Luke 9:57-62 
Matthew and Luke cover this incident in the Lord’s earthly ministry.
We see three men had an encounter with the Lord.
One was definitely had a sincere desire to follow and serve the Lord.
The other two rejected the Lord’s command because of other worldly things.
The Lord’s response to each man was very interesting and somewhat intriguing.
We learn two most important lessons from this brief encounter of the three with the Lord.
Being a disciple of Lord Jesus Christ is not an easy road to travel.
Those who embark on this road require total surrender & commitment.
A follower of Lord Jesus Christ needs to understand that discipleship is not an emotional or impulsive response made at the spur of the moment because it never lasts long.
Following Lord Jesus Christ is a serious business, tremendous challenge & a serious commitment.
I. THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP (57-58)
We count the cost when we make a business decision, get married or go on a vacation.
In this verse someone joined Lord Jesus at some point and decided to follow the Lord.
That someone is explained in Matthew as a teacher of the Law.
I am sure he had no idea where the Lord was going or where He is going to stay or where His next meal comes from not even His disciples.
May be this guy was impressed by the crowds that followed the Lord & His teaching.
His decision to follow Jesus could be a momentary impulse & only for certain time.
Today we understand from the scriptures that Lord Jesus is God and He created this world.
Before the world was created God had counted the cost of Christ on earth for human sin.
Christ was prepared to endure all hardships and above all reduced Himself nothing.
Lord Jesus was telling the scribe indirectly in an intellectual way that He has nothing, no place of His own and travelling on a difficult & dangerous road.
2. THE PRIORITY OF DISCIPLESHIP (59-60)
A guy was asked by the Lord to follow Him but he had an option to accept or reject.
Probably he was taken by surprise that the Lord asked him to follow Him.
His presence there in the crowd conveys that his father did not die at that moment.
John MacArthur says it’s a common figure of speech conveying a message that “Let me wait until I receive my inheritance.”
He wanted to go first to attend to his things and then wanted to follow the Lord.
He was conveying a response that he would follow on his own terms.
To this the Lord’s answer was to seek His kingdom first because it has more value.
Many people today wait to follow the Lord till their family obligations are fulfilled.
Most people wait for a better time to follow and serve Lord Jesus.
Those who do not know the kingdom principles will always follow the ways of the world.
He saying to us don’t wait till you retire or you fulfilled all your family responsibilities.
Lord Jesus places commitment to His Kingdom above all of our priorities.
3. NO DISTRACTIONS IN DISCIPLESHIP (61-62)
In Palestine or in India nobody looks back while plowing a field.
The expression for someone who “looks back” has a reference to “Lot’s wife” (Gen. 19:26). 
A disciple of the Lord should not look back into the world while serving Him.
That shows that a person is double-minded and is worthless in discipleship. 
The Lord cannot use a half-hearted disciple in the Kingdom of God.
The first disciple was too eager but did not count the cost. 
The second disciple was not eager but wanted to serve at his own terms.
The third one was not looking forward but was looking back into worldly interests.
A person who is looking back all the time is not fit for the kingdom of God. 
To serve Lord Jesus one must count the cost and willing to sacrifice.
To serve Him one must change his/her attitude towards the world & things.
To serve Him one must always look forward not to look back to the world.
There are many within the body of Christ just resemble like these three men. 
To follow Jesus Lord means to share in His sufferings and obedient to death.
Our Lord Jesus gave up everything to follow His Father’s will. 
Following Lord Jesus is tough and costly, but it is worth it in view of our eternal kingdom.

Gen 6:11-22
Everyone exercises a kind of faith to live in this world – this is inborn faith in human DNA.
We exercise this faith without any difficulty and without our knowledge.
The confidence we have in the manmade machines or computers exhibits that faith.
But when it comes to spiritual things we have all kinds of problems and doubts.
Biblical faith always depends on our trust & knowledge of the Word of God.
Today we will learn about the faith of a man who lived before the floods.
This was the most dangerous period of human history with rampant wickedness.
People’s thoughts were always full of evil because there is no fear of God in their hearts.
Today we are living exactly in an identical frame of mind without any fear of God.
God found only Noah who still had the fear of God in his heart.
I. THE REASON FOR THE FLOODS (11-13)
In God’s sight the earth became such a wicked place – people had no fear of God – indulged in all sorts of wickedness – homosexuality – adultery - violence.
