A Walk to the Cross: The Full Extent of His Love

We start our "Walk to the Cross" with Jesus at the Last Supper.  This message was part of a Lord's Supper service that integrated the ordinance of the Lord's Supper with hymns and teaching.  The music breaks and the time for the taking of the bread and cup have been removed.

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Easter Message: What Is Jesus All About?

Do a Google image search for Jesus, and you will find a broad range of what people imagine when they picture Jesus.  And there are as many ideas about who Jesus really is/was and what he's all about as there are different pictures.

Some people use Jesus as a political tool.  Others think of Him as a source of religious rules and guilt.  Still others consider Him an object of fairy tales and wishful thinking.

This Easter, we looked at a Bible story where people questioned Jesus.  Their question, ultimately, was the same as ours:  What is Jesus all about?

Life of Jesus: Jesus and the Law, part 2

"Jesus, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

"Trade in your earthly treasure for treasure in heaven, then come and follow Me."

It's a familiar story, one most Christians have heard.  It's an important story, recorded in three different Gospels.

But what is it about?  The importance of giving to charity?  The "gospel of wealth"?  Today we looked at how this story is really about our relationship with the law and with God.

Life of Jesus: Jesus and the Law, part 1

Why did God create us?  That's one of the most important questions of life, and it is the question that religion attempts to answer.  What does God want from us as His creatures?  Many religions answer that God somehow needs us--our belief, our sacrifices, our service.  Others answer that God created us simply to obey His rules.  Jesus reveals something else.  This week, we look at how Jesus clashed with the religious leaders of His day over the purpose and use of the law, and what He reveals is one of the key theological truths that defines the nature of our everyday relationship with God.

Life of Jesus: Making Disciples

Most of us can think back to one or two coaches, teachers, or mentors that really made a difference in our lives.  One of the primary purposes of the ministry of Jesus was to teach and train His disciples.  Making disciples is also one of our primary missions as Christians.  Today we look at how Jesus taught His disciples and what we can learn about being and making disciples.

Life of Jesus: Compassion for the Crowds

We've been looking at the life of Jesus through the lens of the Gospel of Mark.  One unique aspect of Mark's Gospel is the vivid depiction of the crushing crowds that Jesus faced.  No matter how much Jesus tried to have time alone or with His disciples, the crowds constantly found Him.  I don't know about you, but that would get old for me really quick.

This week we found three principles that emerge as we look at how Jesus interacted with the crowds around Him.

Life of Jesus: Jesus, Friend of Sinners

None of us can stand before a holy God.  We are all in the same boat when it comes to sin.  We are all guilty and disgraced, powerless to overcome sin.  How does Jesus meet us as sinners?  How can we follow His example in the way we treat our fellow sinners in this world?

Life of Jesus: Christlike Authority

This week, we finished our 3-week look at the authority of Jesus, which is a central teaching in the Gospel of Mark.  This week, we look at how Jesus used His authority, and how He serves as an example to us as we relate to people in our lives.

Life of Jesus: Four Stories, Four Reactions

The thing that people noticed about Jesus right away in His ministry was how He demonstrated authority: authority in teaching, in casting out demons, in healing, and even forgiving sins.  Many people were simply amazed.  Others reacted negatively to this new authority revealed in Jesus.

There is a natural instinct in us to reject authority, and in these four stories, we see that instinct manifested in four different reactions we still see and experience today as we encounter Jesus.  How can we reject these negative reactions and embrace Jesus and His Kingdom?

Life of Jesus: Undercover Boss

There was nothing physically about Jesus that made Him look different from any other man.  He didn't have a supernatural glow, "no beauty or majesty that we might be attracted to him" (Isaiah 53:2).  But when He began to teach, people immediately realized that this was no ordinary man.  He was different from their teachers of the law, and He is different from every other religious figure who ever walked the earth.  Why?  His authority.  For the next few weeks, we'll be examining how Jesus revealed His authority during His ministry on earth.

Life of Jesus: Stepping Into the Calling

All of the story we've told so far--from creation to the promises given to Abraham and the Israelites, every heroic victory and every humbling disaster--culminates in the life of Jesus.  "In the past, God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son..." 

We will be going through the life of Christ by studying the Gospel of Mark.  This week, we looked at how, even though Jesus did not need to repent from sin, He still lived as our perfect example for repentance and stepping into the invitation to take hold of the Kingdom of God.