At the Feet of the Teacher | Introducing the Kingdom - Mark 4:21-41
September 8, 2024 • Sara Jane Nixon • Mark 4:21–41
4:21 A LAMP ON A STAND If a lamp doesn’t help people see, it is useless. Does your life show other people how to find God and how to live for him?
4:26 PARABLE OF THE GROWING SEED This parable reveals that spiritual growth is a continual, gradual process that is finally consummated in a harvest of spiritual maturity. We can understand the process of spiritual growth by comparing it to the slow but certain growth of a plant.
4:30 PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED Jesus used this parable to explain that although Christianity had small beginnings, it would grow into a worldwide community of believers. Jesus has faithful followers in every part of the world, and your faith, can join with that of others to accomplish great things.
4: 35 JESUS CALMS THE STORM The disciples panicked because the storm threatened to destroy them all, and Jesus seemed unaware and unconcerned. Think about the storms in your life---the situations that cause you great anxiety. Whatever your difficulty, you have two options. You can worry and assume that Jesus no longer cares, or you can resist fear, putting your trust in him. When you feel like panicking confess your need for God and then trust him to care for you.
At the Feet of the Teacher | Introducing the Kingdom - Mark 4:1-20
September 1, 2024 • Sara Jane Nixon • Mark 4:1–20
(prayer) Here is my heart, Father. Protect the living Word that resides within it. You are my defense from the enemy, my shelter from the heat of the battle. Plant my roots so deep in you that we become inextricably entwined, so that no trouble, no heartache, no temptation, no persecution can uproot what you have sown within me.
At the Feet of the Teacher | Introducing the Kingdom - Mark 3:20-35
August 18, 2024 • Sara Jane Nixon • Mark 3:20–35
(prayer) Lord, you know by experience how hard it is when those we love best understand us least. Yet when even our fathers and mothers reject us, you take us up and declare that we are yours and you are ours. You will never leave us nor forsake us. We praise you for a new birth and an everlasting heritage.
At the Feet of the Teacher | Introducing the Kingdom - Mark 3:7-19
August 11, 2024 • Sara Jane Nixon • Mark 3:7–19
Jesus was surrounded by followers, from whom he chose twelve to be his regular companions. He did not choose them because of their faith, because their faith faltered. He didn’t choose them because of their talent and ability, because no one stood out with unusual ability. The disciples represented a wide range of backgrounds and life experience, but apparently, they had no more leadership potential than those who were not chosen. The one characteristic they all shared was their willingness to obey and follow Jesus. After Jesus’ ascension, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and carried out special roles in the growth of the early church. We should not disqualify ourselves from service to Christ because we do not have the right credentials. Being a good disciple is simply a matter of following Jesus with a willing heart.
At the Feet of the Teacher | Introducing the Kingdom - Mark 2:18-3:6
August 4, 2024 • Sara Jane Nixon • Mark 2:18—3:6
(pray) Lord, help me to be ever aware of how little I know. Keep me from being like the Pharisees, busy with rules and rituals while you are busy being the sovereign God, doing things your way, crying “I AM” when I take exception to your timing or your methods. Your Word is a lamp to my feet, but you yourself are the WAY---living and dynamic, straight and true. I never want to resist you through arrogance or unbelief. I come now with utmost humility and pray, Lord, let your will be done in whatever way you choose.
At the Feet of the Teacher | Introducing the Kingdom - Mark 2:1-17
July 28, 2024 • Sara Jane Nixon • Mark 2:1–17
(prayer) Lord, make me an intercessor who opens the way for the needy to come to you. Give me faith that stands in the gap for those too weak to reach out for themselves. I want to care enough to pray them through the obstacles that separate them from you. I want to love enough to climb or dig or do whatever it takes to bring them into your manifest presence. Father, fill me with this passion and holy desperation, for I am surrounded by the lost.
At the Feet of the Teacher | Introducing the Kingdom - Mark 1:35-45
July 21, 2024 • Sara Jane Nixon • Mark 1:35–45
Why didn’t Jesus want the demons to reveal who he was?
· By commanding the demons to remain silent, he proved his authority and power over them.
· Jesus wanted the people to believe he was the Messiah because of what he said and did, not because of the demons’ words.
· He wanted to reveal his identity as the Messiah according to his timetable, not according to Satan’s timetable.
· Satan wanted the people to follow Jesus based on his popularity, not because he was the Son of God.
As to the lepers, Jesus touched “his” leper. The real value of a person is inside, not outside. Although a person’s body may be diseased or deformed, the person inside is no less valuable to God. No person is too disgusting for his touch. In a sense, we are all lepers, because we have all been deformed by the ugliness of sin. But God, by sending his Son Jesus, has touched us, giving us the opportunity to be healed. When you feel repulsed by someone, stop and remember how God feels about that person---and about you!
At the Feet of the Teacher | Introducing the Kingdom - Mark 1:16-34
July 14, 2024 • Sara Jane Nixon • Mark 1:16–34
Early in the morning you prayed, Lord, sometimes you prayed all night long You the Son of God, who worked miracles and banished devils, prayed and prayed and prayed. You knew the power source and returned repeatedly to it from strength. You knew the voice and came for instruction. Your ways are our path to the Father, O Lord, put the hunger in my heart to follow those footsteps that daily lead me to the holy resources of Home!
At the Feet of the Teacher | Introducing the Kingdom - Mark 1:1-15
July 7, 2024 • Sara Jane Nixon • Mark 1:1–15
As the Gospel of Mark begins, Jesus proclaims challenging Good News: “The time has come…The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news! God’s reign on earth, proclaimed by the prophets and hoped for by the Jews, has begun in the ministry of Jesus. The proclamation of Jesus demands a comprehensive response. We respond, in part, by “believing the good news,” accepting that what Jesus says is true and committing our lives to this truth. But Jesus calls for repentance, not just belief. To repent is to change one’s mind completely, to embrace a new way of life. As we accept the Good News of God’s reign, we put ourselves under his sovereignty. We worship, not merely through verbal communication with God, but by offering ourselves to him in obedience to his Word.
