So I have a younger brother whose name is Aaron. He’s five years younger than me, and one time like almost twenty years ago now, we were in central Europe together and we had this crazy thing happen to us — and I was just reminded about this la

Jesus and the Judgment of God

Jun 25th, 2018

So here in Mark Chapter 12, Jesus is in the city of Jerusalem and he’s teaching (like we saw last week), but here at the start of Chapter 12, in verses 1–12, Jesus gives us a parable that’s very important. And this parable is important because

The Fig Tree, the Temple, and Prayer

Jun 17th, 2018

Today’s passage is thick with symbolism. It’s a difficult passage unless you have the crucial background knowledge to get the meaning of the symbolism. And so we’re going to spend a lot of time looking at the Old Testament in order to understan

Jesus On Discipleship

Jun 10th, 2018

So I think the best way to start today’s sermon is to step back for a minute and recall where we started six months ago with the Gospel of Mark. In the very first sermon, six months ago, we saw right away that Mark’s Gospel is different from th

You Lack One Thing

Jun 3rd, 2018

The story begins with a man running up to Jesus and kneeling before him and asking, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Maybe some in the room hear that question and think, This sermon isn’t for me. You’re a secular person,

Jesus on Marriage and Children

May 27th, 2018

So when we open the Bible there’s a certain kind of posture we need at the heart-level that’s really foundational to how we read it. It’s pretty simple, but it goes like this: to the extent that we find something strange in the Bible or unaccep

The Surprising Kingdom

May 20th, 2018

Let’s orient this passage in the larger narrative of Mark’s gospel. From the beginning, Mark announces that his is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. However, the revelation of the fullness of Jesus’s divine and Messianic identity does

With Jesus Off the Mountain

May 13th, 2018

Before we get started this morning in Mark Chapter 9, I want to read something to you from somewhere later in the New Testament. It’s found in the book of 2 Peter Chapter 1, in verses 16–18 — if you want to turn there, 2 Peter Chapter 1.We’ve m

Following Jesus in a Shaming Society

May 8th, 2018

Mark 8:22–38We live in an increasingly shaming society. The internet, no doubt, has made it easier than ever to shame someone in public. It’s never taken so little effort to shame someone else in the eyes of many people as you can with modern m

Coming Into the Presence of the Omnipresent God

Apr 30th, 2018

One of the basic, fundamental claims of Christianity is that God is omnipresent. Psalm 139 is the greatest celebration of God’s omnipresence in the Bible. God’s omnipresence is the reality that wherever you go, God is there. The living God is p

Jesus Is a Global Savior

Apr 22nd, 2018

So today in Chapter 7 of Mark’s Gospel we are entering into a very new and important section of the book, and in order for us to understand how important this is, we need to back up for a minute and remember a foundational truth about God: it’s

Surprised by Pharisaism

Apr 8th, 2018

Mark’s gospel revolves around the interaction of a number of different groups. You’ve got Jesus. You have the disciples, who follow him and who are being trained to be sent out by him (6:7). You have the crowds; Jesus ministers among them, teac

The Gospel of Hope

Apr 2nd, 2018

One of the great disparities between the first Easter and our Easter today is that today Easter has become that time when we as Christians at least appear to have everything together — and that’s not a bad thing; I’m not saying that — but this

Jesus Full of Power and Mercy

Mar 26th, 2018

So today we’re looking at two events in the life of Jesus that happen back to back here in the Gospel of Mark Chapter 6, and I think the key to these two events is stated here in verse 52. Notice at the end of verse 51 that the disciples were “

The Hometown Kid, The Disciples, and The King

Mar 18th, 2018

This sermon breaks down the first half of Mark 6 into three sections. I’m going to take each one and make some observations about the meaning of the passage and then apply it at each stage. We’ve got Jesus the Hometown Kid, the Disciples’ Missi

A Daddy and His Daughter

Mar 11th, 2018

Last weekend, Pastor Michael and I took our daughters to Frozen on Ice. Let’s just say we were not the only ones there on a daddy-daughter date. There is something about putting Disney together with ice-skating makes it almost irresistible to t

Jesus the Hero

Mar 4th, 2018

Previously, in the gospel of Mark, when we last left our band of misfit Galilean fishermen, they had narrowly avoided death by drowning, thanks to the actions of their fearless rabbi, a seemingly unimpressive misfit himself, growing up as a car

Jesus Is Sovereign

Feb 25th, 2018

So we have just heard a story about Galilean fishermen in 30AD, and there’s a good chance that when you hear that phrase — “Galilean fishermen in 30AD” — your first thought is probably not that you have a lot in common with those guys.When we t

Jesus Makes the Difference

Feb 18th, 2018

So one night when I was in college, I’m at this Wendy’s fast-food restaurant — it’s the one right off I-40 by McGee’s Crossroads, in North Carolina — and I’m there sitting with this guy who was a brand-new Christian, and I’ve got my Bible open,

Who Do You Say Jesus Is?

Feb 11th, 2018

Speaking on national radio in 1942, and then published ten years later in 1952 in the book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis made the argument often called “Lord, Liar, Lunatic.” He said,I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish

He Came For the Sick

Jan 28th, 2018

Let’s begin with a recap of Mark 1. John the Baptist appears, fulfilling Old Testament prophecy and preparing the way for the arrival of the Mighty One. Then Jesus of Nazareth appears and embodies Israel’s history by being baptized, anointed wi

Jesus Is the Healer

Jan 21st, 2018

So this morning we’re in Part Three of Mark Chapter 1, and there are three things we learn about Jesus in this passage. I want to go ahead and tell you what they are. Three things we learn:Jesus came down to bring us up. Jesus creates an unlike

Following Jesus and the Gospel of God

Jan 14th, 2018

This passage is about the arrival of God’s kingdom in Jesus. As Pastor Jonathan said, we can’t avoid reckoning with Jesus. He forces our hand. It’s also about the beginning of his ministry and his call to his disciples. But before we explore Je

Jesus Is the Son of God

Jan 7th, 2018

So the person who wrote the “Gospel of Mark” was a guy named Mark who was a missionary and friend of both the apostle Paul and the apostle Peter. And Mark starts his Gospel for us here with a very clear, straightforward statement. Look at what

Run for Joy

Dec 31st, 2017

Happy New Year! It’s really sweet to be with you and bring in the New Year with this message. I am crazy about making resolutions. Even if it’s not New Year’s, I’m making resolutions all the time. I make them in my sleep. I’m a lot better at ma