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A Year Held in His Hands| A New Year Sermon

By Ekombe Hau -
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A Year Held in His Hands| A New Year Sermon Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash Every time a new year comes close, something in me start feeling that weird mix of excitement and heaviness. Maybe you know the feeling too—like you’re standing at this invisible doorway. One foot in the old year (the stuff you want to forget but somehow still sticks to you like stubborn glue), and the other foot stepping into something you still can’t see clearly. And sometimes you’re hopeful, sometimes you’re scared, sometimes you’re… well, both at the same time. I was thinking about all that while reading some Scriptures again, and honestly, it hit me harder this year. Maybe because life been kinda loud lately, or maybe because I’m tired of pretending everything always makes sense. But the Bible does this thing, right? It sneaks into the parts of your heart you thought you cleaned up, and suddenly you realize God is trying to talk to you again. Even if it feels like you weren’t exactly listening. S...
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Luke Chapter 17 – Commentary and Bible Study Reflection

By Ekombe Hau -
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Luke Chapter 17 – Commentary and Bible Study Reflection Photo by  Michael Hamments  on  Unsplash Luke chapter 17 feels like a patchwork quilt, stitched with small but deep teachings of Jesus. You don’t get just one big long story, but several important moments, one after another. Some are short, almost like proverbs, while others carry a whole scene that sticks in your memory. This chapter touches forgiveness, faith, humility, gratitude, and the coming Kingdom. And honestly, if you sit with it slowly, it hits hard, because Jesus pulls us into thinking about the seriousness of sin but also the beauty of simple faith. I’ll walk through the chapter piece by piece, and I’ll mix in some of my own thoughts, feelings, even a few side trails. That’s how I usually read Scripture—it’s not just a dry study, it’s like sitting at a dinner table listening to someone you trust and love tell you things that shape your whole life. Verses 1–2: Woe to Those Who Cause Others to Stumble ...
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Luke Chapter 16 – Commentary and Bible Study Reflection

By Ekombe Hau -
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Luke Chapter 16 – Commentary and Bible Study Reflection Photo by  Michael Hamments  on  Unsplash When you come to Luke 16, you feel like Jesus suddenly shifts gears. In chapter 15 we were swimming in parables of grace—the lost sheep, lost coin, lost son—and it felt warm and hopeful. Then here in chapter 16, the mood feels sharper, almost like Jesus is pressing on money matters and eternal reality. You get two big stories: the parable of the shrewd (or dishonest) manager, and the rich man and Lazarus. Between them, some strong sayings about money, faithfulness, and the law. If Luke 15 felt like a hug, Luke 16 feels like a wake-up call. And maybe that’s the rhythm of following Christ. He comforts, then challenges. He saves, but He also calls to account. Verses 1–13: The Parable of the Shrewd Manager Jesus tells a strange parable. A rich man hears that his manager (like a steward of the estate) is wasting his possessions. So he calls him in, basically says: “You’re fire...
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Luke Chapter 15 – Commentary and Bible Study Reflection

By Ekombe Hau -
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Luke Chapter 15 – Commentary and Bible Study Reflection Photo by  Michael Hamments  on  Unsplash When I first sat down with Luke chapter 15, I didn’t expect it to stir so much in me. You know sometimes you read a passage and it just kind of washes over you, but then you reread it, maybe at a different season of life, and suddenly it hits like a hammer—or maybe like a soft hug you didn’t know you needed. That’s how Luke 15 feels. It’s one of those chapters in the Gospel where Jesus really opens up the heart of God, and it’s messy and beautiful and tender all at once. This chapter is famous. Almost everybody who ever been around church has heard at least one sermon on the Prodigal Son , right? It’s like the crown jewel parable. But we can’t skip over the other two parables here because honestly, they all belong together. Jesus gave them in a row, for a reason. There’s the lost sheep , the lost coin , and the lost son (well actually, two sons if you think about it). So l...
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Luke Chapter 14 – Commentary and Bible Study Reflection

