The Gospel of Luke: True Story - Video

Sermon Text: Luke 1: 1-4 Sermon Date: 9/8/2024 Speaker: Brian Crawford . Check us out at: https://citylightvicksburg.org/ Or check us out here: https://www.facebook.com/citylightvicksburg . Sermon Notes - Sept 8, 2024 Luke 1:1-4 (the greatest story ever told) What makes the Gospel of Luke different from any other Gospel? Sometimes, there is a sense in which we don’t know which part of the Bible is real, or which part is metaphor/exaggeration. Verses one 1-4 tell us that this whole thing is real, and grounded in reality. The Gospel of Luke is intended to be believed. Who is Luke? He's mentioned several places through the New Testament, and these places tell us about who he is. “Luke, the beloved, physician” (from Colossians) - he’s a beloved friend of of Paul, he’s a Gentile, and a Physician. He would seem to be the only disciple of gentile background. Luke wrote 2 books: Acts, and Luke. Additionally, in 2nd Timothy, it's written that “Luke alone is with me.” At Paul’s end, he was there with his beloved friend. He was the only non-Jew to write some of the major books of the Bible. And he is close friends with one of the most important figures in the Bible. So, he’s SEEN STUFF! Luke is not writing as a man who is writing and hoping he’s right. He’s a Doctor. And physician. His writing is based on facts. Evidence. His writings actually seem to be written in the style of other physicians at the time. His books are literally “Investigative Journalism.” Why is all of this so important? Because the Christian faith is one not void of evidence. The Christian faith is not fantasy or mystical. It’s rooted in evidence and history. The word, “accomplished” that he uses in these verses, is important. Luke is writing to show us, in his writings, that Christ is the fulfillment of prophecy from old - centuries past. Luke also shows us that our faith is grounded in facts by including eyewitnesses. Christianity does not try to place itself outside of the confines of history. Luke takes a lot of effort to ground his writings in history. He uses historical figures and events to ground happenings in our faith. There are eyewitnesses that people could go back and check out. We also find details in Luke’s Gospels that aren’t in other gospels - because he did investigative journalism. Ultimately, we have 12 disciples who once ran scared from Christs Death, and suddenly changed their mind... and now they're willing to die for the story they were telling. What happened? They saw Him. They saw Christ. They ate and spoke with a risen savior. They placed their fingers in the holes of His wounds. And Luke was there to see it all happen. Luke is writing to show us that we can be certain that what he is writing, we can trust. And we can read and trust his writings today.