Pastor Steve finishes up Mark chapter 10 as we close out 2015--and we enter the final days of Jesus's life and ministry before he heads to the cross in roughly a week from the events unfolding at the end of Mark chapter 10.
Pastor Warren gives a Christmas message focusing on the "joy and peace" that is talked about in this holiday season, but looking deeper beyond the "Christmas card sentiments" to what brings true joy and peace from God. Starting from the traditional Christmas story in Luke 2 we travel all the way back to the Proverbs to look at the life that follows and submits to God's ways as the true path to peace and joy.
As we continue through Mark chapter 10 we have the story of the disciples refusing the parents bringing children to be blessed followed by the story of the "rich, young ruler"--did you know these stories are not randomly placed but actually are related? Listen in as Pastor Steve covers this next section of Mark and we understand about the impediments to accepting God's gift and believing--something the little children were so ready to do!
Jesus tackles a difficult (and meant to be tricky) question regarding marriage and divorce in front of the religious leaders. The questions around divorce and marriage are still difficult today, and Pastor Steve showed both God's standard from Genesis (as Jesus did) as well as God's grace for our failings in this opening section from Mark 10.
Dr. Jason Lisle from the Institute for Creation Research shared a message titled "Your Origins Matter," describing the critical role of Genesis as the foundation of our Christian faith. Without this foundation much of what we hold to crumbles when the church gives up Genesis as the historic, biblical account of creation and beginnings.
Pastor Steve finishes up chapter 9 on the topic of greatness as we continue our walk through the gospel of Mark.
Continuing in Mark chapter 9, we come to the story of the man whose son is possessed by a demon with severe seizures and destructive behavior as a result. The disciples are unable to cast out the demon, but Jesus in His compassion and power does heal the boy, as the father gives that great confession: "I believe. Help my unbelief!" Pastor Steve applied the readiness of Jesus through a life of prayer and fasting to our own need for a regular commitment to prayer and fasting to be filled with God'...
Pastor Steve begins Mark chapter 9, which opens with the story of the transfiguration. What an interesting an awesome set of events for the trio of James, Peter, and John to experience in the presence of a glorified Jesus! Listen in to hear what this means for us and how we might apply the details of this event recorded by Mark to our own lives.
Pastor Warren finished chapter 8 of Mark, looking at the serious call to take up our cross and follow Jesus no matter the cost. Warren used stories from around the globe on the persecution of the church to encourage us and challenge us to our own level of commitment to follow Christ no matter the cost.
In this section of Mark chapter 8, we have a healing that seems not to be complete initially, and then we have Peter calling Jesus the Messiah and then Jesus seemingly calling Peter "Satan" a paragraph later? What is this all about and why are some of these details that seem confusing recorded here? Listen in as Pastor Steve gives us some thoughts on this next section in our study of Mark's gospel.
It may seem repetitive that another feeding of many thousands miracle finds its way into the fast-paced gospel of Mark, but maybe it has more to do with trying to teach the disciples that He has the power to do miracles, not just once, but as many times as He desires? His point is only underscored by His response to the demands of the Pharisees for a "sign." They've already seen so many signs, and yet they still haven't believed. His signs are not meant to be "tricks" to be done on command, but ...
Taking a break from our normal study through Mark on communion Sunday, Pastor Steve focuses in on the first few verses of our next section in Mark chapter 8 to share what it means to have the heart of compassion that Jesus had for the crowds. We looked at the impact of Christian compassion across the centuries and understood how we can build Christ-like compassion in our own lives.
In the final section of Mark 7, we are introduced to two miracles which both have puzzling content--Jesus ignoring a woman and then putting her down? Jesus using spit and touching ears and tongue? Listen in to find out what Jesus was trying to teach, both in the miracles and to His disciples, through these two interesting miracles.
The Pharisees think they can confront Jesus about the lack of traditional washing by His disciples, but instead Jesus turns it into a confronting of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees for only caring about the traditions of men over and above obedience to God's Word. Pastor Steve applies the opening scene of Mark chapter 7 to our own potential to get stuck in traditions and traditionalism, potentially over and above the clear guidance of scripture.
Finishing out Mark chapter 6, we see the narrative immediately following the feeding of the 5000, as Jesus sends the disciples across the sea into a storm, where He will watch them from shore and then walk to them on the water. Pastor Steve took us on a quick detour to Matthew's recording of the same event that fills in the story of Peter and his joining Jesus out on the water.
