Christ the King Sunday

Mark 13:24-37 – November 24, 2024

Text: Mark 13:24-37On this Christ the King Sunday, we wrap up our year-long study of the book of Mark. Jesus says to those who follow Him – His disciples then, and us now – to keep watch and be alert. We are called to be future-focused followers and to allow that, and not the fears…

Mark 13:1-23 – November 17, 2024

Text: Mark 13:1-23In the penultimate sermon of our series on the Gospel of Mark, we study Chapter 13; a passage that has often been used to teach us to be fearful. As we read the passage in its original context, we hear Jesus calling for His followers to be faithful in the midst of hardship…

Mark 12:35-44 – November 10, 2024

Text: Mark 12:35-44Today’s passage from Mark contains the familiar story of a widow giving her last two coins to the Temple as an act of sacrificial giving. It comes after Jesus warns against those in power who cause injustice by taking advantage of others, including widows and their possessions. The story shows us that there…

Mark 12:28-34 – November 3, 2024

Mark 12:28-34To be close to the Kingdom of Heaven is to embrace the radical call of love that God has put on our life. This love is not only for the God who changes, redeems, restores, and liberates us from the power of sin, but it is also a love that forces us to not…

Mark 12:1-27 – October 27, 2024

Text: Mark 12:1-27In today’s reading from the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is recognized as one with integrity and a sense of imparitiality, yet the Pharisees and Herodians try to trap Jesus with questions of loyality to Rome, the controlling power in the world. In the current day, we are in the midst of a political…

Mark 11:11-13 – October 20, 2024

Text: Mark 11:11-13We continue our study of the Gospel of Mark after Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem (which we typically read on Palm Sunday). In this passage, Jesus curses a fig tree that looks healthy but does not produce, despite being out of season. This fig tree represents the brokenness of what happens when who…

Mark 10:46-52 – October 13, 2024

Text: Mark 10:46-52Throughout our study of the book of Mark, Jesus often shows that the grace of God moves in powerful ways in and among the people who have been dealt a bad hand in life. In today’s passage, Jesus heals a blind beggar named Bartimaeus and is called the “Son of David” for the…

Mark 10:32-45 – October 6, 2024

Text: Mark 10:32-45As Jesus foretells His death and resurrection while approaching Jerusalem, He also explains to His disciples that one must become a servant of all to become great. In learning what it is to be obedient and embrace holy living, we find that our lives are inextricably linked to the people we come into…

Mark 10:17-31 – September 29, 2024

Text: Mark 10:17-31How is it that we are saved? In today’s scripture reading, a rich man asks Jesus the way to have eternal life. Jesus responds by issuing a call to live with a sacrificial faith. We must also accept God’s grace, because the kingdom of God is not based on what we’ve accomplished or…

Mark 10:1-16 – September 22, 2024

Text: Mark 10:1-16As we continue through the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is asked about divorce by the Pharisees. In the context of John the Baptist’s death which resulted from his disapproval of Herod’s divorce and remarriage, this question can be seen as an attempt to get Jesus in trouble as well. Marriage is one of…