PassageWay Church

Ever since he was a boy, after he and his parents had returned from Egypt, Jesus frequented the synagogue in Nazareth. He would go there every Sabbath. Being from a small town everyone knew who Jesus was. He was the son of the carpenter. His mother was Mary. His brothers were James and Simon. The townspeople heard that he’d become a rabbi. There were even reports of him doing miracles up in the vi...

A voice from heaven thunderously declared, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” There had never been a more stunning bestowal of divine favor upon any one man. As a descendant of Adam and as the perfect, one and only Son of God, Jesus was uniquely qualified to be the Savior of the world. But the Devil responded, “Prove it.” Immediately following his dramatic baptism and anointing...

After his baptism by John, Jesus began his public ministry, on his way to accomplishing the mission for which he had been sent. However, Luke interrupts the narrative to add a piece of historical data that might seem insignificant to some and even boring to others; the genealogy of Jesus. Biblical genealogies should not just be skipped over or ignored. In them we find hidden gems of truth. And so...

[Guest Speaker: Curt Isaacson | Worship Pastor | PassageWay Church] John the baptizer comes on the scene in Luke 3 nearly 20 years after the close of chapter 2. Like a good historian, Luke paints a picture of the date John enters the scene, as well as the state of both the Roman and Jewish political systems (and it wasn't good). John's ministry of repentance would stand in stark contrast...

Jesus grew up like any other devout Jewish boy in first century Palestine. The Bible is silent about his childhood, which indicates that it was probably quite normal. Normal except for one episode recorded in Luke 2 when Jesus is separated from Mary and Joseph. After a frantic search he’s found interacting with the rabbis in the temple at Jerusalem. Luke reveals that from a young age Jesus was awa...

Perhaps you received a gift this Christmas but you weren’t quite sure what it was, or perhaps how it worked. Appreciation for a gift is diminished when we don’t fully understand it. We may even misuse it. The first part of Luke chapter 2 describes an incredible gift, Jesus born to save us from our sins. We know that the story ends with Jesus’ death on the cross and his victorious resurrection, but...

Good news, great news, isn’t kept to oneself. Birth announcements, graduation announcements, engagement announcements are all moments that can’t be fully enjoyed unless shared with others. And so it was when the eternal Son of God entered into human history, born to save us from our sin. An angel shared this good news with a group of ruffian shepherds who went and saw the thing that the angel had...

In 31 BC Cesar Augustus ascended to power in Rome. Historians regard this date as the beginning of the Roman Empire. Caesar Augustus ushered in a time of unparalleled peace and prosperity referred to as the Pax Romana. He issued a decree that everyone in the empire should be registered for the purpose of taxation. So a Jewish carpenter from the town of Nazareth went up to his hometown of Bethlehem...

God had made some amazing promises by the angel Gabriel. He told a childless couple advanced in years that they would have a son. He told a young virgin that she would conceive by the Holy Spirit. This elicited praise. But what’s even more remarkable than promises made are promises kept. Luke records the fulfillment of God’s word with the birth of John the Baptist. Not only did God keep His word t...

After the angel Gabriel’s incredible announcement, Mary hurriedly went to visit her relative Elizabeth. Like a child on Christmas morning, Mary discovered all of the wonderful gifts God had bestowed upon her. She was truly blessed among women. Mary then poured out that blessing in a hymn of praise. Mary’s song reveals a profound and sometimes perplexing truth, God opposes the proud but gives grace...

After 400 years of silence, God had burst into human history with the angelic announcement of John’s birth. While the news of John the Baptist’s miraculous conception was good, that of Jesus is even better. Luke’s salvation story builds as he introduces us to the Savior. By an act of divine grace, Mary would conceive and give birth to a son. God had miraculously opened the womb of barren women in...

400 years had passed since Malachi, the last of the Old Testament prophets, had promised that someone would come to prepare a way for the Lord, the Messiah of Israel. Had he forgotten? Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth had personal experience with the deafening silence of God. They couldn’t have children and were now advanced in years. But then everything changed when God spoke to Zechariah by the...

The book of Luke can be appropriately summarized as “salvation history.” It details the story of Jesus Christ; the supernatural events surrounding his birth, his extraordinary life, death and then resurrection. Surprisingly, Jesus, the promised Messiah of Israel, did not take his place amongst the rich and the powerful. Instead, he came to seek and to save the lost. He declared, “It’s not the heal...