Bible Journaling: The Book of Luke

In this book of Luke, we find the same Gospel as told by Matthew and Mark but through a different perspective. What is one thing that is unique about what you read in the book of Luke?

For a broader view of this book of the Bible, we encourage you to watch this video:

Bible journaling tip: 

In some cases, we have a limited perspective of the Bible because of the different world that we live in. But the Biblical accounts in the New Testament were written fairly recently, and the places they refer to are archeological sites where real evidence have been found by archeologists and historians. A good journaling idea is to search for a photo of a place when you come across a name, you can print these photos and add them into your Bible. If you can find natural areas you can assume that it still looks fairly similar to the Biblical days! How amazing is that!

LOOK UP (information): encounter God through the Scripture 

Author:

Luke was a doctor. Can you find any metaphors or images that he used in his writing that could also point to this fact about his life before he became a disciple? 

Each one of us looks at the world in a certain way because of our history, upbringing and past experiences - we bring a lens to the text. How do you understand the Gospel uniquely through the lens of your profession? If you’re a farmer, you’ll relate to the plant metaphors in the Bible well. If you’re an accountant, you’ll understand the stories about money or treasure. Why do you think Jesus spoke in parables? 

Audience:

This account of the Gospel is a bit more elaborated than the others. Try to find the same story in all 4 Gospels (like the Triumphal Entry). Make notes about the differences and unique things picked up my different disciples. Think about it, if you had to ask 4 people in your church to tell you what the Sunday sermon was about: would you hear the exact same thing? 

History:

Luke’s Gospel point to the big history of God and His people more than the other Gospels. Mark all the places where you see this throughout the book. What does this tell us about Jesus? How is this unique to the other Gospels?

Genre:

Luke is the third of the 4 Gospels. Now that we are entering the New Testament, it might be a good time to make a mindmap of all the different genres that you find in the Bible and to try to see if you can fit each book into the correct category.

LOOK IN (revelation): contemplate / reflect on our own lives

Key verse:

Luke 4:18 NIV

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free,"

Inspiration:

The Spirit of the Lord is also what we call the Holy Spirit today. Was the same Spirit on Jesus that is on us when we receive the Holy Spirit? How did God anoint Jesus? Why was Jesus sent to the earth?

If this was Jesus’ mandate / calling / purpose - what is yours? Pause, reflect, and talk to God about what the Spirit is leading you to do with your life.

LOOK OUT (transformation): respond with creative worship action  

Drawing prompt:

Our verse from the Look In section, Luke 4:18, will also be our inspiration for today’s drawing prompt. Jesus said “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free”

Draw or paint a picture of Jesus and also illustrate each of these features. Each one can be illustrated physically or spiritually: for example, Jesus opened people’s spiritual eyes and He also healed those who were physically blind. 
- the Spirit is on Him
- He is anointed
- He brings good news to the poor
- He is sent out
- He frees prisoners
- He heals the blind 
- He frees the oppressed

Bible Journey with JournalOwl:

Here are some questions / prompts provided by the JournalOwl community. 

• Who in the centurion’s household was sick? (Luke 7:2)
• Through the gates of what city was a widow’s son being carried when met by Jesus? (Luke 7:11-12)
• How many children did the widow have? (Luke 7:12)

Follow this link to dive into this book with an online Bible Study group.

Writing prompt:

Write a poem about who Jesus is according to the Gospel of Luke. First, gather a collection of words that Luke uses to explain Jesus. Then, organize these words to try to create a flow that would make a good structure for a poem. Finally, add the missing words to link these descriptors and to make sure there is some rhythm or rhyme to your poem.

Prayer:

God, I want to thank you for the book of Luke. Thank you for this account of the Gospel through a doctor’s eyes - and that you speak to such a wide audience still today.  Let my response to this text be worship unto you!