Kids & the Kingdom

March 30, 2014
We know the children are our future. This is true, but here we learn they are our present, too. Jesus just warned about causing little ones who believe in him…

Divorce & the Gospel

March 23, 2014
One of the things we see when we read the Bible is God’s deep concern to meet us where we are. The Bible isn’t a book of spiritual aphorisms for…

Mortification

March 16, 2014
Jesus is still teaching about becoming great in his kingdom: "If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all". But the life of a…

Greatness

March 9, 2014
Jesus recently returned from the mountain where he met with the greatest prophets, Moses and Elijah, was transfigured in radiance, and was honored by the Father who declared "This is…

Prayer

March 2, 2014
Jesus comes off the mountain of transfiguration where he was glorified, encouraged by Moses and Elijah, and honored by the Father (9:2-8). What does he find? A great crowd watching…

The Transfiguration

February 23, 2014
Jesus just rejected Peter’s demonic insistence on glory without death. He will suffer, be rejected and die, and so he prepares for his journey to the cross by taking Peter,…

The Way of the Cross

February 16, 2014
Mark’s Gospel hinges on Peter’s confession about Jesus: "You are the Messiah" (8:29). Jesus has dealt with the attacking blindness of the Pharisees. Now he addresses the supportive blindness of…

Sanctification

February 9, 2014
Who are you becoming? What in your life is shaping you in one direction or another? Do all things happen for a reason? Mark’s Gospel is a story of change,…

Understanding

January 26, 2014
Jesus has been working in Gentile territory.  He heals the Syrophoenician woman near Tyre and Sidon, touches the deaf and mute man in Decapolis, and now feeds four thousand apparently…

He Does All Things Well

January 19, 2014
Jesus is still in Gentile territory. He takes a big route, heading north first to Sidon from Tyre and then down to Decapolis, east of the Sea of Galilee (cf.…