Acts 3:1-10 Healing at the Beautiful Gate; “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you, in the name of Jesus rise and walk.” Everywhere that Jesus goes, people know of his power. They recognize him, and they rush to bring the sick to Jesus. That’s how we would do it as well, I think. If we had…
Acts 1:1-14 How do we share the good news of the resurrection in days like this? How can we use humor to share the joy we have in Christ? Do we have to be sober, somber, serious Christians all the time?
Mark 11:1-11 – Triumphal entryMark 14:3-9 – Woman anoints Jesus at Bethany Something interesting happens in these passages. There’s acombination of audacity and direction that occurs. Before Jesus entersJerusalem, he sends the disciples in to get the donkey. The arrangementshave already been made. They are just to go and pick up the rental donkeyfor Jesus…
Mark 13:1-8, 24-37 Coming out of the temple, the disciples are impressed by the size of the stones. They are impressed by the size of the buildings. Jesus is less than impressed. Jesus promises that one day, stone will not stay upon stone. That disturbs Peter, James, John, and Andrew. They want to know…
Mark 12:28-44 This passage comes after 2 passages about Pharisees and Sadducees asking their pet questions to Jesus (Render unto Caesar and Resurrection). Following his answers, this scribe comes with his question. Like the two prior questions, it is a sort of test. What the scribe has in mind exactly, we don’t know. Regardless of the scribe’s motivation, Jesus has…
Mark 12:1-12 [13-17] Parable of the wicked tenants; paying taxes to Caesar There is a power in this parable. That’s the whole point of parables. There’s a message that we can hear, or many messages that we can hear without being told straight out that we’re being idiots. We hold onto the idea that we understand who is the cornerstone…
Mark 10:17-31 Rich man is called to sell all he has and follow Jesus. We had technical difficulties this Sunday. The sermon text is below. As they journey towards Jerusalem, the disciples and Jesus have this encounter. It is an encounter that we have probably heard preached on a number of times over the years. And it is a passage that…
Mark 10:32-52 Passion prediction, Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, heals blind Bartimaeus. I don’t know if James and John understand what they’re asking here. I do know that we are the ones who reap what they have sown. We are the ones who both benefit from and have to live into their brashness. Can you…
Mark 8:27-9:8 Peter’s confession, passion prediction, bearing the cross, Transfiguration. This is a great sneak peek into what is going to happen in Lent. The journey to Jerusalem is really an expanded and extended version of what happens here. It opens with the crowd of disciples asserting who Jesus is, with names varying, until it comes to naming Jesus as the…
Mark 7:1-23 What defiles one comes from within There’s a lot going on here, and we need to be careful not to make this about all the ways that the Jews are unfaithful. As so often happens, people in the crowd are looking to defame the followers of Christ, and therefore Christ. They want to know why the disciples don’t wash…