal-minded Pharisees, or skeptical Sadducees, or worldly Herodians. They were addressed to Peter, James, and John, and the whole company of the Apostles….
Call to Worship December 23 2018
Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke J.C. Ryle Matthew 1:18-25 “These verses begin by telling us two great truths. They tell us how the Lord Jesus Christ took our nature upon Him, and became man. They tell us also that His birth was miraculous. His mother Mary was a virgin. These are very mysterious subjects. They are depths, which we have no line to fathom. They are truths, which we have not mind enough to comprehend. Let us not attempt to explain things which are above our feeble reason. Let us be content to believe with reverence, and not…
Call to Worship Decembver 16 2018
Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke J.C. Ryle Luke 21:10-19 “We should notice, for one thing, in this passage — Christ’s prediction concerning the nations of the world. He says, ‘Nation will be raised up against nation — and kingdom against kingdom. There will be violent earthquakes, and famines and plagues in various places — and there will be terrifying sights and great signs from Heaven.’ These words no doubt received a partial fulfillment in the days when Jerusalem was captured by the Romans, and the Jews were led into captivity. It was a season of unparalleled desolation to…
Call To Worship December 2 2018
Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke J.C. Ryle Luke 20:40-47 “Let us observe in this passage — what striking testimony to Christ’s divinity, the book of Psalms contains. We read that after patiently replying to the attacks of His enemies, our Lord in turn propounds a question to them. He asks them to explain an expression in the hundred and tenth Psalm, where David speaks of the Messiah as his Lord. To this question the Scribes could find no answer. They did not see the mighty truth — that Messiah was to be God as well as man; and…
Call to Worship November 25 2018
Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke J.C. Ryle Luke 20:19-26 “We see in these verses — what an old thing unbelief is. We are told that ‘Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question.’ Even in the Jewish Church, the Church of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, the Church of Moses, and Samuel, and David, and the prophets — we find that there were bold, avowed, unblushing skeptics. If infidelity like this existed among God’s people, the Jews — then what must have been the state of heathenism? If these things…
Call to Worship November 11 2018
Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke J.C. Ryle Luke 20:9-19 “The parable we have now read, is one of the very few which are recorded more than once by the Gospel writers. Matthew, Mark, and Luke — all give it at full length. This three-fold repetition is alone sufficient to point out the importance of its contents. The parable, no doubt, was specially intended for the Jews to whom it was addressed. But we must not confine its application to them. It contains lessons which should be remembered in all churches of Christ, as long as the world stands….
Call to Worship November 4 2018
Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke J.C. Ryle Luke 20:1-8 “Let us notice, lastly, in this passage — the falsehood of which our Lord’s enemies were guilty. In reply to our Lord’s question whether John’s baptism was from Heaven or from men — they answered that ‘they did not know where it was from.’ This was a downright lie! They did know, but they would not admit it. They knew that if they said what they really believed — then they would condemn themselves. If they confessed that John was a prophet sent from God — then they would…
Call To Worship October 28 2018
Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke J.C. Ryle Luke 19:41-48 “We learn, firstly, from these verses — how great is the tenderness and compassion of Christ towards sinners. We are told that when He came near Jerusalem for the last time, ‘He beheld the city, and wept over it.’ He well knew the character of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Their cruelty, their self-righteousness, their stubbornness, their obstinate prejudice against the truth, their pride of heart — were not hidden from Him. He well knew what they were going to do to Him within a very few days — His…