Messages
A collection of sermons and messages Mark has given over the years
New messages are added as they become available
Sep 10, 2023, 5:30 AM
How precious is the Kingdom of Heaven to you? What do our lives show? What do our priorities reveal about our valuation of the Kingdom? Jesus shares a couple of parables about how much we should value His Kingdom, and really, about how greatly we should value Him and what He's done for us. Even His own family, His hometown didn't accept Him. How about us? Are we willing to "pay the price" to "own" Jesus and His Kingdom? From Matthew 13:44-58.
Sep 3, 2023, 5:30 AM
In this section of Matthew 13, Jesus gives us three parables that prophesy about the future of the Kingdom of Heaven. Two are fairly obvious and it would be fair to consider them fulfilled. The third is intriguing for the details it contains, and the promises yet to be fulfilled. From Matthew 13:24-43.
Aug 27, 2023, 5:30 AM
Does Jesus want us to know and understand Him? His disciples were confused about that, because even they couldn't figure out His parables. Why didn't He just come straight out and say what He meant? Jesus expects any and everyone to understand His meaning, but the sad fact is, many won't, many can't. Can you? Do you struggle to understand what God has revealed in Scripture? There are a number of reasons why you may not understand, and Jesus brings out a key reason in this passage. From Matthew 13:1-23.
Aug 20, 2023, 5:30 AM
There are many "seekers" out there, but not all are genuine. There are the scoffers, who tend to be pretty obvious. But there are also the "clean houses" who benefit from the power and coming of Christ, but have no real interest in knowing or following Him. In talking about them, Jesus explains why so many individuals, peoples and cultures have gone from lukewarm "Christian" to full-blown anti-Christian. A warning to our day. But then there are the seekers that Jesus gladly calls brother or sister or mother. Which are you? From Matthew 12:38-50.
Aug 13, 2023, 5:30 AM
Blaspheming the Holy Spirit can never be forgiven. But where does it come from? How does it happen? It may surprise you who is in danger of committing such a sin: Not the spiritually simple or humble, but the spiritually "wise and learned." It's a matter of what you believe, of what you store up in your heart. What are you storing up in your heart? From Matthew 12:22-37.
Aug 6, 2023, 5:30 AM
Jesus calls us to repent and believe and obey His Word. But in our zeal to honor and obey God, we often come up with our own set of rules to guide us. Then these rules take on a life of their own, becoming burdensome regulations that sap the joy of knowing and following Christ. We lose sight of the truth about God and end up with a misguided understanding of God, more often as a harsh task-master, that we ourselves have imposed on Him. We fall into the trap of the Pharisees, even while seeking to avoid their hypocrisy. We need God to remind us that He desires mercy, not sacrifice. We need help understanding what that means. From Matthew 12:1-21.
Jul 30, 2023, 5:30 AM
It turns out, Jesus has some significant expectations for anyone who hears and sees who He is: He expects repentance! He denounces the cities where most of His miracles were done because they didn't repent. Those that heard about and saw His works but didn't repent will be condemned. How about us? How are we doing? We've seen much about who Jesus is: Are we repenting and learning to walk in His ways? That's what He expects! From Matthew 11:20-30.
Jul 23, 2023, 5:30 AM
Everyone has expectations. Some are fine, some cause a great deal of relational trouble. We even have expectations of God. What do we do when our expectations aren't met? How do we handle it when God doesn't give us what we pray for? When God isn't what we want, what do we do with that? From Matthew 11:1-19.
Jul 16, 2023, 5:30 AM
Jesus sends His twelve disciples out on their first preaching and healing mission, but He gives instructions that surely go far beyond this one little exercise. Those instructions make it sound like preaching the Gospel and healing people is going to generate serious opposition, even death. How does Jesus comfort His disciples? He gives them several reasons not to fear, but ultimately, we all have to decide, Are we on board with this Jesus, with all the risks involved, or do we want to back away? Are we in or are we out? From Matthew 10:26-42.
Jul 2, 2023, 5:30 AM
Ever feel like you said something in all innocence, and someone else blew it up, all out of proportion? You throw your hands up and ask, "What did I say?" Feels like Jesus' disciples would be having that kind of moment, as Jesus describes some pretty hostile reactions to a simple gospel message and a whole lot of miraculously good deeds! Is Jesus having a bad day, or are we missing something in our Gospel messages? From Matthew 10:16-25.