Messages
A collection of sermons and messages Mark has given over the years
New messages are added as they become available
May 11, 2025, 10:30 AM
What does it mean to put off the old self and put on the new? Here’s a perfect illustration. A list of things we are supposed to remove from our hearts and lives. And a list of things we’re supposed to build in. The transformation God has worked in us and desires for us to catch up with, is like night and day. From hostility to love. If only we would take the time to honestly face ourselves, then go after these things like God desires, some of us would be entirely unrecognizable—in a good way! There is doubtless at least one thing each one of us should take home from these few verses, so perk up those ears that are intended to hear. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you, then go in His strength and make the necessary corrections. Here we go! From Ephesians 4:31-5:2.
May 10, 2025, 2:30 PM
Memorial message given at Vicki Mason's Celebration of Life, held at Noelridge Park Church, Cedar Rapids, IA, on May 10th, 2025. "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints." (Psalm 116:15, NIV)
May 4, 2025, 10:30 AM
We Christians talk about eternal security. We talk about salvation by faith alone. But I do not think most of us have a good understanding of what that really means. Paul warns us not to grieve the Holy Spirit, but in the same breath he tells us we have been sealed by the Spirit for the day of redemption. If our salvation is secure, what do we have to worry about? Isn’t God forgiving? Isn’t the Holy Spirit also so patient and kind and forgiving? From Ephesians 4:30.
Apr 27, 2025, 10:30 AM
In the previous verse, which we looked at a couple weeks ago, we saw for the thief that putting off the old self and putting on the new was so clear and obvious. Paul has another bellwether of old-self versus new-self: The Tongue. Maybe stealing wasn’t a problem for us, but how about our speech? Yet is it fair for God to judge us for what comes out of our mouths? Can we really get control of our tongue or is Paul expecting too much from us? From Ephesians 4:29.
Apr 13, 2025, 10:30 AM
People sometimes ask, “What does it mean to ‘believe’?” And that is a very good question. So often we think it is just this internal thing, a heart thing, a mind thing. And it certainly includes that. True belief comes in through the ears or eyes, is processed in the mind, then settles in the heart. From there it flows outward, changing the true believer from the inside out. False belief stays in the head and never really reaches the heart, so nothing changes. There are many illustrations of true belief, and Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem—what we remember on Palm Sunday—provides a powerful one. But like every illustration, the real meaning can be missed or abused. From Luke 19:37-44 and 11-27.
Apr 6, 2025, 10:30 AM
Sharing. Do you know how hard a lesson that is for us to get? We watch our kids—without training from us—naturally battle and fight for the things they want. It starts so young! And when we get older, we’re supposed to have mastered the art of sharing. But have we? Have we learned to share as God desires us to share? Let’s see what God has to say to us through Paul today. From Ephesians 4:28.
Mar 30, 2025, 10:30 AM
Last week we talked about the importance of being honest, transparent, and speaking even painful truths to those around us. Yet do so out of love and humility, for our own benefit and for the benefit of those with whom we speak. Paul’s next command is not necessarily directly related, though really all these commands are connected. They are all expressions of love for one another and for Jesus Christ. Today we’re going to learn about anger, both as an aid to honesty and as a danger to ourselves and others. From Ephesians 4:26-27.
Mar 23, 2025, 10:30 AM
We know from this chapter that God intends for us to grow into maturity in Christ. We have been made new, according to the likeness of Jesus Christ, but as we talked about last week, we need to work on learning these new ways and putting them into practice. We need to put off the old self and put on the new. We saw at the beginning of this chapter that the foundation of the Christian life is humility. Next up would be honesty, transparency. We have everything we need for life and godliness, and that includes our brothers and sisters in Christ. But if we aren’t going to be honest with them, transparent, then we will not be able to help them grow and they will not be able to help us grow in maturity. Without honesty, there is no meaningful fellowship as believers. And without humility, there is no meaningful honesty. So let’s spend a few minutes talking about that. From Ephesians 4:25.
Mar 16, 2025, 10:30 AM
In Ephesians so far we have seen the amazing love and kindness of God toward us. We are not the same people we were before we heard and believed the Gospel, and we have so many more wonderful things to look forward to than we could ever find in this life. We are a privileged people, chosen and saved and eternally blessed by the Lord. But we were made new in order to walk in the good works which God prepared in advance for us. Our gratitude should overflow in a humility that is eager to learn the ways of God. And God has given us five kinds of trainers to grow us all into His likeness. But the greatest hindrance to knowing and walking in this new life does not come from outside us, but as the saying goes, “We are our own worst enemy.” From Ephesians 4:17-24.
Mar 9, 2025, 10:30 AM
We’ve seen the great things God has done for us, and Paul’s first and key application is that we should all walk in humility and gentleness. We should dwell in such humility together that we do all we can to maintain the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. That should be a fairly easy thing, for those who have been overwhelmed by God’s grace to us. We saw too that unity was something that needed effort to maintain, and we considered a number of things needed to gain and preserve the unity of believers. Unity is not the goal of Christian fellowship, but a condition and product of it. The goal of Christian fellowship is actually spiritual maturity. Spiritual maturity requires humility as its foundation, but is attained with the help of key figures in our fellowship, as Paul is about to show us. From Ephesians 4:7-16.