Here is a teaching on part 1 of chapter 1 of the book of Luke. If you want to check out previous Bible studies and chapters going forward, join our group here. Once you get added into that Facebook group, you can go to the "units" tab and you'll see all of the chapters and their study guides as they are being taught.
First I want to say a quick prayer... Lord, I pray that you lift up every single person listening to this right now. Please give us knowledge and understanding to know exactly what it is that we're reading, and the wisdom to implement it in our daily lives. Lord, I pray that whatever it is that each person is supposed to receive from this Bible study, that they receive it and they implement it in their lives. Holy Spirit
please guide us and help us to see the truth, know the truth, discern the truth, and live by the truth. Lord, I love you with every ounce of my being. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Alright, so in the middle of January, we completed our Bible studies on the Book of Acts. At that time I wasn't sure what our next Bible study would be because I hadn't been compelled by the Holy Spirit to do another Bible study. Since then I have been praying on it, journaling, and just waiting for God's perfect timing for him to give me clarity on exactly what Bible study he wanted me to do next. About a week or so ago I was journaling, and the book of luke came to my mind. And so I was thinking, "Okay well, the book of Luke is what I should do a Bible study on," but I still wasn't sure if I should do it weekly, twice a week, or how I should do it, and if it should be on my podcast, Facebook lives, or both.
So I kept journaling about it and just asking God for clarity on it. Then last Wednesday at Church they did the ashes and went over lent and praying to God to see what we should give up for 40 days or add to for 40 days. That night I prayed to God about it and also the next day I was journaling about it and just praying and asking God for clarity on what I should either give up or add to for 40 days. When I was journaling I got so much clarity on the book of Luke and doing these Bible studies each day for 40 days, from today until the day of Easter, which the last chapter is going to go over his resurrection so it ends up being perfect.
Some of the chapters are going to be split up (like today is chapter 1 part 1.) Some of them are going to just be the whole chapter in one day. It really just depends because the book of Luke has so much information, it's so rich in detail, and it's just such a great book of the Bible, that I want to make sure that I'm doing bite-sized Bible studies and I'm not overwhelming you with too much information in one day, but I'm still going over all of the great things that it talks about in the book of Luke. So I just wanted to give you guys a little bit of a back story of how I came to the conclusion of doing the Bible studies on the book of Luke and let you guys know that these will be daily Bible studies. So come back every single day if you want to keep up with these Bible studies and I will be doing this until Easter (we will go over all 24 chapters on the book of Luke through these next 40 days.)
Luke Chapter 1 Part 1:
1 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3 Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
Alright, so there are a few things that I want to point out here. Where it says "many have undertaken a job on account of the things that have been fulfilled,"
these "many" are disciples, apostles, and believers of Jesus Christ. The people that were there following Jesus, his 12 disciples, (which turned into the apostles,) other people that saw him and believed, and even people that didn't see him in the flesh but believed because of the apostles' and disciples' testimonies. In verse 2, the "eyewitnesses and servants of the word" were the prophets from the Old Testament. Before the New Testament was ever made, all of these jews had the Bible to go by (and that was all the things in the Old Testament) about God and all of the prophets. All the different books of the Old Testament talk about Jesus Christ coming to save the world, that Christ, the Messiah, the Savior is going to come and be the King of all Kings and the Son of God and all of that. In verse 3, we see that Luke had investigated everything about Jesus Christ and he wrote this book. He actually wrote the book of Luke and also the book of Acts for Theophilus to try to lead him to faith in Christ so that he would have a clear understanding of what he needed to know about Jesus.
Oh hey friend, sorry to interrupt this blog post, but I just wanted to remind you guys that "Christ Transforms Me," my 90-day journal is available for purchase on Amazon. Until further notice, all of the money that I receive from the purchases of that journal will be donated for the disaster relief of the people that were affected by the tornadoes that hit my hometown in Kentucky. To learn more about the journal or to purchase one, go to www.faithfuelsmyfire.com/journal
5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly. 7 But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.
