Mark
Mark Sermon Series
Raised for Restoration
July 29, 2018 • Joshua Foster Sr
Christianity’s hope isn’t that we’ll simply go to heaven when we die. It’s not that that’s a wrong statement but it’s just incomplete. The resurrection gives us hope in all those stories that Jesus has told about God’s kingdom, all of those prophecies of old in the scriptures proclaiming that there will be a time when all things will be made right, that there will be a world where there is no death, and where there are no tears.
The Suffering of Jesus
July 22, 2018 • Kevin Kleiman
In these moments on the cross, Jesus is drinking that cup. He’s draining it to the bottom. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that “For our sake [God] made him to be sin,” and in Galatians 3:13 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” So Jesus is being treated by God as Sin itself, as a very Curse to be wiped out. And it is for our sake.
What Gethsemane Says to Us
July 15, 2018 • Joe Rigney
Here is why this matters to you. This is the most faithful human being who ever lived. Beloved son of a happy father. And he’s coming to God, believing. “All things are possible for you.” And he is praying a big, bold prayer to a sovereign God. “If it’s possible, let the hour pass. Remove this cup from me.” And God doesn’t take the cup away. He doesn’t let the hour pass. The man came to Jesus and said, “If you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus said, “I will.” And then Jesus came to his Father and said, “If you will, let it pass.” And his Father said, “I won’t.”
Confrontations with Jesus
July 1, 2018 • Joe Rigney
Jesus praises the widow’s generosity, not because of the amount compared to other people, but because of the sacrifice that she makes. She gave until it pinched, until it hurt. The rich folks gave a lot, but they didn’t feel the pinch. She gave out of her poverty, and felt the cost. That’s a good test for my generosity: does my generosity mean that I am having to go without something? Is it costing me? Or is my generosity merely convenient?
Jesus and the Judgment of God
June 24, 2018 • Jonathan Parnell
And so that’s the tension we see over the next couple chapters. The Jewish leaders want to arrest Jesus, but they have to conspire and maneuver how to do that — and later in Chapter 14 they figure it out, but here in Chapter 12 is the place where we learn why these Jewish leaders hate Jesus so much. Why do these Jewish leaders want to destroy Jesus?
The Fig Tree, the Temple, and Prayer
June 17, 2018 • Joe Rigney
That’s what all of this thick symbolism is designed to say. From riding on the colt, to cursing the false fig tree, to turning over the tables, Jesus is attempting to remind God’s people what the temple was for. It’s not for show. The size was fine. What provoked him was the substitution of hustle and bustle, of all kinds of economic/spiritual activity for the real purpose of the temple, which was to gather people to pray, to worship, to obey the living God.
Jesus On Discipleship
June 10, 2018 • Jonathan Parnell
Jesus is addressing a problem here, and it’s not a problem with just James and John, it’s a problem in all of the disciples. And it’s not just a problem with their motives in this isolated event, it’s a problem with their understanding of greatness in general. The problem is that the disciples think the way the world thinks, which is not the way God thinks.
You Lack One Thing
June 3, 2018 • David Mathis
When Jesus says, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God,” he’s not just talking about his Father in heaven making it possible, but himself. That’s why he says, “Follow me.” He is good, because he is God. All things are possible with Jesus.
Jesus on Marriage and Children
May 27, 2018 • Jonathan Parnell
When it comes to the topic of divorce, the Pharisees refer back to a permission in Mosaic law, but Jesus refers back even before that to the intention of God in creation. Jesus goes back to Genesis, and he quotes from Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 2:24.
The Surprising Kingdom
May 20, 2018 • Joe Rigney
Jesus doesn’t want his disciples to announce his kingdom until they get it, until they understand the upside-down nature of the kingdom. So, for example, Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ. Jesus then says, “Good. You’ve got that I’m the Messiah. Now let me tell you what kind of Messiah I am. Let me enlarge your understanding of Messianic identity.” And so he begins to teach them about his coming betrayal and death and resurrection. He says it “plainly,” clearly, with no mystery. And then Peter’s Confession leads to Peter’s Confusion.
With Jesus Off the Mountain
May 13, 2018 • Jonathan Parnell
And here in Mark 9, Jesus, who had the appearance of average-looking First Century Jewish man, suddenly changed into something else. His clothes became radiant and intensely white — and this was not your mother’s bleach. Mark says that. This was an other-worldly, intense, shining kind of white. And because we have an imagination, we can kind of get the idea. This would have been stunning to see.
Jesus Is a Global Savior
April 22, 2018 • Jonathan Parnell
We can hardly overstate what is happening here, because for the first time in the Gospel of Mark, someone understands a parable from Jesus. And it wasn’t the Jewish leaders of the day, it wasn’t the men skilled in understanding the Hebrew Scriptures, and it wasn’t even the disciples who had been living with Jesus; instead, it was this Syrophonecian woman with a demon-possessed daughter who lived out way by the coast in the land of pagans. This woman, in every category, would have been the exact opposite of the Pharisees! — and the most important thing that is different about her is that she has faith. That is her connection to Jesus.
Surprised by Pharisaism
April 8, 2018 • Joe Rigney
It’s a sin to invent sins. Put another way, it’s a sin to establish your own righteousness. This is why Pharisaism is popular in every generation, and comes in every size, shape, and color. There is great power in being the cultural gatekeeper. If you establish your own tradition, and you fulfill your tradition, and you can convince others to follow your tradition, you’ve got a lot of power, especially if you can convince them that your tradition is from God, that your commandments are the doctrines of God.