Sermons on Mark (Page 3)
Trusted Authority
Our focus on Jesus as “trusted authority” will guide us into a time of reflection about trusting Jesus as the one who stills the waters at certain times, bringing peace and calm, and who troubles the waters at other times.
Follow Me
In some ways our scripture passage for today is similar to last Sunday’s text. Last Sunday we heard about the call of the first disciples from the Gospel of John. Today we hear of the same events but from Mark’s perspective. The earliest disciples, two sets of brothers, Simon/Andrew and James/John, were hard at work in their trade of fishing. They seemed to drop everything and wordlessly follow after Jesus in response to Jesus’ invitation to, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.”
The Promise of Baptism
Baptism is an invitation to new beginnings, an invitation to recommit to the light and love of Jesus. We have entered the season of Epiphany, a time to reflect who Jesus is, what Jesus means in our lives, and how we are going to live it out in our daily lives.
Preparations
Our scripture passages during Advent remind us of important and meaningful preparations during this season…the preparation of our hearts and spirits, our individual lives and our world to receive God once again, incarnate – in the flesh – in the person of Jesus.
The Advent Journey
Advent is about anticipation. Our gospel reading from Mark encourages us to “keep awake,” to pay attention because God is about to do a remarkable thing.
Generous Discipleship: Relationships
Our scripture passage for today is the account of the widow’s mite. Jesus was with the disciples outside of the Temple as people were making their donations to the Temple treasury. Many rich people put in a large sum of money, possibly drawing the attention, head nods and approval of others. The widow, placing two small coins in the treasury, was noticed by no one but Jesus. Jesus pointed her out and said that her gift was greater than any other because she gave it out of her poverty rather than out of abundance.
Generous Discipleship: Abundance
We’ll spend some time today contemplating what it means to think about scarcity and abundance in the midst of a pandemic. How does COVID-19 affect our hopes and dreams, our vision and planning for ministry in 2021? Will we have enough? As individuals? As a congregation? What is God’s call in this unique time and will we be able to answer it?
A Little Is Enough
This Sunday features Pastor Christopher’s leadership after he’s spent some time away in care for family and baby Isaiah! Christopher’s message brings the familiar message of the story of the Good Samaritan…
In Response
As we conclude this journey through the Gospel of Mark, we arrive at both ending and beginning. This selected text includes a brief excerpt from the drama of Jesus’ arrest. But this isn’t where the story ends. When the world is at its darkest, the sun begins to rise. Just as Jesus has defied social norms throughout his life, he even defies death.
Bittersweet
As we continue in the passion narrative in the Gospel of Mark, we come to a moment that is among the most holy in our Worship experience: the sacrament of Holy Communion