Such wickedness forced the hands of God to destroy the people as well as the earth.
II. THE PREPARATION FOR FLOODS (14-17)
God clearly provides the details for the Ark to be built in order to save the few God chose.
It is like a humongous cruise ship that sails across the oceans.
Except the people & the animals on the boat everything on earth was destroyed.
III. THE SAVING GRACE OF GOD (18-22)
Noah simply believed God’s word and started gathering materials to build the Ark.
He did exactly everything what God told him to do.
Here we see abundant grace of God shown to save His creation & humanity from the corruption of terrible wickedness.
The most amazing thing witnessed is Noah’s faith.
The size of the ark he was building might had given him sleepless nights.
All he knew was that God is going to flood the earth but he had no idea how it will happen because no one ever saw any rain or floods before.
Noah exercised faith beyond human imagination as he too never seen rain in his life.
But he had the utmost fear of God in his heart.
Noah's faith was based on what he could not see but what God told him to do. 
Faith in God was only real when people simply believed God, trusting in His promises and acting on His promises. 
Biblical faith is based on God's revealed TRUTH. 
Biblical faith is always acting on the promises of God.
It is just a matter of believing in God's word, trusting Him as our Lord and Savior.
Today we live in a world as similar to that of Noah day’s full wickedness on steroids.
Our only hope is to anchor our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
God provides the way of salvation to all those who put their faith in Lord Jesus.
God provided a boat to save Noah’s family from impending floods.
God provides a way out from our miserable world through our Lord Jesus Christ.
We will not escape from this world in a boat but we are assured of eternal life with Jesus.
God provides the blue print to insulate the Christian with His revealed Word & promises.

Luke 10:38-42    
We know this event in the ministry of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
The visit of our Lord to the home of Marth & Mary highlights a deeper spiritual lesson.
Contrasting their relationship with the Lord the two sisters, Mary & Martha teach us the difference between good & the best.
Their story helps us to choose between good and the best as we move into 2016.
Both sisters had the same opportunity & privilege to hear Lord Jesus.
One chose the good but the other chose the best.
I. BEING AT THE PROPER PLACE (39-40)
Mary chose the best seat in the house at the feet of the Lord to listen to His teaching.
She could have chosen to help her sister in household chores but preferred to be with the Lord.
Her choice was appreciated by the Lord Himself.
Martha went to the kitchen & lost the greatest opportunity to listen to the Lord of Creation.
She had in her heart to serve the guests with a good meal which is not bad at all – that’s what everyone does – that’s the way of the world.
Martha chose the best in her mind to serve the guest rather than listening to the Lord.
Being in the right place for Martha was the kitchen not at the feet of Lord Jesus.
We observe that Marth was distracted and worried about preparations.
She was kind of a perfectionist like many of us – she was distressed & complained to the Lord about Mary.
II. BRINGING THE RIGHT ATTITUDE (41-42)
Lord Jesus understood Mary’s anxiety – He is calming her nerves by calling her name twice.
Lord says Martha was worried and upset – it means she was under great stress.
We can easily identify her situation and feel that it is so natural for anyone to be in stress.
In verse 42, Lord helps not only Martha but also each believer in today’s world.
In life we need few things to live but one thing tops the list to sit at the feet of the Lord.
Both sisters were in the same house with Lord Jesus but only one was really there.
Application for 2016
Many times we fail to hear God because we are so busy with our daily busy schedules.
We can understand from Martha’s point of view how much we stress out when we invite guests to our homes.
Martha’s priority was to serve her guest so what is wrong with it.
We may conclude that she chose the best seat in the house preparing food in the kitchen.
Our daily routine is good but we need to take the best seat at the feet our Lord first. 
What Mary chose is rather difficult to apply to our life because it demands our time and attention to Lord Jesus Christ.
We practically have less time for God because other demands take priority of our lives.
We may be studying the word of God but nothing sinks into our mind.
The stress level in life keeps us occupied most of our time and deprive us the best seat at the feet of the Lord.
There is an illustration teaching us the big rocks to go into a glass jar first in order to fit other materials in the jar.
If we fail to put the big rock first we can never put other things into the jar later.
Our big rock in our life is Lord Jesus Christ.
We should not add Him to our daily schedule but put Him first than any other thing.
Let us prioritize our daily schedule keeping Lord Jesus first which is the best seat.
Then all our ‘good things’ the Lord will make them ‘best’ for us in 2016.