The gospel of John begins with these words; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in… Read More »
The Ministry Begins and The First Disciples Chosen
To this point in the gospel of Mark, we have seen how Mark sketches out the character of Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy of the Messiah who is to come and is now here. Jesus is the Messiah who identifies with sinful humanity without succumbing to sin himself. Jesus can connect… Read More »
The Temptation of Jesus (Mark 1:12-13)
One of my favorite C.S. Lewis books is The Screwtape Letters. In this fictional account of spiritual warfare and human temptation, Screwtape (a demon) is writing to his nephew Wormwood (a demon) about the temptation of a man in England that they call the patient. “In them, Screwtape advises his nephew, Wormwood, on how best to… Read More »
The Baptism of Jesus (Mark 1:9-11)
Let’s begin with a question; Why did Jesus need to be baptized, if John’s baptism was for the repentance of sins? Jesus didn’t need to repent because he had not sinned, nor would sin, so, again why the baptism? I believe the answer is simple. The baptism of Jesus was not for the repentance of… Read More »
John Prepares the Way (Mark 1:1-8)
The gospel of Mark is the shortest of the gospels and one that gives a 30,000 feet flyover of the ministry of Jesus. Mark’s audience is Roman believers who are primarily gentiles. One of the reasons we know this is because Matthew begins with the genealogy of Jesus and Mark begins with the ministry of… Read More »
What is it going to take?
“8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.” Colossians 2:8-10 Christianity is… Read More »
A New School Year
As kids all across our country return to school, we need to remember the battle that is taking place in those classrooms. The battle before our kids and families is a battle for truth verses the lie. The truth is we are created in the image of God, and we are created as male and… Read More »
Holy Week (2024)
The words from John 19:30, “It is Finished” have been on my heart and mind since the end of last week. It is those words that speak finality into existence when it comes to the death of sin. Jesus had finished the work that had been set before Him by the Father. It was Christ… Read More »
The Walking Dead (Sardis)
On October 31, 2010 the hit Television series “The Walking Dead” first aired. Over 11 seasons the series focused on the fantasy idea of a Zombie Apocalypse. The idea of Zombies comes from Haitian Vodou. Within the history or ritual practice of Haitian Vodou, Zombies would have their soul stolen and would become as the… Read More »
Where did the Love Go?
Over the next 7 weeks our church is going to examine our mission statement through the lens of looking at the seven churches of the book of Revelation. Our mission statement is “A church for all people to meet and deepen their relationship with King Jesus.” We are in year 3 of this mission statement… Read More »