A Gospel For The One and The Many
by Rev. Kirby Williams
Discovering how the Holy Spirit multiplies our efforts, in the prologue to Luke's Gospel.
Text: Luke 1:1-4
Date: 01/03/2021, the Combined service.
Series: "Luke: Thy Kingdom Come" Part 1
Description:
How can any Christian truly assess the value of their ministry done on a small, personal scale? For quite often, and in a way that remains a mystery to us, the Holy Spirit takes what we do on a person-to-person basis and increases the impact of that ministry to profoundly effect the many. That is what we are going to find as we begin our study of the Gospel of Luke, by looking at the short prologue to the book. What Luke seems to address to a single man, the Holy Spirit has Providentially used to bless millions if not billions of people over the millennia. What was originally written for "the one", has been used by the Spirit to immeasurably bless "the many". We will find valuable lessons in this principle for the church today as we explore together Luke's prologue to his Gospel-- written for the one and the many.
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I. Introduction
II. Exposition of the text, Luke 1:1-4.
A. Context, Col. 4:14, 2Tim. 4:11, Philem. 23,24.
B. Examining the prologue to Theophilus.
1. Introducing the narrative.
a. One account among many.
i. Why another account?
ii. Who are the "many"?
b. A narrative of things fulfilled.
2. The source of Luke's knowledge, vs. 2.
a. Eyewitnesses.
b. Ministers of the word, Acts 1:8, John 14:26.
c. Delivering the Word.
3. Reasons for writing his Gospel, vs. 3.
a. A personal reason.
b. An historian's reason.
i. A careful collection of facts.
ii. Able to draw conclusions.
c. A Theological reason.
d. A Pastoral reason.
i. Who is Theophilus?
ii. Luke's pastoral heart.
4. The quest for certainty, vs. 4.
a. A quest for the truth and faith.
b. A model of discipleship, Heb. 5:12,14.
III. Application
A. A Gospel for the one.
B. A Gospel for the many.
IV. Conclusion
