Mark

 “At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Mark 1:9-11  The first chapter of the Gospel of Mark is direct and straight to the point. We don’t read…

“And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.” Mark 16:6 It has only been a couple weeks since Christians all around the world celebrated the most climatic event ever, the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. No other event has ever changed and shaped history as the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. No wonder…

And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!”  So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others;…

Gospel Investment, It’s a Beautiful Thing “But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.” Mark 14:6 “And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.” Mark 14:9 One thing we understand as Americans is investment.  In every aspect of our lives we are looking for something (or someone) to invest our time, money…

“…When will these things be…?” Christ’s disciples asked when Jesus spoke of the impending destruction of the temple (Mark 13: 1-4). The disciples knew something bad of epic proportions was coming if the temple of God would end in obliteration. The disciples’ concerns mounted as they sought to know the timing of this cataclysmic event. Maybe the disciples were content with the response Jesus gave. However, I found His explanation left my head spinning with new questions. Jesus talks about…

Last week we received a special offering at our church for Missions projects we feel God has called us to participate in this year. We called it a “Hands and Feet” offering because we believe we are commissioned to be His hands and feet around the globe and across the street. As the elder team received the initial report of the total amount given, we were blown away. In the first week of giving, we reached 93% of our initial…

Many years ago, I had a conversation with a man who was an adamant atheist. Somehow it had come up that I was a Christian. He ranted about how people who believe in that “Jesus nonsense” are complete fools, and you have to have completely lost your mind to trust in such a silly fairy tale. In the course of the conversation, I told him about what my life had been like before I became a follower of Christ and…

At least by modern standards, the Son of God was a failure when it came to evangelism. Nowhere is that more evident than in the account of Jesus’ brief encounter with the so called ‘rich young ruler’. All the Synoptic writers include this encounter between the majestic Son of God and this moral young man seeking salvation. But Jesus violates every known stricture that modern evangelism says is so important when it comes to personal evangelism, For one, this young man…

Mark 9:48-50 –  “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us.” One of the things we have all observed before is the disciples sticking their sandals in their mouths.  This…

 “And he looked up and said, ‘I see people, but they look like trees, walking.’ Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again, and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.” Mark 8:24-25  Recently Neil Silverberg asked a group of us to help him with the music he did for the Seder at TCC. One of the songs had a drum introduction which unfortunately was both simple and hard because of how it…