Series in Mark

“Reality of the Kingdom of Darkness – The Gerasenes Demoniac” – Mark 5:1-20

Colossians 1:13

William McDonald defined the world as a system that man has created in order to make himself happy without God.

Ephesians 6:12-17

Series in Mark

“The Kingdom of Heaven starts small” – Mark 4:26-41

Jesus calms a storm.

Parable of the growing seed.

Parable of the mustard seed.

Jesus’ healings and miracles were selective, for the purpose of demonstrating who He is and what the coming kingdom will be. In His first coming not everyone was healed and not every storm was stilled.

Psalm 104:3-4; 135:7; 107:23-31
Jesus is the God in these psalms.

Someday all storms will be calmed.

Series on the Central Beliefs of Christianity

“No one is justified by keeping the Law” – Romans 3:19-28

The purpose of the law is to show us our sin.

But now the righteousness of God without the law is revealed.

Series in Mark

“Sit, Listen, and Obey” – Mark 3:31-4:20

Jesus puts everyone who does the will of God on the same level as His mother, brothers, and sisters.

The Parable of the Sower.

Guest Speaker: Dr. Glenn Kreider

“The Church’s One Foundation – II” – Ephesians 5:22-33

The church’s organization is seen in this comparison of marriage to the relationship Christ has with the church.

Guest speaker: Dr. Glenn Kreider

“The Church’s One Foundation – I” – 1 Corinthians 3:1-17

The lyrics of the hymn, “The Church’s One Foundation,” were written by Rev. Samuel Stone, in 1866. The music was written by a grandson of Charles Wesley, Samuel Sebastian Wesley. It was one of 12 hymns written by Stone to counteract a doctrinal drift occurring in the Anglican Church at the time, particularly in South Africa.

Ephesians 4:1-7

Guest speaker: Kevin Dodge

“Unity in the Church” – Acts 15:2-21

According to the World Christian Encyclopedia, there are about 34,000 Christian denominations in the United States.

Kevin suggests that the Jews who were insisting on circumcision of gentile Christians in Antioch weren’t quite the bad guys they seemed to be but were acting according to the only scriptures they had at the time – the Hebrew scriptures.

Genesis 17:9-14

Salvation in the Old Testament was the same as in the New Testament – by grace through faith.
But the Jews understood that the covenant relationship had to be maintained by certain actions in the flesh.

Peter makes an experiential argument in favor of not requiring the gentiles to be circumcised or keep the rest of the law.

Series in Mark

“How to recognize a Good Man” – Mark 3:13-30

Exodus 24:9-18
Moses was called up on a mountain to receive the law.

Mark 3:13-15 evokes the imagery in Exodus 24:9-18. Jesus is acting as God; He is the Lord God of Israel; He is the One Moses met on the mountain.
(Some translations have “hills” in verse 13, but the correct word is “the mountain.”)

Mark 3:20-21
Jesus’ family has failed to recognize His identity.

Mark 3:22-
The Pharisees say Jesus is possessed by the devil.
But Satan cannot cast himself out.
Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is a very specific sin, that is, declaring that Jesus is casting out demons by means of Satan.
Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is rejecting that Jesus performs His miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Mark 1:8-10
Here we see the role of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ life and ministry.

Isaiah 42:1
The Holy Spirit is promised to the Son of God.

To receive salvation through Jesus Christ, you must be Trinitarian.

Series in Mark

“Heresy begins with Bible-Toters” – Mark 3:1-12

Sacred texts are the most dangerous things in the world when in the wrong hands. You can make the Bible say anything you want it to say.

Mark 3:1-6 focuses on the compassion of Christ in contrast to the Pharisees who only have concern for the letter of the law.

Mark 3:7-12 shows Jesus backing away from the multitude of those with bodily disorders in order to indicate that now is not the time when all disorders will be healed but it remains for His future return. For now, we should not be focused on healing for our bodies but on how we can show compassion to others around us, as Jesus did.

Series in Mark

“What should set us apart” – Mark 2:23-28

“The best definition of holiness is that you are not the same flavor as everybody else.”

Exodus 31:13-15
To be recognized as belonging to the creator of the universe, the Israelites are to work for six days and rest on the seventh because this is what God did.

Isaiah 1:11-17
The Israelites’ observance of the law and the Sabbath became meaningless.
The Sabbath and the sacrifices were all about doing them the way God said to do them because this made them stand out distinctively as a follower of the Creator of heaven and earth. Start looking like God by acting like God.

Mark 2:23-28
The Pharisees are like the people of Isaiah’s day. They were not observing the Sabbath in the way it was intended. The Pharisees forgot the mercy behind the law.

Matthew 12:11-12
To stand out as a follower of Christ, exercise justice, compassion, and mercy; love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and your neighbor as yourself.