Sermon Notes February 19th:

Bizarre! Really Bizarre! (Mark 9:2-9)

1. Today's text is called the transfiguration of Jesus. Transfiguration means change. In the transfiguration of Jesus, the disciples, Peter, James and John are led by Jesus to a mountaintop where a brilliantly bright light shines on Jesus and his clothes become shinny white. Moses and Elijah appear and talk with Jesus. Then God's voice comes through a cloud telling the disciples that Jesus is His beloved Son and to listen to Jesus. Next, Jesus leads the disciples down off the mountaintop to the valley and tells them to not tell anyone what happened on the mountain.

2. The disciples knew Jesus was the Messiah. But they didn't know that God's will for the Messiah was that he would be a suffering servant to all people and to God's creation. And when Jesus called them to follow him, they didn't understand that they were being called to continue Jesus' ministry by being a servant like him.

3. Jesus knew his death on the cross would shake the disciples to their core. He wanted them to know that, as horrible as Good Friday would be, it was not the whole story. Beyond the cross was the empty tomb and the resurrection.

4. The disciples were going to face a lot of days that would feel like Good Friday. They would need hope, strength and guidance to get through those days. On the mountaintop, they received the hope and strength in the spiritual experience of worship. They also received guidance in God's command to listen to Jesus.

5. The transfiguration of Jesus is not only a glorious vision and high point of worship; it is also a huge challenge. Following Jesus is not so much a matter of mountaintop experiences of worship. It is a matter of faithful discipleship, even to the cross.

6. Jesus has a way of taking us to the mountaintop, filling our ears with joy, praise and worship. But Jesus also has a way of leading us down to the valley and the cross.

7. For each of us, there are days that are more like Good Friday than Easter. It is often hard for us to remember our call to the cross in discipleship comes with the power and presence of Christ in the resurrection.

8. On Wednesday, we start the season of Lent. The season of Lent follows the story of Jesus' transfiguration because during Lent, we take something out of our lives to make room in our lives such as more worship or study or service to prepare us for the Good Friday kind of days that come when we take up our cross to follow Jesus as we keep our focus on the hope and promise of the resurrection.

 

 

Sermon Notes February 12th:

And Jesus said, "Follow me!" (Mark 1:40-45)

1. Many people think anger is a sin. But Jesus was without sin and, yet, he got angry. What would make Jesus angry?

2. In the text, the same Greek word can be rightfully translated as anger or as compassion. It is a correct translation that Jesus is angry that the man has the horrible disease of leprosy. It is also correct translation that Jesus has compassion on the man because he has the disease of leprosy. Which way the translator understands what Jesus would be primarily feeling in this situation depends on whether he translates anger or compassion from the same Greek word.

3. In the text, the leper broke the ancient Mosaic Law by approaching Jesus. The leper also disobeyed Jesus' command to go to the temple where the priests would declare him healed of leprosy.

4. But Jesus is not angry with the leper's behavior. He is angry at the man's illness and what leprosy has done to the man's body and way of life. Jesus is angry at the evil consequences of leprosy because it is against the way God intended life to be. God's good and loving purpose was not being lived by the leper because of his disease.

5. Jesus got angry at evil and its consequences that interrupted God's will. That's why Jesus' anger is not a sin.

6. But there is more to Jesus' anger than emotion. His anger not only moves him to compassion, it also moves him to action. And Jesus calls us to follow him.
7. Jesus touched a dirty, diseased leper when no one else dared go near him, much less touch him. He calls us to do likewise.

8. Ask yourself: Can a believer of Jesus sing praises to God without acknowledging the worth of every human being no matter their condition or sin? Can a disciple of Jesus really follow Jesus without reaching out his hand to others that no one else wants anything to do with? Can you pray in Jesus' name without reaching out your hand in his name?

9. And Jesus said, "Follow me!"

 

Sermon Notes February 5th:

We apologize, but there are no sermon notes available for this week.

 

Sermon Notes January 29th:

Who is he? (Mark 1:21-28)

1. The congregation in the synagogue called Jesus "Teacher". Today, Jesus is considered a teacher in three of the major world religions: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Across the centuries, Jesus has been considered to be a great teacher by people even when they have no religious affiliation. That's very remarkable when you consider that he only taught for the 3 years of his ministry.

2. But, while teachers are certainly important in our lives, is that all Jesus is?

3. In today's text, the believers call Jesus a teacher. Their reaction to Jesus casting out demons is to wonder what new kind of teaching he is giving them. The man Jesus heals of demons doesn't seem to know who his is other than he has performed a miracle of casting the demons out of him. The strange thing in the text is that it is the demons who know who Jesus is. In fear of what he will do to them, they shout to each other that he is the Holy One of God. The demons know that Jesus is the only one who has power greater than their power.

4. Today, it is hard for us to relate to demons or, as the Bible sometimes calls them, "unclean spirits". The point the Bible makes about demons is that they represent evil. We certainly know that evil is in the world and that we succumb to its temptations. That is why each and every one of us is a sinner. Somewhere in our lives, whether we keep it hidden or not, there is sin resulting from giving in to a temptation of evil that keeps each of us from being all that God wants and created us to be.

5. The Bible is only a living book that is the word of God if you see yourself in it. When I read this text, I looked to see what God wanted us to identify with. I came up with a surprising answer. It is the demons! Think about it.

6. If Jesus is just a teacher in your life like he is to the believers in the text, you have missed knowing him as your Savior, bringing you forgiveness of your sin.

