9/23/2012

Pastor Phil Perry

Mark 12

God’s Servant: The Gospel according to Mark

Government and our responsibility to it…

Sometime during the Passion Week, the religious leaders continued to press their case against Jesus. They were looking for an excuse to get rid of Him; even using strange bedfellows to trip Him up. The first assault wave focused on the growing tension between the religious and the political. What side would Jesus fall on, thus giving ammunition to the other side to bring about His demise…

9/16/2012

Pastor Phil Perry

Mark 11-12

God’s Servant: The Gospel according to Mark

Authority

Tuesday of the Passion Week and Jesus is finally confronted by the religious leaders. I am sure they are upset about the entry on Sunday and the temple cleansing on Tuesday; but they also fear the reaction of the crowds. They demand of Jesus to know by what authority He does what He does. Jesus, in an indirect and brilliant fashion, points out their culpability in not accepting Him. Jesus has clearly demonstrated who He is and from where He comes; He has shown authority over sickness and sin and Satan. It is up to them to believe…

9/2/2012

Pastor Phil Perry

Mark 11

God’s Servant: The Gospel according to Mark

Fig Trees, Corruption and Faith

Monday of the Passion Week finds Jesus with a fig-less tree and a temple overrun with merchants. The fig tree incident has caused some to wonder about Jesus psyche on the last week. They see Him as angry and stressed out. I think the better understanding here though is He was disappointed. Friday is on His mind, no doubt, but He is disappointed that in almost 1,500 years Israel has still not gotten what God is about. Could He say the same thing about us after 2,000 years?

8/26/2012

Pastor Phil Perry

Mark 11

God’s Servant: The Gospel according to Mark

The 1st Palm Sunday

Jesus Passion week begins with the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. For the first time He is publicly called the Messiah and aspirations for the coming Kingdom are expressed by the crowds. Can you imagine the wonder and bewilderment for those in Jerusalem who had no idea what was going on? Who is this guy, what does this all mean? Can He be trusted? Jesus wants to be King in our lives, is He?

8/19/2012

Pastor Phil Perry

Mark 10

God’s Servant: The Gospel according to Mark

Not Being Served

An embarrassing power grab and a miracle occur on the road to Jerusalem. James and John sense the importance of this trip, but wrongly assume Jesus is going to set up His kingdom. They selfishly pursue their own dreams and expose their own wrong motives for following Christ. Too often we are just like them…

8/12/2012

Pastor Greg Olson

Mark 10

God’s Servant: The Gospel according to Mark

Eternal Life will Cost you Everything

A respected man humbly asks Jesus the most important question all of us need the answer to. What must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus answer surprises him. It will cost him all he holds dear. Be honest with yourself, how far will you go to follow Jesus? He asks us to give it all to him, and promises that it will be worth it.

8/5/2012

Pastor Greg Olson

Mark 10

God’s Servant: The Gospel according to Mark

Jesus Finds the Insignificant Important

As Jesus gets closer to Jerusalem we catch a glimpse at the things that are important to him. He cares more that we follow the spirit of the law rather than trying to be justified by a technicality and he always has a heart for the otherwise overlooked. Do you have a heart like Jesus? What is important to you?

7/29/2012

Pastor Phil Perry

Mark 9

God’s Servant: The Gospel according to Mark

Kingdom Life Characteristics

A surprising incident arises with the disciples…they sound uncomfortably like us! Jesus overhears them arguing about who is the greatest and He uses it to explain what the Kingdom will really look like. His words should resonate with us today…

7/22/2012

Pastor Phil Perry

Mark 9

God’s Servant: The Gospel according to Mark

Unbelief and Prayer

From the transfiguration mountain top experience to the valley of unbelief, we see Jesus continuing towards Jerusalem. He finds the disciples in a predicament that they can’t solve because of their unbelief. Jesus swoops in to rescue them and is dismayed at the lack of faith in the crowd as well. Caught in the middle is a boy who desperately needs to be freed…

7/15/2012

Pastor Phil Perry

Mark 9

God’s Servant: The Gospel according to Mark

Transfiguration: Jesus Himself Alone

The Transfiguration passage is one that fills us with more questions than answers. How did they know it was Elijah and Moses? What mountain were they on? What was Jesus really like? Someday soon, we will see Jesus in all of His glory. What will our response be?

