Mark 4:21-25
God wants us to understand what he revealed through the teachings of Jesus and his apostles. But Jesus taught in parables, and the apostles' teachings are thousands of years old. How can we teach a world that isn't interested in trying to understand what Jesus taught us? In Jesus' example we find our mission -- to live the Truth in love.

Jesus taught in parables to hide the truth from those who did not really want to know the truth. The other side of that coin, so to speak, is that Jesus used the parables to reveal the truth to those who want to know and live by the truth. This is the lesson of Mark's account of the Parable of the Soils in Mark 4:1-20. The difference between receiving the truth or not is found in the fact that the few who would learn from Jesus asked him to help them understand.
In light of this, we learn a general principle of discipleship. Whatever "The Question" is in our lives at the moment, bring it to Jesus in order to learn the true answer.

Mark 3:20-35
Jesus' enemies accuse him of being the embodiment of Satan, because Jesus so easily casts out Satan's demons. Jesus quickly show them and everyone gathered how obvious it is that those enemies ignore the glaring Truth: Jesus is the embodiment of the one and only God.
The knowledge of the true God communicated by Jesus's teachings and actions sets free everyone held in Satan's chains of deception. Above all, Jesus' self-offering on the cross tells the Truth about God's love and God's justice. All who listen and believe are free forever, no matter what earthly governments are doing.

In Mark 2:23-28 some Pharisees accuse Jesus and his disciples of violating the Sabbath law by snacking on some grain while they walked through the fields. Jesus does not argue with their accusation. We notice, instead, that he teaches that there is a righteousness more important in God's sight than religious observance. He wants them to know that God gave some religious instructions for the benefit of humankind, not as a way to keep human beings "in line." Jesus teaches his disciples to honor God's heart as well as God's words.

In Mark 2:18-22, Jesus provides two vivid parables that give a vision of his revolutionary mission in the world. Jesus came to establish a New Covenant from God with humankind. This new covenant includes God's gracious gift of a new way of thinking about everything. Something sorely needed in today's chaos.

Recent, violent riots combine with the recent pandemic to raise questions about just what kind of moment we are living in. There is a temptation to fear, because the times are unfamiliar to us, and many things that seemed secure are now in question. In this message, we consider how the once-and-for-all hope in Christ gives Christians hope for this time and for all others.

In Luke 22, Luke makes it clear how we should understand Jesus' death on the cross. Jesus and his closest disciples share a Passover meal. While they do this, Jesus reinterprets the bread and the wine of that meal. He teaches his disciples to understand his death on the cross as a similar event to God's deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt. Jesus' death will establish God's "new covenant," the forgiveness of sins.
Click the link below to view, download, or print a manuscript version of the lesson from this Sunday. This was our first "drive-in" style worship gathering, due to COVID-19 restrictions. Our focus was upon sharing the Lord's Supper together. So, this lesson is more like a slightly longer "table talk" preparing for communion.

Sermon from Mark 2:13-17
Jesus calls Levi the tax collector to follow him and learn the way of the Kingdom of God. On further thought, this is a surprising choice that offers a lot of hope to the rest of us.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to our churches being closed for about two months now. What if we can't go back to the way things were before? What if we can reopen our churches only at a drastically reduced capacity? Times like these urge us to look to Lord Jesus for guidance. The story of the healing of a paralytic in Mark 2:1-12 suggests that we need to consider that Jesus might be doing something new with the Church today. To preserve genuine worship gatherings in this time of social distancing, might house churches be a way forward? Might it be that Jesus is sending his Church home?

Mark 1:40-45
Jesus compassionately heals a leper from his dread disease. On closer inspection, though, we learn that Jesus was angry for several important reasons. By his example, then, we gain some important insights about how to respond constructively when we get angry.