Pastor Steve takes us through a communion Sunday message in 1 Peter 4 looking at dedication and commitment to service in the body of Christ.
Pastor Steve continues teaching through Mark chapter 6, noting Jesus and his shepherd's heart in having compassion on the crowds--who were "like sheep without a shepherd"; moved to the point of feeding them spiritually (teaching them) and physically (with the miracle of the feeding of 10,000+ people with 5 pita and 2 small fish).
In the middle of Mark chapter 6 we get the complete story of the end of John the Baptist's life, who died a martyr because he dared to stand up and correct Herod (and his stolen wife, Herodias) for a sinful lifestyle. It is a story of revenge and bitterness, but also one of true freedom in that John the Baptist was freed from this life, having run his race with endurance.
Opening the next chapter in Mark, we find Jesus returning to Nazareth. The hometown crowd is amazed at his teaching, but somehow can't bring themselves to not just see him as "the carpenter's son", and because of their unbelief his power there is limited. He then sends out the disciples in His name with His power on their first mission without Him, teaching them to rely on Him even when they are doing ministry with nothing of their own.
Continuing our study in Mark, Pastor Steve teaches through the interwoven stories of the woman with the "issue of blood" and the raising of Jairus's daughter from the dead. The clips shown during the message are from the documentary "A Walk to Beautiful" which can be viewed for free online here: http://documentarystorm.com/a-walk-to-beautiful/
Taking a break from Mark for one week due to communion Sunday, Pastor Steve talks about the change of "clothing" that takes place when our lives are transformed by Christ, using the picture from Colossians 3 as our guide.
Continuing through the fast-paced gospel of Mark, we come across two stories that happen in quick succession even though a chapter break is in the middle. First, heading to the "other side" of the lake, Jesus and the disciples enter a cataclysmic storm--and Jesus is asleep. But, awoken he speaks to the wind and waves and immediately the storm stops, terrifying the disciples even more! Who is this, they ask. Then upon arriving at evening on the other side they are approached by the man of the tom...
If the world is getting darker, then we need to look at whether the light is getting dim or fading! We continue looking at the parables of the kingdom in Mark chapter 4 as Jesus teaches with simple examples the keys to the kingdom. We looked at the power of the seed--something that seems so small and insignificant--to grow, even though we don't understand it, and to bear much fruit.
Jesus teaches the parable of the sower in the opening section of Mark chapter 4. Pastor Steve explained the value and importance of parables to Jesus's ministry, and also helped us apply the truths of the four soils to our own lives.
Jesus responds to the accusations that he is using Satan's power to cast out demons in the closing section of Mark chapter 3. He follows up with a warning that ascribing the work of the Spirit to Satan is a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and is not forgivable. Pastor Steve explains the often misunderstood concept of the "unpardonable sin" and whether or not we as believers have anything to worry about regarding it.
Pastor Steve takes us through the middle section of Mark 3 where Jesus prays (all night, Luke tells us) before selecting the twelve disciples that will make up his inner circle. Steve gave us the backstory on the disciples we know more about from the rest of the New Testament and discussed why Jesus would choose *these twelve* men!
Pastor Steve teaches the opening story of Mark chapter 3, where Jesus again challenges the religious leaders by performing a healing on the Sabbath.
In the final two sections of Mark chapter 2, Jesus deals head on with the religious expectations of the Pharisees, revealing their intense care for rituals and traditions of men over and above the state of the heart. Jesus deals with both their outward pride over their fasting as well as their refusal to understand that the Sabbath was God's gift of rest to man. Instead they had made the Sabbath burdensome with their long list of rules and regulations.
Sometimes we don't get the full effect of the scenes in the Bible--so Pastor Steve took time to explain the role and reputation of a tax collector during the time that Jesus walked the streets of Galillee. Having done that we understand the power of the story of Matthew (Levi) being called by Jesus to "Follow me." in Mark 2! We are also called to have this connection to sinners, to be inviting them and spending time with them to share the good news of God's salvation with them.
Pastor Troy Warner from CC Lynchburg gave us a challenging and encouraging message from Revelation 3, the letter to the church of Philadelphia. Open doors are invitations from God's Holy Spirit to step out in faith, and we need to be ready to respond when we are given these opportunities, whether as a church, as a family, or individually.
