Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke J.C. Ryle Luke 8:16-21 “We learn, secondly, from these verses — the great importance of right hearing. The words of our Lord Jesus Christ ought to impress that lesson deeply on our hearts. He says, “Take heed how you hear!” The degree of benefit which men receive from all the means of grace — depends entirely on the way in which they use them. Private PRAYER lies at the very foundation of religion. Yet the mere formal repetition of a set of words, when “the heart is far away” — does good to…
Sunday Morning Calls to Worship
Call To Worship December 10 2017
Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke J.C. Ryle Luke 8:4-15 “The parable of the sower, contained in these verses, is reported more frequently than any parable in the Bible. It is a parable of universal application. The things it relates are continually going on in every congregation to which the Gospel is preached. The four kinds of hearts it describes are to be found in every assembly which hears the word. These circumstances should make us always read the parable with a deep sense of its importance. We should say to ourselves, as we read it — “This concerns…
Call To Worship December 3 2017
Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke J.C. Ryle Luke 7:40-50 We see in this passage that men may show some outward respect to Christ, and yet remain unconverted. The Pharisee before us is a case in point. He showed our Lord Jesus Christ more respect than many did. He even “desired Him that He would eat with him.” Yet all this time he was profoundly ignorant of the nature of Christ’s Gospel. His proud heart secretly revolted at the sight of a poor contrite sinner being allowed to wash our Lord’s feet. And even the hospitality he showed appears…
Call To Worship, November 26 2017
Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke J.C. Ryle Luke 7: 24-30 “The first point that demands our notice in this passage, is the tender care which Jesus takes of the characters of His faithful servants. He defends the reputation of John the Baptist, as soon as his messengers were departed. He saw that the people around him were apt to think lightly of John, partly because he was in prison, partly because of the inquiry which his disciples had just brought. He pleads the cause of His absent friend in warm and strong language. He bids His hearers dismiss…
Call To Worship November 19 2017
Luke 7:1-10 “We should notice, secondly, in this passage, the HUMILITY of the centurion. It appears in his remarkable message to our Lord when He was not far from his house — ‘I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof — neither thought I myself worthy to come unto you.’ Such expressions are a striking contrast to the language used by the elders of the Jews. ‘He is worthy,’ said they, ‘for whom you should do this.’ ‘I am not worthy,’ says the good centurion, ‘that you should enter under my roof.’ Humility like this is one…
Call To Worship November 12 2017
Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke J.C. Ryle Luke 6:46-49 “Let us mark, in these verses, what an old and common sin is profession without practice. It is written that our Lord said, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” The Son of God Himself had many followers, who pretended to honor Him by calling Him Lord, but yielded no obedience to His commandments. The evil which our Lord exposes here, has always existed in the Church of God. It was found six hundred years before our Lord’s time, in the…
Call to Worship November 5, 2017
Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke J.C. Ryle Luke 6:20-26 “Who then, are the people to whom our Lord says, ‘Woe unto you?’ They are the men who refuse to seek treasure in heaven, because they love the good things of this world better, and will not give up their money, if need requires, for Christ’s sake. They are the men who prefer the joys and so-called happiness of this world, to joy and peace in believing, and will not risk the loss of the one in order to gain the other. They are those who love the praise…
Call to Worship October 29, 2017
“At first I clearly saw that the free grace of God is absolutely necessary to attain to light and eternal life; and I anxiously and busily worked to understand the word of Paul in Rom. 1:17: The righteousness of God is revealed in the Gospel. I questioned this passage for a long time and labored over it, for the expression ‘righteousness of God’ barred my way. This phrase was customarily explained to mean that the righteousness of God is a virtue by which He is Himself righteous and condemns sinners. In this way all the teachers of the church except…
Call To Worship October 22 2017
Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke J.C. Ryle Luke 6:12-19 “Let us observe, firstly, in these verses, that when our Lord ordained His first ministers, He did it after much prayer. We read that He ‘went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called unto Him His disciples, and of them He chose twelve, whom also He named apostles.’ We need not doubt that there is a deep significance in this special mention of our Lord’s praying upon this occasion. It was intended to be a…
Call To Worship October 15 2017
Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke J.C. Ryle Luke 6:1-11 “We should weigh carefully the nature of our Lord Jesus Christ’s teaching about the observance of the Sabbath, both here and in other places. We must not allow ourselves to be carried away by the common notion that the Sabbath is a mere Jewish ordinance, and that it was abolished and done away by Christ. There is not a single passage of the Gospels which proves this. In every case where we find our Lord speaking upon it, He speaks against the false views of it, which were taught…