In an era of political tension, it’s easy to misuse the Bible for political gain. As the events at Willow Creek church demonstrate, you can preach Jesus Christ every Sunday morning and still use it for demonic purposes if your focus is on yourself, and not God. Jesus says anything that is standing in the way of salvation is demonic.… Read the rest
Mark
Sermon: Cleanliness and Godliness
The few times Jesus gets mad in the Bible is when he is dealing with the Pharisees. In Mark 7, the Pharisees are criticizing the disciples for eating with unclean hands. Jesus fires right back to the Pharisees, mentioning their unclean minds. And he declares all food clean.
It’s not that Jesus is against religious traditions. But Jesus gets mad … Read the rest
Sermon: Asleep in the Stern
In Mark 4: 35-41, Jesus and the disciples were on a boat as a severe storm hits. As the disciples were terrified, Jesus was asleep in the stern of the boat. Eventually, they anxiously call on Jesus, and with one word he silences the storm.
The Bible contains many storms, and when called, God will calm them. Likewise, we have … Read the rest
Sermon: The Greatest! Shrub! … of All!
In America, bigger is always better. But in the parable of the mustard seed, Jesus tells us that God uses what is small, weak and broken in the world, and when the time is right grows it into something big, and with an evasive power.
There are some lessons we get from scripture that are obvious. But in other instances, … Read the rest
Sermon: Christ’s career as a home-wrecker
As a Christian, the problems of society can be overwhelming. Children are being separated from their families at the border. War is devastating regions around the world. White supremacists are staking claim to our country.
Jesus says we cannot solve any of these problems without getting to the root of the issue: evil. Jesus tells us that the world is … Read the rest
Sermon: Saving Sabbath
The Pharisees criticized Jesus and his disciples for doing work on the Sabbath. Jesus noted that the Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath.
This isn’t to say that the Sabbath is not important. God gives us the Sabbath as a gift for three reasons: rhythm, resistance and restoration. The Sabbath helps us find rhythm in … Read the rest
Sermon: The Sense of an Ending
The original Gospel of Mark ends in a strange way:
“So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” –Mark 16:8
The Gospel ends with a preposition, and essentially says nothing happens after Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome were … Read the rest
Homily: Stop Making Sense
Days before Jesus was sentenced to death, a woman busted open a jar of very expensive perfume to pour it on Jesus. While some rebuked her for “wasting” her very valuable possession which she could have instead given to the poor, Jesus praised her, saying, “She poured perfume on my body … to prepare me for my burial.”
This woman … Read the rest
Lenten Devotional: Saturday, March 24
By Adrienne Bumpers
Mark 8: 22-26: They came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him “Can you see … Read the rest
Lenten Devotional: Wednesday, Feb. 21
by Julie Dotterweich Gunby
“There is conflict—God be blessed.
When a sore spot is touched,
there is conflict, there is pain…
No one wants to have a sore spot touched,
and therefore a society with so many sores twitches
when someone has the courage to touch it and say:
‘You have to treat that. You have to get rid of … Read the rest