Mark
Jesus & His Kingdom
True Greatness
June 16, 2019 • Chad Francis
When James and John’s request for power and influence alienates their friends, Jesus takes this moment to teach His disciples about the nature of true greatness. True greatness is found, not in selfishness, but in service. And because He is truly great, Jesus serves His people in a way that frees them to become others-focused servants. Are you selfish or a servant?
Camels And Needles
June 2, 2019 • Chad Francis
In order to enter the Kingdom of God you must receive it like a little child. What keeps us from this? Our own attempts to be good enough or find other sources of goodness to do for us what only Jesus can do for us. In this story, Jesus loves a rich man enough to press him on his idolatry and reveals why He is worth giving up every other source of salvation for.
Faith
May 12, 2019 • Chad Francis
What does faith look like when the pain of life in a broken world causes you to doubt? In this beloved story, Jesus meets a desperate dad with healing and grace, not because he overcomes all his doubt, but because he asks for help in the midst of it all. This is the essence of faith. Who or what are you depending on to help you?
A Mountaintop Experience
May 5, 2019 • Chad Francis
Six days after calling His disciples to die to themselves, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up on a mountain to reassure them that this counterintuitive path leads to the glory they long for. As Jesus’ glory is revealed on the mountain, the disciples are transformed. We too are transformed as we behold the glory of Jesus. What glory are you beholding?
The Counterintuitive Life
April 28, 2019 • Chad Francis
Jesus says some shocking things to His disciples, but perhaps none more than the prediction that He would suffer and die and rise again. In Peter’s response, we see our need to die to ourselves in order to experience true life with Jesus. Where is Jesus calling you to die to your way of doing things, that He might lead you into true life?
Walking Trees
April 14, 2019 • Chad Francis
After 8 chapters, the disciples finally realize who Jesus is. But before they get there, Jesus has to open their eyes. We too need Jesus to open our eyes, and like the healing of the blind man at Bethsaida, this is a progressive process. Jesus increasingly opens our eyes so we can increasingly enjoy his salvation.
The Heart of the Problem
March 31, 2019 • Chad Francis
The religious leaders of Jesus’ day believed brokenness to be a problem outside of themselves, to be addressed with tweaks to external performance. Jesus cuts to the heart of the issue and shows that the real problem is actually on the inside; unless our hearts are changed we will never experience the true and lasting change we all long for.
The Good Shepherd
March 24, 2019 • Chad Francis
While on His way to a spiritual retreat, Jesus gets interrupted by a crowd of thousands of needy people. Filled with compassion, He puts His plans on hold and begins to teach the crowd. Then Jesus preforms two incredible miracles, showing that He is the kind of caring leader who always provides for His people’s needs. Will you run to Jesus like the Gennesarets or forget to trust Him like the disciples in these scenes?
Joining Jesus on Mission
March 17, 2019 • Chad Francis
After five chapters of preparation, Jesus sends His disciples out to spread the good news of the gospel. Today, Jesus continues to call people into relationship with Himself and sends them out into everyday life to tell the world of His life-changing grace. Have you experienced Jesus’ grace? Where has He sent you on mission?
An Anticlimactic Homecoming
March 10, 2019 • Chad Francis
At the peak of His fame, Jesus returns to His hometown. But rather than receive Him gladly, the people reject Jesus because they’re stuck in their own version of who they think He is. Today we face the same struggle when the real Jesus comes crashing into our ideas about Jesus. Will we, like the people of Nazareth, reject the real Jesus or will we by faith come to Jesus to experience His power and healing grace?
The Myth Of Power
March 3, 2019 • Christian Schlenker
As Jesus has traveled along the sea, he has performed incredible feats. He has commanded the wind and the waves, the demons and the spiritual powers, but as he arrives at the shore he will face his biggest test of power yet: disease and death. Will Jesus power be enough? Can he defeat sickness and death?