8 Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshippers were praying outside.
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. 16 Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the Spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous--to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
18 Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years."
19 The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and tell you this good news. 20 And now you will be silent and not be able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time."
21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22 When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.
23 When his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24 After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25 "The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people."
Alright so in verse 5, the priestly division of Abijah was the eighth division. In 1 Chronicles chapter 24 you can see the priest divisions if you want to look into that. Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaron, which Aaron was the brother of Moses. He helped Moses get the Israelites out of Egypt and all of that, and he was also the priest. In Exodus chapter 28 it shows where the Lord tells Moses to have Aaron and his sons serve him as priests.
In verses 15-17, the Holy Spirit will be in John and he will speak the truth about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. John the Baptist came before Jesus to prepare the way for the Lord. He was baptizing people and letting people know about the Christ that was to come, which is Jesus Christ. In verses 18-20, Zechariah didn't believe what Gabriel was saying because he and his wife were a lot older and he didn't think that they were able to have kids. So then Gabriel said that he wouldn't be able to speak until all of the things that Gabriel said would happen did happen. In verse 24, where it says that "for five months Elizabeth remained in seclusion," that means that she was alone. She was isolated from everyone else during those first five months of her pregnancy. In verse 25, Elizabeth knew that her being pregnant was from the Lord because she was a lot older and she didn't think that she could ever have kids, but the Lord blessed her with a child. He blessed her with John the Baptist.
26 In the sixth month God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
34 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God."
38 "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her."
Alright, so those are all the verses that I'm going to do in this part 1 of chapter 1 of the book of Luke, but I'm going to discuss these verses with you guys here. In verse 29, Mary was greatly troubled because she wasn't sure if the angel was coming with good or bad news. In verses 30-33, the angel told Mary that she was going to give birth to Jesus, the Son of God. In verse 32 where it says "the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David," Jesus is a descendant of David, and we'll see more on his genealogy in chapter 3 of the book of Luke (it's also in chapter 1 of the book of Matthew.) But technically Jesus's father was Joseph, which the virgin Mary was pledged to marry Joseph, and he was a descendant of David.
I'm just going to go into Jeremiah chapter 23 and read verses 5-6 with you guys:
5 "The days are coming," declares the Lord,
"when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
The Lord Our Righteousness."
Those verses are talking about Jesus Christ. In verse 38 we can see here that Mary was faithful and obedient to the Lord and she lived to serve God.
Here are 3 takeaways to write down:
1. John the Baptist was born months before Jesus and he was filled with the Holy Spirit to speak truth to the people and let them know about Jesus Christ
- He was to try to turn the hearts of the people back to God, baptize people, and prepare the way for Jesus.
2. The virgin mary was pregnant with Jesus Christ by the power of God
- She was a virgin, the only way she could have been pregnant was by the power of God.
- That's why Jesus is known as the Son of God because the power of God overshadowed Mary and that's how she became pregnant with Jesus.
3. These "impossible" pregnancies were only possible with God
- Elizabeth was very old in age, she was barren, and she didn't think she would ever be able to have kids. Mary was a virgin.
- These pregnancies were only possible because of God, and these women were blessed with giving birth to these amazing men, Jesus Christ and John the Baptist.
Luke Ch 1 Part 1 Study Guide
Why was the book of Luke written?
Why was Zechariah silenced in the temple?
In verse 29, why was Mary troubled?
Who was Mary to give birth to?
What is your biggest takeaway from this Bible study?
So that concludes this Bible study on Luke chapter 1 part 1. Tomorrow we're going to be going over part 2 of Luke chapter 1, so make sure you stay tuned for that.
I love you guys so much.
Never forget to choose faith over fear.
-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)
p.s. If you'd rather listen to Faith-based, spiritual growth, mindset, and mental health tips, then check out my podcast. There I will share my personal experiences, stories I've never told before, and bring you along with this hot mess life of mine. New episodes daily.
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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights
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