Weekend Sermon -- Beginning In Mark's Gospel -- Mark 1:1"

     It is time once again for the the Weekend Sermon, and it is time to start a new sermon series. I hope that all of you are having a good new year thus far. 

     One of the things that I've wanted to do for a long time here on the blog is to go through one of the Gospels in its entirety. We have studied through a lot of different books of the Bible here on the blog, and I've done several series such as the parables of Jesus and the miracles of Jesus. However, I've never had the chance to go through an entire Gospel from beginning to end. So, that is what we are going to start for this new year. We are going to go chapter by chapter and verse by verse and see what the Lord has to teach us in the Gospel of Mark. 

  

     With that said. let us start today by looking at the Gospel of Mark as a whole. First of all, who wrote this Gospel. There is no reason to believe that anyone other than Mark himself wrote this book. He knew Jesus when He was on this earth. Mark also started out on a missionary journey with Paul and Barnabas, but Mark turned back part of the way through. This didn't set well with Paul, and Paul didn't want Mark to go with him on other journeys, but Barnabas did, and they then traveled together. Later on, Mark is associated with the Apostle Peter. 

     Church tradition holds that Mark wrote this Gospel based on information given to him by Peter. Mark would have known some things himself. But, Peter was there all along, and would have been a witness to all of the things that the Lord Jesus taught and did. 

     There is a small debate on when Mark was written. It is certainly the first of the Gospels that was written. Most scholars believe that Luke and Matthew used information from Mark when writing their Gospels. 

     Some believe that Mark was written after 70 AD and the destruction of the Temple. This is important, because Mark records Jesus as predicting the destruction of the Temple. Many scholars say Mark is putting this prediction in after the fact. However, most scholars I know, and I believe this as well, believe that Mark was written about 68 AD. This is before the fall of Jerusalem and the Temple's destruction. This means that what Jesus predicted came to pass. This is important because it is a reason to trust all that Jesus had to say. He was proven definitively to be correct.  Because of this, one can trust the other things that He has to say. 

     Mark is the shortest of the Gospels, but it has so much in it. Some have called it the Gospel of action. Jesus is going about doing things throughout. Often, the disciples don't show much true understanding of what Jesus is saying, but the Gospel reveals that eventually they slowly came around to an understanding of the way of Jesus. 

     Mark starts out in verse one by saying, "The beginning of the good news about Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God." This verse tells us a lot. First off, Mark is bringing us a message of good news. In this book we will see the good news that Jesus brings about life and salvation. Jesus brings us the good news that we are loved by God and that we can have forgiveness and a new life through Him. 

     We are also told that Jesus is the Messiah. He is the anointed one. The Messiah was the one who was foretold of in the Old Testament. He was the one who would come and save His people and redeem them. Jesus was this promised one. He had come to show all of us the way. He had come to redeem creation. He had come to proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. 

     Also, Mark tells us that Jesus was and is the Son of God. Jesus is divine. Jesus is fully man and fully God at the same time. He is divine, and Jesus has come to let His divine light shine in to our hearts if we will put our faith and trust in Him. 

     In the weeks to come, we will see more about the good news brought to us by the Lord Jesus. I hope that you will journey along with me in coming to know more about Jesus through Mark's Gospel. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     Please continue to pray for me. I have not been feeling well at all. I really need your prayers. Thank you. 

     Let us keep praying for peace. Sometimes I know that we look around at the world's situation and it is discouraging. But, the Lord told us to not give up and lose heart. So let us keep praying for peace in Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Venezuela, Colombia, Haiti and Myanmar. And let us pray that there is not some crazy invasion of Greenland. 

     Remember to pray for those suffering as a result of natural disasters. Pray for those in California, Washington, the Caribbean and Wales. Pray that people will get the aid and the help that they need. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of  Iraq and Eritrea. Pray that many will come to know about the love of Jesus. 

     Next week, we will continue in Mark. I will post the verses on Tuesday. May God bless you all. 

     

Thoughts On The Current World Situation

      As I know you are aware, the US took military action in Venezuela. Since that time, the US president has threatened possible action against Colombia and Cuba. He has also been very vocal about taking over Greenland.  

      Here is my reaction. As believers in Jesus, we are called to follow His path of peace and non-violence. We are not to support aggressive military actions. Warfare and violence should be for self-defense only, and it should be proportional and as a last resort. 

     The action in Venezuela is over. There is nothing that can be done about that. We must now pray for peace and stability in that nation. We must also pray that no further unwarranted military actions be taken especially in regard to Greenland which is part of Denmark one of the United States' NATO allies. 

     As Christians we have to be mindful that Jesus is Lord. We follow Jesus and His ways and not a political entity or political leader. Jesus has called us to the way of peace and non-violence. He has called us to bring life, light and healing to the world. 

Verses For The Week

 II Corinthians 5:17 -- "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!"

Proverbs 23:18 -- "There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off."

Weekend Sermon -- "Spending More Time With The Lord"

      It is a new year, and I hope that it has started out well with you all. I am ready to start a new year here on the blog. After our message this week, we will be starting a new series of messages, and I am looking forward for that. I want to thank the Lord for letting me post these messages, and other posts, for the past year. 

     Today, I want to challenge you and me to spend more time with the Lord in 2026. I have been reading three different passages of Scripture lately that all speak about time spent with the Lord or waiting on the Lord. 

