Luke // Pastor Gene Pensiero

Mary visits her cousin, Elizabeth, and shares the wonderful news of her pregnancy in a song called the Magnificat. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

Jesus suddenly popped-in while the disciples were gathered together. A week later He would appear like this again, suddenly through closed doors, and present Himself to these same men along with Thomas, who initially doubted that the Lord was alive. The emotional effect of these appearances is captured in a strangely beautiful phrase in verse […]

Lovers sometimes take walks. They don’t do it to get somewhere. They do it to be with someone. The progress that they make is not measured in distance, but in devotion. They spend time getting to know one another, deepening in their love. Often they arrive at the same geographical location from which they started […]

It should have been standing-room only outside of the tomb. Jesus told His followers more than once that He would be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. The place to be was outside of that tomb, waiting for the Lord to appear. Instead, some disciples […]

Seven-hundred years before Jesus died as a criminal but was buried in a rich man’s tomb, the prophet Isaiah let us know that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit had preplanned the events of that day. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

Taking-up and bearing the Cross were vivid images in the first century. The Romans executed by crucifixion. Often a condemned person could be seen taking-up their cross and bearing it to the place of crucifixion. When Jesus used this imagery, His listeners and followers understood that the way they lived was to be noticeably different […]

There are Jews and Romans in our verses; but they are not the main character. They are the background. Your eyes should be fixed upon Jesus. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

The Christian life is sometimes compared to a walk with Jesus; sometimes to a long-distance race. It’s not going too far to compare it to a climb to the summit of a mountain. In any case, you don’t want to fall behind and lose sight of Jesus and become lost in some wilderness of sin. […]

When you become a Christian, you find yourself in a fight. We commonly refer to it as spiritual warfare. We have spiritual enemies who employ sinister techniques to defeat us. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

If you are a Christian, there are many temptations in the world. Some are in Sin Cities; but some are right here in your own city. Some are in your home, office, or school. It would be nice if they were clearly marked with signs that said, Now Entering Temptation – so you could recognize […]

In our normal, everyday way of thinking and relating to one another, it only seems obvious that the person seated is greater than the person serving. But Jesus went on to point out, yet I am among you as the One who serves. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

Leonardo da Vinci’s painting, The Last Supper, is for many Christians the clearest image they have of Jesus Christ’s last meal with his disciples. Though it is considered great art, da Vinci’s painting is bad history. All the details in da Vinci’s painting are inaccurate. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

Jesus didn’t tell us to make predictions. He told us what was definitely going to happen in the future so that we might know how we should live in the present. Our study of prophecy ought to have a profound practical effect on our daily living. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

The Jews were quite proud of the first century Temple in Jerusalem. It was a beautiful and magnificent structure. Herod had given it an extreme makeover. Jesus took a look at it and told them it was about to be destroyed – stone-by-stone. It started an incredible conversation about the future. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

Jesus warned His first disciples, beware of the scribes… who devour widow’s houses. Jesus’ words would have seemed radical to those listening. The scribes were considered pillars of the community. The Lord was exposing them as parasites. They were like termites devouring the house of a poor widow. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

To support their lifestyles of the rich and famous, the Sadducees only accepted the first five books of the Old Testament, claiming that nowhere in those books was there any talk of life after death. This life was all that they were living for. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

It’s not always easy to know where your loyalty to God draws a line you cannot cross. To help you in those times of deciding whether to obey the government or not, Jesus provided this principle: Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. (Pastor Gene […]

Of all the possible environments God could have created, He chose a garden. He didn’t choose a temple, for example, with rites and rituals. He chose a garden; and not just any garden. A perfect garden, that watered itself, where nothing ever died, where there were no weeds or pests or parasites. He didn’t want […]

The Court of the Gentiles was, in fact, a den of thieves. It was as if a defenseless sheep had walked into a den of wolves, to be destroyed and devoured. Instead of praying for God’s people, they were preying on them. God hates that kind of preying! (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

We call it Palm Sunday and describe it as The Triumphal Entry. It’s the Sunday Jesus entered Jerusalem to the shouts of Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! It might be more accurate to call it Donkey Sunday, and describe it as The Tearful Entry. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

Is God a giver or a taker? I’ll give you a clue. This is what Job said about God: Job 1:21 …“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” It sounds as though God […]

I can’t help but think of Zacchaeus as being treed! Even though he climbed the sycamore tree voluntarily, by the end of the story you get the idea that Jesus was hunting for him, hounding after him. After all, Jesus said of the episode, the Son of Man has come to seek and to save […]

If Jesus asked you, What do you want Me to do for you?, what would it be? Peace in the Middle East? The cure for cancer? An end to all ethnic prejudice? An end to poverty? Or would it be something more personal – a healing for yourself, or a loved one? It’s a pretty […]

Jesus was remarkable in capturing moments and making them ‘precious moments’ within which He could teach the simplest, yet most profound, spiritual truths (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

Sin and selfishness must be dealt with before you can enjoy a conversation with your heavenly Father. Jesus mentioned two other factors that can determine whether or not your prayers have a prayer (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

The title, Left Behind, is a warning to be ready when Jesus returns to Rapture the Church. If you’re not ready, you’ll be left behind to endure the awful tribulation that is coming upon planet earth. You definitely do not want to be left behind at the Rapture. But there is a time when believers […]

