This weekend, as we listen to Jesus teach us about the kingdom of God, we’ll have the opportunity to consider the gift that the Spirit gives as he gives us such faith that trusts Jesus alone. We’ll be looking at Mark 10:17-31.
Things Jesus Said #4 - About Following Him
You can’t be a Christian and not carry a cross. It is a part and parcel of following Jesus. It’s part of going after him. It is an essential part of being a Christian. The cross is not just something that we believe. It is something that we carry. It is something we pick up as we follow Jesus day after day. That’s why we aren’t just Christians, we are Crosstians – because that’s what we do. We carry a cross. Yes, Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, that when Christ bids a person come and follow, he bids him come and die. It’s a cross-bearing thing to which he calls us. He calls us to come and die. But in dying to ourselves, we rise in him.
As we listen to Jesus teach us about following him, we’ll make some special application of carrying our cross to our mission and ministry here. We’ll be looking at Mark 8:27-38.
Things Jesus Said #3 - About Sabbath
What would it be like to run, to really run? To just run without a care in the world. To fly like a bird set free from its cage. To leap and frolic like a calf set free from its pen. To roar like a muscle car in the salt flats. Yes, what would be like to run, to really run, in this life that God has given us? The disciples knew that life, and now we do too. It is life under Him in his kingdom, serving him in righteousness, purity, and innocence. An Ascension sermon on Mark 2:18-28.
Things Jesus Said #2 - About Family
Not only is Jesus our Savior, but he is also an insightful and perfect Teacher from God. He has important things to teach us about our life with him, for him, and our life with one another. Over the next month, we’ll look at five bite-sized sayings of Jesus that shape our lives. Today, as we unpack another of these short little sayings of Jesus, we’re going to unpack Jesus’ teaching about family. On Mother’s Day, we want to focus on Jesus’ interaction with his family and what Jesus teaches about the true nature of family. This week we’ll hear his word About Family (Mark 3:20-35).
Things Jesus Said #1 - About Welcoming Children
People say a lot of things about children. One of the mantra’s I remember hearing about children is this: “Children should be seen and not heard.” My parents and grandparents were probably trying to get me to be quiet so that the adults could talk. I haven’t heard that saying in quite a while, but the idea still lurks around. Children can be seen as a nuisance, in the way of getting and doing what I really want to do, insignificant and even a hindrance. “These shouldn’t be here.”
But Jesus teaches a different way. As we begin a new series on the short little sayings of Jesus, Jesus teaches us to value children and to welcome them. And when we do that, when we care for children, when we welcome them in Jesus’ name, Jesus says something astounding to us: “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me!” Yes, when you welcome a child into your arms in the name of Jesus, you are welcoming Jesus into your lap.
Wow! That’s gives a whole new image to family devotions, to classroom devotions, to the work that parents do, to the work that Christian teachers do. We’re kicking off a new series on these short little sayings of Jesus. We’ll be looking at Mark 9:30-37.