7. If Jesus has done a miracle in your life but you don't respond with belief as it appears happened to the man with the demons in the text, you have missed a powerful statement of God's love for you.

8. But if you identify with the demons, you know that Jesus is the Holy One of God, God's own Son.

9. And, you not only know who Jesus is, you also know the good news that he has power over evil, no matter what it is or where it is. You know that, you are not only a sinner; you are dearly loved by God, so much so that your sin has been forgiven. It doesn't get much better than that!

 

Sermon Notes January 22nd:

Happy Face (Mark 1:14-20)

1. How can a Christian be seen as honest and sincere when they talk about the joy of relationship with Jesus and the good news of the gospel if their mouth is in a perpetual frown and their life looks like a dried up prune from forced sacrifice and obligation to religious duty? They can't!

2. Could the reason be that, in today's text, Jesus called four fishermen as his first disciples because, for a real fisherman, there is nothing else he wants to do more than go fishing? Not only do fishermen understand the craft of fishing, but also the joy of fishing. Fishermen are never too tired to go fishing. They buy the right things and spend whatever time needed to take care of their fishing gear. They will tell you what a good day they had when they have spent hours in a boat, sometimes catching nothing because fish are such finicky creatures. They go where the fish are; when the fish are there. Fishermen are persistent and patient. They will go out again and again with the same enthusiasm because they know they will never catch a fish if they don't keep going out on the water and cast out their line.

3. Likewise, being a disciple means being willing to follow Jesus to anyone who needs to hear and experience the good news of God's love. It means being willing to go even when you have responsibilities that make you tired. it means spending time, money and energy to have what you need for the task to be done. Being a disciple means being patient and persistent in fishing for people and going to where people are, sometimes going back over and over again with the same enthusiasm as the first time.

4. It is easy to see why Jesus would call fishermen. It is harder to see why they went immediately. The four fishermen in today's text had families and responsibilities. They had jobs to do in order to provide for themselves and their families. However, when Jesus invites them to go New Testament fishing, not for fish, but for people, they follow Jesus and go fishing his way.

5. What caused Simon, Andrew, James and John to drop everything and follow him in New Testament fishing? A hint to the answer to that question is in vs. 15 when Jesus says the time is fulfilled. The four fishermen recognized that it was time to do something different with their lives. Jesus was offering them an opportunity of a lifetime, a new challenge -- and invitation they could not refuse. It was an invitation to be part of bringing the Kingdom of God on earth. How could you have a more powerful life than one that is transformed by excitement, enthusiasm and peace and harmony with God?

6. Their world and our world is full of bad news that people want to hear. We all know that bad news sells newspapers and TV time. But people don't want to follow bad news. They need and follow good news of a better way of life that Jesus offers.

7. To go New Testament fishing, you don't need a fancy boat. You don't need a license or a rod and reel. To fish for people, all you need is love for Jesus Christ and the desire that others know him too.

8. Jesus offers you the same invitation that he offered to Simon, Andrew, James and John. It is up to you to give Jesus your answer to his invitation to follow him and fish for people with a smile on your face and in your heart.

 

Sermon Notes January 15th:

Jesus, the Great Delegator (John 1:43-51)

1. The stories may differ but today's text shows the basic two ways that people become believers. One is quick, almost instantaneous, a mountaintop experience of excitement and closeness to God. The other way of coming to belief is that, over time, you come to a gradual knowing for yourself who Jesus is.

2. In the text, both Phillip and Nathaniel become believers. It takes believing to be a Christian but it takes more to live as a Christian who truly follows Jesus as his disciple. It takes loving Jesus to be a Christian But it takes more to live as a Christian. It takes commitment. While both believe, only Phillip's belief becomes a conviction to answer Jesus' call to be his disciple.

3. Jesus is not just the Son of God and the Savior and Redeemer of a believer's life. He is also a delegator as he calls believers to be his disciples. He always delegated the work to believers as each believer is called to follow him. With that call to follow Jesus, the believer's belief grows into the conviction that Jesus is the Lord of his life. With that conviction, the believer answers Jesus' call to follow him as a disciple. Because Jesus is the quintessential delegator, Christianity has not just been spread all over the world but also down through time.

4. You can believe and prefer Christianity as part of your life without taking the next step of having the conviction that makes being a disciple of Jesus the focus and priority of your life.

5. Belief means that you accept Jesus as your Savior and Redeemer. Belief is comfortable and comforting. Belief costs little. To believe in Jesus only takes a little of your life.

6. To have conviction means that you have given Jesus control of your life as the Lord of your life. Conviction is risky and troublesome. Conviction brings more meaning and fullness to life than anything else. Conviction that leads to discipleship costs all of your life as you put following Jesus over what makes you comfortable and what is easy. To have conviction takes all of your life. But when conviction to be a disciple of Jesus takes over all of your life, you see and experience wonderful things that you could never have imagined.

7. Conviction may quickly follow belief like it did for Phillip. Conviction for Nathaniel came after a period of time. But we are told that he becomes a disciple just as much as Phillip. The good news is that it is never too late to have your belief become a conviction that moves you to accept Jesus as the Lord of your life and follow him as a disciple.

8. The Christian faith is not just about being a believer and knowing how much God loves you and will bless you. It is also about Jesus' delegation of the work of his ministry on earth to you. It is about God trusting you to be His partner as a disciple of Jesus, doing God's will in your corner of the world through what you say and the way you live.

9. The good news is that it is never too late for your belief to become conviction. It is never too late to be a disciple of Jesus so that you will experience all the good that God wants for your life.