Sermon and Worship Resources

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Mark 10:46-52

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... wild eagerness Bartimaeus' body displayed as it sought to catch up to his voice and his heart. Piteously portrayed in verse 46 as a desolate blind beggar "sitting by the roadside," the man is now invigorated and animated as he responds to Jesus' call. Mark continues to link this story to the previous section when he records Jesus' inquiry of Bartimaeus using the exact same language of 10:36. As James and John approach Jesus to make their self-serving request for reserved seating in heaven, Jesus also asks ...

77. Mark 6:1-13

Mark 6:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... and do the will of God. Jesus' philosophical interpretation of his rejection further demonstrates the depth and truth of his wisdom. Jesus now identifies himself as "prophet," in contrast to the crowd's despairing identification of him as "carpenter." This is Jesus' third experience in Mark with such rejection. In 3:20-21 Jesus' "own kin" label him crazy and try to drag him away, while in 3:31-35 his mother, brothers and sisters attempt to lure him out and away from those before whom he has chosen to preach ...

78. Mark 4:35-41

Mark 4:35-41

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... ’s text keeps the accusatory tenor in the disciples’ wake-up call to Jesus. They rebuke Jesus and accuse him of not caring about them and their situation. By the way, I do not think that all the disciples together rushed to wake Jesus up. Mark’s two key details he is sleeping in the back of the boat, and is using a pillow–-are his way of telling us that Jesus has a big “Do Not Disturb” sign on him. He is exhausted, and wants to be undisturbed. Most likely the disciples argued among themselves ...

79. Mark 4:26-34

Mark 4:26-29

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... that emerges from such a small seed were deemed extraordinary. The leafy largesse of the mustard plant makes it capable of offering shelter: “the birds of the air can make nests in its shade” (v.32). This declaration would surely bring to the mind of Mark’s readers the scriptural references to the huge trees used to illustrate national strength and stability. But in Ezekiel 17:23 it is a mighty cedar, planted by God, which offers up a shady place for birds to nest (“hypo ten skian”), not a mere ...

80. Mark 6:1-13

Mark 6:1-6

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... references to it as Jesus’ “hometown,” the Nazareth community has no references in any religious or historical writings through the first century. In short, Jesus’ hometown was a hick town, a podunk place, one little nowhere burg. The incident at Nazareth described by Mark is found in Luke (4:16-30) and Matthew (13:53-58). While told differently by each gospel writer, in each account Jesus is rejected by his hometown and as a result his ability to work effectively among the people is curtailed and ...

81. Mark 10:17-31

Mark 10:17-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... has “kept all these since my youth.” In Judaism it was assumed that a pious and obedient Jew would and could keep all the commandments — all 613 of them. Jesus himself does not seem to take the man’s response as anything but sincere, and Mark’s text declares that Jesus “looked at him and loved him.” The “look” (“emblepein”) Jesus gives is a scrutinizing stare, a “look” that sees right through the man and yet he still loves him. Maybe Jesus even saw some of himself in the young man ...

82. Plimsoll Mark

Illustration

King Duncan

... he proposed prevented many disasters at sea and saved thousands of lives, he became known as the sailors’ friend. Commenting on this, the “Sunday School Times” made the following spiritual application: “In God’s sight each of us has an unseen ‘Plimsoll mark.’ Therefore, the temptations and trials He allows to come our way will never exceed our capacity to bear them. He knows our limit.” Note: Still in use today but is typically referred to as simply the "Waterline." A ship can have several ...

83. Bearing The Mark Of Christ

Mark 8:31--9:1, Mark 8:27-30

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... up his cross'' allows another interpretation worth exploring. Some exegetes suggest that in the pre-Easter version of the saying, stauros meant not a ''cross'' but a ''cross mark'' (a tau or chi, perhaps), such as was used to mark livestock. If that is the case, Jesus' original reference was to the Christian's taking on a mark of identification rather than martyrdom, which became the post-Easter meaning. Liturgical Color Green Suggested Hymns Where Cross The Crowded Ways Of Life The Church Of Christ, In ...

84. Marked At The Cross

Sermon

George Bass

... so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son” to die for all of us “… that the world through him might have life.” That is a truth that all of us can cling to regardless of what might happen to us in this life. We were marked for eternal life at the cross of Christ. Luke compresses the account of Jesus’ death into 14 short, but packed, verses of his story about the Lord. Jesus didn’t die alone; two criminals were crucified with him, men who had been condemned to death for crimes against ...

85. THE MARK

Drama

Jerome W. Nilssen

... . EVE What do you want from me? CAIN You’re going to use the knife. EVE Don’t be silly. CAIN On me. EVE Put it away, Cain. (No longer addressing a child, she is obviously frightened) Put it away. Please. CAIN You’re going to use it. Right here. (Marking his forehead) Not too deep, just deep enough. Deep enough to draw blood. And then let the blood stay on the knife. EVE Are you serious? I can’t do that. CAIN I’m demanding it, mother. And when he comes in from the cemetery, show him the knife, let ...

