Mark, Media, Sermons | by Pastor David Parker

Today, we’re going to look at the account of the transfiguration as recorded in Mark 9:2-13. Apart from the resurrection, it’s probably one of the most spectacular sections of the Gospel account. This is where we get a glimpse into the Glory of Jesus that He gave His disciples and us. But why is it so important? What does it actually mean? And what are we suppose to learn from it? We'll learn how Jesus is the object, key, and power of our worship, and how that shapes our lives.

Mark, Media, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

This morning we’re continuing in our study of the Gospel of Mark by zooming in on one particular verse (8:31) that just happens to get at the heart of what Easter is all about. As we saw last week, chapter eight is the turning point of Mark, specifically in Peter’s words to Jesus, “You are the Christ.” (8:29) The term “Christ” is a Greek translation of the Hebrew term “messiah” – both meaning “anointed one”. The Christ, or Messiah, was expected to be the king to end all kings; not merely a Savior but the Savior, not merely a rescuer but the Rescuer. He was going to be the one who would put every wrong right. And, in climatic fashion, Peter says to Jesus, “You’re him. That’s you. The one we’ve been waiting for.” The entire Gospel leads up to this important point and the rest of the Gospel describes what it all means.

Mark, Media, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Peter has declared Jesus is the Christ. For ancient Israel, this meant He was the long awaited king, rescuer, and savior of God's people. Jesus accepts this, but immediately clarifies. He has come for a salvation greater than earthly freedom, and this salvation requires His death on a cross. Those who wish to follow Him must also take up their cross and consider if they are willing to count all as loss for the gain of Christ.

Mark, Media, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

The first eight chapters of Mark’s Gospel revolve around the singular question: Who is Jesus? We get the answer to that in our section today, Mark 8:11-30. Mark’s point is that we’ll never see Jesus rightly if we can’t see. He’s highlighting something about the natural human condition, namely that no one can see Jesus rightly without outside help. The Bible tells us that, by nature and choice, we are spiritually blind but Jesus offers us help and healing.

Mark, Media, Sermons, Uncategorized | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Over the last two weeks we have seen Jesus turn the worldview of the Jewish religious leaders of his day upside down. They believed that following various clean laws and traditions would make them clean and acceptable before God. Therefore, they specialized in external ritual, rules and regulations. Jesus agreed that they were unclean, but disagreed with them regarding the source and solution to their uncleanness. “Your uncleanness”, Jesus told them, “comes from the inside not from the outside.” Today, in Mark 7:24-8:10, Jesus demonstrates that he meant what he said as he leaves the boundaries of ancient Israel and travels deep in the heart of “unclean” Gentile (non-Jewish) territory. We’re going to look at three stories that took place during this trek and get a snapshot of God’s global purposes in Jesus.

Mark, Media, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

At first glance, it may seem Mark 7:14-23 is about some ancient, irrelevant controversy. Jewish religious leaders believed that following various clean laws and traditions would make them clean before God. For this reason, they were rigorous in their practice of them and encouragement of others to do the same. In this section, Jesus turns all of that upside down. He agrees that they are unclean, but disagrees when it comes to the source of and solution to it. This is an important section about human nature, the source of our greatest problems, and our radical need for a Savior.

Mark, Media, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

This week we follow Mark's narrative (Mark 7:1-13) as he describes an important debate between Jesus and the religious leaders of his day concerning authority, tradition, and the function of scripture. As we observe this ancient story, we will come to question our own views on ultimate authority, and learn how we are to then understand God's word.

Mark, Media, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Today in Mark 6:45-56, we see another one of Jesus’ most famous miracles: walking on water. One of the challenging aspects of talking about Jesus in our cultural context is that, in America, we have largely become overly familiar with him, which can subtly steal our awe and astonishment. This is one reason we’re going through a prolonged study of Jesus’ life and work – to stoke the awe of some, while helping others get their awe back and still others to experience it for the first time. Mark writes to capture our attention. It can be hard to trust someone you don’t know, so he goes to great lengths to clarify exactly who Jesus is, what he is like, what he came to do and why it all matters. He wants us to see Jesus for exactly who he is, as that is key to understanding the world’s history and our own.

Mark, Media, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Today in Mark 6:30-44, we reach one of Jesus’ best known miracles: the feeding of the 5,000. This particular miracle had such an impact that its one of the only miracles that each of the Gospels record and in many ways, this miracle is the grand finale of Jesus’ public ministry in Galilee. In our passage today, Mark is unmistakably helping us see that Jesus is a revolutionary good shepherd – and that changes everything about everything.

Mark, Media, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Mark is making it clear that unbelief, rejection, and hostility are the context in which Jesus’ mission advances. We forget how helpful this would have been to Mark’s first readers in Rome as they underwent their own persecution. Today, in Mark 6:7-30, we get insight into the basic anatomy of Jesus’ mission – and our role in it. Up until now the disciples have been extras and bystanders, but that is all about to change.