     In Luke's Gospel, there are a couple of different passages that speak about Jesus' mother Mary pondering the things that were happening concerning Jesus in her heart. She was taking the time to think about and consider all that was happening to her and how these might play out in the life of her son the Lord Jesus. 

     In the Gospels, when Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane, He asks His disciples to come and watch and pray with Him. He comes back and finds that they have fallen asleep. Jesus asks them why they were not able to watch and pray with Him for even one hour. 

     Let us also consider that when Jesus was about to leave this earth and return to Heaven, He instructed His followers to tarry in the city of Jerusalem and wait for the power of the Holy Spirit that was to come upon them. That is what they were doing when the Spirit of the Lord descended upon them in the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost. 

     In my mind, one of the ways that we grow in our walk with the Lord and make it through this world is by spending time with the Lord. I think that there are at least four ways to do this. 

     First of all, we spend time with the Lord in prayer. We go to Him and relate to Him our needs and the needs of others. We ask for wisdom and give thanks to the Lord for all that He has done for us. 

     We also spend time with the Lord through the study of His Word. When we take the time to read the Scriptures and attempt to understand how they apply to our lives, we are spending time with the Lord and allowing the Holy Spirit to bring enlightenment and understanding to our hearts. 

     Worship is another way that we spend time with Jesus. We give all of our heart and soul to Him and pour out our praise to Him. We spend time honoring Him for who He is and for what He has done. 

     Also, we spend time with the Lord when we serve Him because we can do nothing for Him apart from Him being with us and giving us the power to accomplish what it is that He has directed us to do. 

    I know that in 2026, I want to spend more time with the Lord especially through prayer and study. I want to urge you to make the commitment to spend more time with the Lord in 2026. Let His light and His love fill your life. Through spending time with the Lord, we will be equipped to withstand the challenges that beset us in this world. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     Please keep praying for my health. Thank you. 

    Let us pray for all of those affected by natural disasters. Those in Washington and California need our prayers. Let us keep praying for those affected by flooding in Wales and those affected by the hurricane in the Caribbean. 

    Keep praying for peace. I want us to really focus our attention on praying for peace in Ukraine. Sudan also really needs our prayers. Pray that there will not be war in Venezuela.

    For our prayer focus countries this week, pray for those in the nations of Ivory Coast and South Korea. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

    Next week, we will begin our new sermon series. I will post the verses on Tuesday. May God bless you all. 

Verses For The Week

 Jeremiah 33:3 -- "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things that you do not know."

II Timothy 1:7 -- "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind."

Weekend Sermon -- "A Message For The Upcoming Year"

      Thank you for reading the message this week. I had a good Christmas. I went out for dinner with my brother, and we had an enjoyable time. I got more for Christmas than I ever thought that I would. I am thankful to the Lord for His blessings.  I hope that you all had a great Christmas, too. 

     As we move away from the Christmas season, I want us to focus our attention on the year that is to come. We have done a lot here on the blog. I really enjoyed going through the book of Philippians, and I have some series already planned for the year that is to come. It was great to post again the book I wrote about my friend Toby.

     In this message, I want to look at what I would like to see for the year that is come. What do I hope 2026 brings?

     In 2026, I hope that I will be able to be more committed to fulfilling the Great Commission given to us all of the Lord Jesus. I, of course, will keep posting messages here on the blog telling people about the love and forgiveness of Jesus. I will keep calling people to turn to the Lord if they have never turned their lives over to Him. But, I want to do more than that. It is my hope in 2026 to find more opportunities to share the message of the love of Jesus with more people. I hope to do that through writing and through interactions with those who I know at work.

     That is a challenge I make to all of you for the year that is to come. See if you can find more ways to share the message of Jesus. Let us all commit ourselves to telling as many people as we can that Jesus is the one who has come to bring life, light and salvation to the world. 

     In 2026, I want to see more being done to help the least of those among us. I get so distressed when I hear about those who are hurting and don't have enough to get by. In 2026, I hope that all of us can do more than we ever have before to find ways help people. If all of us do just a little bit, it will make a world of difference to helping people who don't have enough. 

     As a new year rolls around, I would like to see people acting in a kinder way to one another. In addition to my work as a minister and a writer, I also work in retail. This year, and especially during this holiday season, I've noticed people are being very mean, cruel and rude. There is a great lack of kindness out there. 

     Let those of us who call Jesus Lord work this year to be kind one to another and be kind and good to all those with whom we come in contact. Let us speak words that heal and lift up and not words that hurt and tear down. 

     Finally, I want peace in the year to come. I am so tired of seeing so many lives ruined by war. Let us be peacemakers in our homes and in our communities. In this new year, let us pray more than ever that peace will come to those who are at war. 

     I know that the Lord is going to do great things in the year to come. I hope that you will keep reading the messages and that you will join with me in praying for the needs of this world. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     Please keep praying in regard to my health. Thank you. 

     Let us keep praying that those affected by natural disasters will get the aid and the help that they need. Those in Washington state have been hurt by the floods as have areas in Wales. We also need to pray for those in the Caribbean especially those in Jamaica.

     Continue to pray for peace. Pray for peace in Ukraine, Israel, Gaza. Syria, Yemen, Sudan and Venezuela. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Uzbekistan and Egypt. Pray that many will come to know the Lord. 

     Next week, I will have a topical message. On Tuesday, I will post the verses. May God bless you all. 

Merry Christmas

     I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Thank you for reading the blog this year. I have really enjoyed being able to post the messages, the verses, and the other things on the the blog. I hope that everyone has a great new year.