7/8/2012

Pastor Greg Olson

Communion

Communion Service

We remember the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in song, word and by partaking of the communion elements together.

7/1/2012

Pastor Phil Perry

Mark 8

God’s Servant: The Gospel according to Mark

Taking up Jesus’ Cross

Jesus begins His determined journey towards Jerusalem. As He moves from Galilee to the South, He intentionall shifts focus towards instructing His disciples on what i going to come. He does not want them to be shocked although they will be. He tells them what it will cost to follow Him; these costs are still the same for you and me.

6/24/2012

Pastor Phil Perry

Mark 8

God’s Servant: The Gospel according to Mark

Signs and Sights

Jesus moves across the lake 2 times in short succession. He is met with unbelief, blindness and incompetence. He becomes frustrated and grieved. He uses these moments to teach an important lesson on truly seeing, one we can learn from…

6/17/2012

Pastor Phil Perry

Mark 7-8

God’s Servant: The Gospel according to Mark

Compassion for the Lost, Hurt and Hardened

As Jesus ministry is beginning to move towards Jerusalem, Mark records a series of seemingly random encounters between Jesus and hurting people. These events remind us that no matter who we are or what we go through, we have a Savior who loves us and is moved with compassion…

6/10/2012

Pastor Phil Perry

Mark 7

God’s Servant: The Gospel according to Mark

What makes us Clean?

Mark records the longest confrontation between Jesus and the religious leaders and it is on the topic of clean hands. Jesus is quite stern with both His accusers and His disciples in this passage. Some would say perhaps Jesus is having a bad day and has had it. It really cuts to the heart of the reason of why Jesus had to come to Earth. Judaism (and religion as a whole) had been reduced to acts and actions. We too are susceptible to the false thinking that God is more pleased with my actions than my heart…

6/3/2012

Pastor Phil Perry

Mark 6

God’s Servant: The Gospel according to Mark

Walking on Water

From the feeding of the 5,000+, immediately the Gospels record the incident of Jesus walking on water. This is a story filled with confusion and fear from the disciples. Jesus sends the disciples on ahead while He stays to tidy up and pray. Once again the sea proves to be a menace to these veteran sailors, and once again Jesus uses adversity to challenge their faith…

5/27/2012

Pastor Phil Perry

Mark 6

God’s Servant: The Gospel according to Mark

The Feeding of the 5,000+

The story of the feeding of 5,000 men (plus women and children) is a well-known story in the life of Christ. Many look at this as simply a good lesson on spreading wealth or a socialistic lesson from Jesus. It is a true miracle though, not just a social lesson.

5/20/2012

Pastor Phil Perry

Mark 6

God’s Servant: The Gospel according to Mark

The Death of John the Baptist

Mark looks back to a previously untold historical event dealing with the death of John the Baptist. Jesus successful ministry has prompted speculation that John arose from the dead and took over Jesus ministry. This is a great story to emphasize the dangers of sin that is not dealt with in our lives…

5/13/2012

Pastor Phil Perry

Mark 6

God’s Servant: The Gospel according to Mark

Incredible Unbelief and its Important Lessons

Mark introduces us to an uncomfortable moment I am sure with the disciples. They have just been eyewitnesses to Jesus great power know they see that not everyone is as impressed as they are. Jesus is rejected by those who know Him best and this will be a very important lesson. Not everyone we minister to will accept our message and Savior…

5/6/2012

Pastor Phil Perry

Mark 5

God’s Servant: The Gospel according to Mark

Daughters

This section of Mark intertwines two seemingly separate events. In actually both emphasize the other and point to the absolute power of Jesus over desperate physical issues. Two seemingly separate and random events remind us that no matter what we go through, Jesus is there for us. He is never too late and never powerless to help in our time of need…