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The Gospel of Mark

Part 14: Dig Deeper

September 24, 2023 • Pastor Luke Uran • Mark 15:1–20

As we wrap up our series on Mark’s gospel, we look at Jesus on the day he was crucified. Then and now, his identity doesn’t give anyone the option of fence-sitting. Do we follow him as Lord, or do we mock him? And before we say, “I’d never mock Jesus,” let’s go deeper and look at what that means.

Part 13: Rejection

September 17, 2023 • Pastor Luke Uran • Mark 14:27–72

Peter makes a heartfelt promise to stand by Jesus, then quickly breaks it. Three times. Know the feeling, from either side? Jesus suffered not only physically, but also by being rejected. That was for us, too.

Part 12: How Then Shall We Live?

September 10, 2023 • Pastor Luke Uran • Mark 13

A central belief of Christianity is that Jesus will return. During a time of spiritual decline in America, his instructions regarding this give us needed perspective, peace … and hope.

Part 11: Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes … and Me?

September 3, 2023 • Pastor Luke Uran • Mark 12:13–44

Jesus is challenged by religious people whose zeal turned them self-righteous, judgmental and generally obnoxious. His responses have much to teach us. And a close look at the Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes might have much to show us about ourselves.

Part 9: Touchy Topics

August 13, 2023 • Pastor Luke Uran • Mark 10

Divorce. Marriage. Kids. Money. Nothing controversial in any of that, right? Jesus addresses it all here. He has a way of getting into the most uncomfortable areas of our lives — going past formulas and to the heart of the matter.

Part 8: Redefining Greatness

July 30, 2023 • Pastor Luke Uran • Mark 9:30–50

After a literal mountaintop experience, Jesus’ disciples have an ill-advised discussion of which among them would be greatest. Instead, Jesus would show them the upside-down kingdom, where the greatest life is a life of serving others.

Part 7: A Cross-Shaped Life

July 16, 2023 • Pastor Luke Uran • Mark 8:31–38

What at first glance seems to be an incomplete miracle—Jesus almost healing a blind man—preceded a much larger message for his disciples and for us today. We can be partially blind to what Jesus truly calls us to do and be.

Part 6: Dinner and a Storm

July 9, 2023 • Pastor Luke Uran • Mark 6:30–52

Provision and protection. Those may be the two things we ask God for most. Our passage this week recounts two successive events which show how God answers those prayers in ways far beyond what we ask or imagine. And by the way: Both events were preceded by rest—another topic we’ll look into.

Part 5: Blessed are the Broken

July 2, 2023 • Pastor Luke Uran • Mark 5:22–42

Two stories converge. Two people desperately need healing—one for herself, the other for his daughter—so they trust Jesus to do what no one else can. In our own brokenness, how much do we trust him?

Part 4: Soil and Seed

June 25, 2023 • Pastor Luke Uran • Mark 4:1–20

Jesus described the condition of a person’s heart toward God’s Word as one of four soil types. If we’re honest, most of us can point to times in our life when any of those four conditions have been true. This message offers the chance to take a close look at our heart condition today.

Part 3: Jesus and Controversy

June 18, 2023 • Pastor Luke Uran • Mark 2:18–28, Mark 3:1–34

Jesus wasn’t what most people expected as the Messiah. When the religious leaders of his day couldn’t dismiss his works and couldn’t out-argue him, they plotted to kill him. His responses, both in words and actions, can guide us in navigating our culture today.

Part 2: A Life of Sacrifice

June 11, 2023 • Pastor Luke Uran • Mark 1:11–45

Following Jesus changes everything about our lives. As we see throughout this passage in Mark’s gospel, he does care about our day-to-day needs and wants—but he cares far more about our eternal, spiritual condition. Do we trust him to re-orient our desires?

Part 1: Good News, Even in the Wilderness

June 4, 2023 • Pastor Luke Uran • Mark 1:1–13

As we begin a new series on the Gospel of Mark, we notice something right away. This reads very differently that the other gospels, even though all proclaim the Good News. Today we jump right in with accounts of Jesus’ baptism and his temptation in the wilderness. Those events have much to teach us about the heart of God.