Daily Bread Pastor Mike Anderson

Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives 39  Jesus went out as usual  to the Mount of Olives,  and his disciples followed him.   40  On reaching the place, he said to them,  “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”   41  He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down  and prayed,   42  “Father, if you are willing, take this cup  from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”   43  An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.   44  And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. [  45  When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.   46  “Why are you sleeping?”  he asked them.  “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” Click Here to Read Luke 22 As Jesus nears the cross, we see Satan was in full force and fully active in making one last stand.  Satan enters Judas as he sets out to betray Jesus with a kiss and turn Jesus o

32  “Truly I tell you, this generation  will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.   33  Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.   34  “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life,  and that day will close on you suddenly  like a trap.   35  For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth.   36  Be always on the watch, and pray  that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” Click Here to Read the Rest of Luke 21 As the disciples are admiring the beautiful stones on the temple, Jesus uses it as an opportunity to teach them one of the signs of his second coming.  A mere 40 years later the temple would be destroyed by foreign invaders, and many thought this was the sign that the end times were upon them.  Throughout the ages there have been many who have thought the end times were

Whose Son Is the Messiah? 41  Then Jesus said to them,  “Why is it said that the Messiah is the son of David?   42  David himself declares in the Book of Psalms: “‘The Lord said to my Lord:      “Sit at my right hand 43  until I make your enemies      a footstool for your feet.”’ 44  David calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?” Click Here to Read The Rest of Luke 20 In chapter 20, the religious leaders are looking for a way to trap Jesus and discredit his teaching and authority.  They ask him questions about paying taxes to Caesar, the Resurrection, and by what authority was he doing his ministry.  Jesus sees their motives and turns each one on their arguments on its head which leaves them speechless.   Then he turns the tables and asks them why in the Psalms it says, "the Messiah is the son of David".  They all knew that the Messiah was to descend from the house and the line of David, but Jesus also points out in Psalm 16 David calls Jesus, "

35  They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.   36  As he went along, people spread their cloaks  on the road.  37  When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives,  the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 38  “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”  “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39  Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”  40  “I tell you,”  he replied,  “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”  41  As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it   42  and said,  “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. Click Here To Read the Rest of Luke 19 Last Sunday was Palm Sunday where the church remembers the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.  It begins the week we call &qu

The Parable of the Persistent Widow 18  Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.   2  He said:  “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3  And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice  against my adversary.’ 4  “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think,   5  yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” 6  And the Lord  said,  “Listen to what the unjust judge says.   7  And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out  to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?   8  I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man  comes,  will he find faith on the earth?” Click Here to Read the Rest of Luke 18 As w

17  Jesus said to his disciples:  “Things that cause people to stumble  are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come.   2  It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones  to stumble.   3  So watch yourselves. Click Here To Read the Rest of Luke 17 As Jesus moves to the practical side of what it means to be a disciple, he acknowledges that there are going to be many obstacles in our way.  We often think of the consequences of our sin in our lives, but what about the unintended consequences of it in other people's lives.  Though we can't escape the world and its temptations, we should avoid being a stumbling block for someone else.  We see in our world many prominent pastors of large churches having to resign from their pastorates due to alleged improprieties.  Whether they are guilty or not, it has a big effect on their flocks.  But Jesus is not just talking to pastors,

16  “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John.  Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached,  and everyone is forcing their way into it.   17  It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.   18  “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. Click Here to Read the Rest of Luke 16 This is a very interesting passage the meaning of which I had never really seen before.  This is why it is good to continue to read the bible because God reveals new understanding each time we read it.  In this case Jesus is comparing the Law to the Gospel.  Of course Jesus came to preach the gospel which was in fulfillment of the Law and Prophets.  The Law revealed God's holiness and showed that we could not measure up to the the Law and needed a Savior for our sins.   The prophets not only warned Israel of their

17  “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!   18  I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned  against heaven and against you.   19  I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’   20  So he got up and went to his father.  “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.  21  “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.  I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’  22  “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe  and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger  and sandals on his feet.   23  Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.   24  For this son of mine was dead and is alive again;  he was lost and is found.’ So they began

  14  One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched.  2  There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body.  3  Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”  4  But they remained silent. So, taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way. 5  Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?”  6  And they had nothing to say. Click Here to Read the Rest of Luke 14     Jesus wasn’t afraid to talk to the Pharisees even though he knew they were against them.   It might be compared to going over to the pastor’s house for Sunday brunch.   But in this case, it wasn’t a friendly environment for him to walk into.    Some think the Pharisees may have planted the man with “dropsy” to see how he would handle it.   “The man was afflicte