By Ekombe Hau -
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Luke Chapter 14 – Commentary and Bible Study Reflection Photo by  Michael Hamments  on  Unsplash When I open Luke 14, I can almost smell the warm bread of a Sabbath meal. There’s something earthy and alive about this chapter, because it’s not just about miracles or far-off stories—it’s about meals, invitations, humility, excuses, discipleship . Stuff we live every day, right? The way we treat people at dinner, the way we choose seats, the way we respond when God calls. That’s everyday life. This chapter, in many ways, feels like Jesus is pressing pause on “big stage miracles” and just sitting down with people, in their homes, while still turning the world upside down with His words. Let’s walk through piece by piece. 1. Healing on the Sabbath (Luke 14:1–6) The chapter starts with Jesus going to eat at the house of a prominent Pharisee on the Sabbath. Already, there’s tension. Imagine sitting at a fancy dinner where everyone is watching you, not to enjoy your company...
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Luke Chapter 13 – Commentary and Bible Study Reflection

By Ekombe Hau -
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Luke Chapter 13 – Commentary and Bible Study Reflection Photo by  Michael Hamments  on  Unsplash When I sit down with Luke chapter 13, honestly, I feel like I’m walking into a room where Jesus is both tender and tough at the same time. It’s not one of those chapters where everything feels cozy like Psalm 23. Nope. Here, Jesus is straight-up confronting sin, correcting people’s ideas, and at the same time giving those sweet, deep pictures of God’s mercy that make you pause and think, Wow, I need to sit with that for a while. So, let’s go through this chapter piece by piece, kind of like sitting around a kitchen table with coffee and notepad, scribbling down things that hit us. I’m not aiming for perfection here—just honest reflection, with a few grammar quirks, maybe some half-finished thoughts, like how real life notes and conversations go. The Call to Repentance (Luke 13:1–5) The chapter kicks off with a pretty uncomfortable topic. People tell Jesus about the Galile...
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Luke Chapter 12 – Commentary and Bible Study Reflection

By Ekombe Hau -
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Luke Chapter 12 – Commentary and Bible Study Reflection Photo by  Michael Hamments  on  Unsplash Sometimes when you read Luke 12, it feels like sitting at the edge of your seat. Jesus is teaching, but it’s not a soft bedtime story type. It’s urgent, sharp, almost pressing like He’s warning us about things we don’t want to miss. He speaks about hypocrisy, about fear, about greed, about watchfulness. It’s like He’s pulling back the curtain on life—“don’t get distracted,” He seems to say, “don’t miss what matters most.” When I first sat down with Luke 12, I thought oh boy, this is going to be heavy. But the more I read, the more it felt like a father’s loving warnings. Yes, strong words. But words that protect. Like when your mom tells you not to run into the road—not because she’s trying to spoil your fun, but because she loves you enough to warn you of danger. Let’s walk through this chapter slowly, story by story, with a little coffee in hand, and maybe a notebook near...
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Luke Chapter 11 – Commentary and Bible Study Reflection

By Ekombe Hau -
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Luke Chapter 11 – Commentary and Bible Study Reflection Photo by  Michael Hamments  on  Unsplash Luke chapter 11 feels like one of those chapters where Jesus really pulls the curtain back on what it means to follow Him—not just the “pretty” side of prayer and miracles, but the challenge of living a real, consistent, God-centered life. When you read it, you can almost hear the intensity in His words, especially when He’s correcting the Pharisees and scribes. But there’s also tenderness, especially in the way He teaches about prayer. I remember the first time I read Luke 11 seriously. I was younger, maybe late teens, and I had this idea that prayer had to be these fancy, long, kind of “holy-sounding” words. Then I come across Jesus saying basically, “When you pray, say this…” and it’s so simple. Almost too simple, like a child could say it. And that’s kind of the point, right? So let’s walk through the chapter piece by piece, and I’ll share some thoughts, reflections, an...
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