Even though Jesus told them to Go, it’s clear He wanted them to stop and return to Him. It’s confusing, unless you factor in a romantic element. This is a kind of language only lovers understand. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

Parents and siblings will go to great lengths to protect their children and younger brothers and sisters. Woe to the person or people who try to harm your children! Jesus taps into this universal feeling, but He applies it to your spiritual family, to your brothers and sisters in the Church. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

Jesus gave His listeners a guided tour of Hades. Call it the Gulf Tour if you want, because He mentioned the great gulf, or chasm, that separates paradise from punishment. He showed them, and us, two possible destinations after death so that you can choose where you want to go. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

Jesus and His disciples had their own words for money. The words they used do not seem as playful. For example: You’re warned five times in the New Testament letters to watch out for the dangers of money, but it’s called filthy lucre. Whatever that means – it can’t be good! (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

The Parable of the Prodigal Son is not really about the prodigal son. Neither is it about his pouting brother. I suggest to you that it is about their father. He is the central character around which the story revolves and upon whom it focuses. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

Maybe we should designate the preaching of the Gospel as Spiritual Search and Rescue! Men and women are lost, all over the planet, in every geography and cultural condition. Some realize they are lost, and will reach out for the lifeline. Others do not sense the danger they are in, but need rescuing just the […]

Salt was once one of the most valuable commodities on earth – traded ounce-for-ounce with gold. For one thing, salt was one of the few preservatives available. It preserved fish, meat, olives, cheese, and pickled vegetables throughout the year everywhere in the world. There are, in fact, some 14,000 known uses for salt. Salt meant […]

Jesus told a parable about a wedding supper to which all the invited guests offered various excuses. In their case, they would not simply miss out on supper; they would miss out on salvation! The supper represented an invitation to receive eternal life, enter the kingdom of God on earth, and then spend eternity with […]

Jesus was the poster boy for heaven’s rules of social and spiritual manners. In our story, the Pharisees were shocked that Jesus did not mind their manners. Jesus turned the table on them, exhorting them to find His manners. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

Jesus compared Himself to a hen. Given the number of animals available, it is curious that Jesus chose a hen. What about the mighty eagle of Exodus, soaring over danger? What about the proud lion of Judah, mowing down his enemies with a roar? Compared to either of those, a mother hen does not inspire […]

There are some party-crashers in our story. They are unable to get in to the banquet – even though they had been invited! In their case, they waited too long to get in, and the door was permanently shut. The banquet in this Bible passage represents salvation and eternal life. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

For all this woman’s suffering, her spiritual focus was upward. As difficult as it was to get ready, and to get around, she was in the synagogue. Apparently she was a regular worshipper, because no one took any special notice of her. Her quality of life was first and foremost spiritual. Her physical condition was […]

Whether disasters are natural, or national, or personal, there is a tendency to see them as deserved by sinners who are being judged by God. The question we might want to ask ourselves is this: How does Jesus want us to understand disasters? (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

Fires, fire season, and firestorms, are the images Jesus used in our text. He first talked about the fire season, saying, I came to send fire on the earth (v49). The fire He spoke of is not yet kindled; but, when it is, it will be a firestorm of enormous magnitude. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

You and I, if we are Christians, are servants in the Lord’s household on earth – the Church. When He returns to earth, and we return with Him, it is His desire we all be promoted to stewards, to aid and assist Him in governing His kingdom on earth. These verses, like any good want […]

Those who are wealthy always seem to want more. Those who are wanting always seem to want more. Both the wealthy and the wanting suffer from the same spiritual disease: Covetousness. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

Jesus was giving His disciples an illustration. He would be their Darshan, whispering to them what to say through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. They were His Amora – broadcasting His message wherever they went. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

While many will tell you that Lent and Ash Wednesday were celebrated by the first followers of Jesus, they are not in the Bible, and you can’t find them in Church history until about the fourth century. Still, it grew as a religious ritual – especially among Roman Catholics. Religious rituals are becoming more popular […]

Sweeping-out your heart is a picture of reforming your life. You’ve got problems, or issues; addictions or compulsions. So you set out to improve yourself; you set out to reform your ways. You can accomplish a great deal of reform. But reform always leaves you vacant and vulnerable. God is not looking for reform. He […]

Jesus had just given His disciples what we call the Lord’s Prayer. It was really a model, or a pattern, for them to follow when they prayed. In the verses that immediately follow the Lord’s Prayer (the verses we have read and are studying), it’s as if Jesus was saying, “Now go and ask your […]

The Lord’s Prayer was one of those formal prayers I had recited hundreds of times. I see now that it is not so much a formal prayer, as it is a form for prayer. It’s not wrong to recite it; but it is better to regard it as a model or a pattern for how […]

Here we have a story that helps us understand our own priority as Christians, and what we should emphasize as we work for Jesus. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

You should read and interpret the Word of God in a way that enlarges your heart to treat others the way God has treated you. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)

The measures of success are different; but they are usually something quantifiable: More money, higher test scores, the acquisition of territory. These concepts are good so far as the world is concerned. You want to see results, and you want to gain more resources. What about in the Church? Are results and resources the true […]

Our text in the Gospel of Luke reads like a dummies-guide; it could be called Discipleship for Dummies. Don’t be offended by the word ‘dummies.’ It describes the average person, who needs a few simple guidelines in order to better understand the subject matter. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)