The Weekend Sermon -- "Mark 1:2-8"

      Thank you for joining me for the Weekend Sermon. I hope that all of you are having a good week and doing well. 

     Last week, we began a new series of messages on the Gospel of Mark. We just did a basic introduction and focused on verse one that presented Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. 

     In our message for today, we turn our attention to John the Baptist. John was someone who was foretold in the Old Testament. In our text for today, we have one of the places that tells us about John. Isaiah said that there would be someone who would come before the coming of the Messiah. He would be a messenger that would tell the people that they needed to prepare their hearts for the coming of the Messiah. Another place where we see a prophecy of the coming of John the Baptist is in the book of Malachi. We are told that Elijah would come. Jesus said that John the Baptist was the fulfillment of this prophetic word. 

     John, as we know from the Gospel of Luke, was Jesus' cousin. He was the child of Elizabeth who was Mary's cousin. When John was still in his mother's womb, he recognized the mother of the Lord who was herself carrying Jesus in her womb. 

     John the Baptist was an interesting person. He dressed in a camel hair garment with a leather belt. His diet consisted of wild locusts and honey. He appeared on the scene by the Jordan River, and there, he began to proclaim his message. First of all, he preached a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 

    People came out to hear what this new preacher had to say. John called them to repent of their sins and turn their lives and their thinking around. That is what it means to repent. In essence, it means to change one's thinking about God and what God requires. It means leaving behind the way that seems right to us and embracing the way of the Lord. 

    The people when they heard this message, confessed their sins. Subsequently, they were baptized. This demonstrated the washing away of sin and the beginning of a new life. 

    In order to truly follow the Lord Jesus, we have to be willing to admit that we are sinners and need a Savior. Part of coming to know Jesus is to confess ones sins and ask Jesus to forgive us of our sins. We then ask Him to be our Savior and the Lord and master of our lives. 

    Following conversion, a new believer follows in baptism. Jesus taught that a person should be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. 

    Baptism does not save. It is the outward sign of an inward work. For the Christian, it symbolizes that we are buried with Christ and we arise to newness of life in Him. Our sins our washed away, and we are a new creation in Christ Jesus. Baptism is a testimony to the world that we are identifying with Jesus. We are committing ourselves to following Him and His way of life. 

    Now, John the Baptist also told us about Jesus. He said that one was coming after him that was more powerful. When this one would come, He would baptize with the Holy Spirit. 

    As we will see as we continue our study in Mark, Jesus is the one that was the one more powerful. Jesus was the Messiah. He was the one who came to show people the way and to redeem the world from sin. In another Gospel, John identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. 

    Jesus came to tell people that the Kingdom of Heaven had come. He came to show us the way to have life now and eternal life to come. He came to redeem us and to set all of creation back to the way that it existed before the fall. 

    When Jesus ascended into Heaven, He told His followers to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, those gathered in the Upper Room received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 

    When a person comes to faith and trust in Jesus, that person is indwelt with the Holy Spirit. We receive the Spirit who is our comforter. The Spirit convicts of sin, and the Spirit points us to Jesus. 

    I hope that you have put your faith and trust in the Risen Lord. If you have, I hope you will follow in baptism as the Lord commanded. Then, go and tell others about the Lord. Tell people that Jesus has come and they can be reconciled to God. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     I am feeling some better, and I thank the Lord for that. Please keep me in your prayers. 

    As you are aware, the situation in Iran is tense. Let us pray for a peaceful transition to a democratic government for that nation. 

    Please continue to pray that the United States, my country, will not try to take over Greenland by force. There is no way that this can be justified. 

    Let us continue to pray for peace in other areas of the world that are in conflict. Pray for peace in Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Syria, Yemen, Sudan and Myanmar. Pray that peace and good things will come to Venezuela. 

    Keep praying for those suffering as a result of natural disasters. Pray for those in California and Washington affected by flooding. Pray for those affected by winter storms in Europe. 

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

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

A Happy Day

     Today is the day all those years ago now when my friend Toby came into my life. I was still a young man when he came to live with me. I will never forget the day when we went out in the snow to look at a Pembroke Welsh Corgi named Toby. 

     When we pulled up in the drive, Toby was out running around in the snow. I loved him at first sight. 

     He came to live with me when I was at one of my lowest points. I had been in an abusive religious environment and was very depressed. Jesus knew this, of course. He also knew Toby wasn't being treated the right way. So, the Lord Jesus caused it all to work out just right so that the two of us could be together. 

     Toby changed my life. Because of him, I kept going. I came to realize how much the Lord Jesus loved me. That day when I met Toby was the second best thing that ever happened to me only surpassed by coming to know the Lord Jesus. I thank Jesus every day for my friend Toby. 

     I've told a lot of people that my life is about Jesus, Jazz and a corgi. Don't have any idea what my life would be without them. Thank you Lord. 

Verses For The Week -- Verses Relevant To Our World

 Leviticus 19:33-34 -- "When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God."

Deuteronomy 27:19 -- "Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow."

Hebrews 13:2 -- Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels."

Matthew 25:38-40 -- "When did we see You a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to you? And the King will answer and say to them, Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to Me."

Matthew 26:52 -- "But Jesus said to him, Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword."

I Peter 3:11 -- "Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it."

I John 3:17 -- "But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?"

Revelation 7:9-10 -- "After these things, I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!"

Proverbs 22:28 -- "Do not remove the ancient landmark which your fathers have set."

Hebrews 13:8 -- "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever."

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.