86. A Trade Mark for God

Matthew 21:9

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... ? (Reply) And what does that mean? What do you do with it? You drink it. Very good. (Do the same thing with several others) We call all of these signs I have shown you - what? TRADE MARKS. They tell us what to look and ask for when we want a soft drink or gasoline or whatever. Now, in a way, Jesus is the Trade Mark for God. When people see or hear about Jesus, they know they are hearing or seeing God. When the people in Jerusalem saw Jesus coming and they shouted Hosanna, they did so because they knew that ...

87. Mark 1:21-28

Mark 1:21-28

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... demonic being had thus far been able to live nicely in the comfortable status quo of the synagogue. Fear of this new authoritative voice calling for a fresh interpretation of a faithful life stirred the spirit into speaking, thus betraying its presence to Jesus. Mark makes sure we understand the cause for the intensity of the demonic spirit's fear by quoting its wheezy outcry directed at Jesus, "the Holy One of God." As James would put it later, "Even the demons believed and trembled" (James 2:19). With ...

88. Mark 4:26-34

Mark 4:26-34

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... size or insignificant scope of its planting. Huge harvests can come from small seeds. Our mandate is to plant seeds, and trust the Spirit to work the miracle of transformation. Even small faith seeds have tremendous power - even to the point of moving mountains. Mark 4:29 and its source, Joel 3:13, places the harvest firmly in God's hands. The harvest will come. Our only predictability is that it will come in kairological and not chronological time. And it will demonstrate to everyone's amazement the most ...

89. Mark 10:35-45

Mark 10:35-45

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... on the heels of Jesus' third passion prediction. Jesus and the disciples are about to embark on their journey toward Jerusalem. Apparently, however, the notoriously obtuse disciples of Mark's Gospel refuse to acknowledge the message Jesus is trying to reveal to them. Despite the explicit nature of this third description of his impending passion, Mark 10:35-45 gives us another example of the disciples' denseness. James and John approach Jesus with a request, a pitiful response to Jesus' description of what ...

90. Mark 12:38-44

Mark 12:38-44

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... is that they were guilty of transgressing the legal safeguards protecting widows and orphans. In fact, they were siphoning off monies from these estates for their own use. Remembering that anti-Temple, anti-cult themes define this whole section of Mark gives clarity to the second half of Jesus' condemnation (verse 40b). Jesus suggests that these "long prayers" said for "the sake of appearances" were not only spiritually valueless. They were draining the resources of those who needed it most - the helpless ...

91. Mark 1:21-28

Mark 1:21-28

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

92. Mark 4:26-34

Mark 4:26-34

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

93. Mark 12:38-44

Mark 12:38-44

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

94. Mark 9:2-9

Mark 9:2-9

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... of the occurrence. Desirous to do something to commemorate the event, he proposed building temporary shelter for them to dwell in. The voice that descends on this mountaintop gathering is intended to be the same as that which spoke at Jesus' baptism (Mark 1:11). At the baptism event, however, the voice is directed only toward Jesus. Here the voice's message is clearly directed toward the disciples. The message spoken by this heavenly voice has two parts. It clearly articulates Jesus' divine identity "This ...

95. Mark 8:31-38

Mark 8:31-38

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... teacher. In his rebuke of Peter, Jesus orders him back to a proper discipling position "Get behind me" and differentiates between the all-too-human concerns of Peter and the infinitely more important, eternal matters that are at stake. Part of the paradox Mark skillfully depicts in this exchange is that at the very moment Jesus is flexing the power and authority of his "secret" messianic identity, he is also revealing that in his messianic future lies suffering, rejection and death. Having put Peter in his ...

96. Mark 10:17-31

Mark 10:17-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... laws suggest that obedience to God's commandments is expressed by the ability to live in harmony and justice with one's neighbor. At first the young man is delighted with Jesus' words. He feels confident he has kept all these commandments "since my youth" (v.20). Mark's gospel, unlike Matthew's and Luke's, now reveals that Jesus responds to this unthinking exuberance not with anger or ridicule, but with love: "Jesus, looking at him, loved him"(v.21). It is out of love, not out of some decision to squelch an ...

97. Mark 13:24-37

Mark 13:24-37

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... on the Day of the Lord (Isaiah 13). Like that "Day," the coming of the Son of Man is expected "after" great suffering (v.19). But no indications are given about the length of time this "after" entails. The whole point of the three examples given in Mark 13:24-27, 28-31, and 32-36 is that while a discernible order of events may be expected, the exact moment is beyond human calculation. The celestial upheaval described in verse 24-25 brings an end to established human order neither sun nor moon will offer ...

98. Mark 4:26-34

Mark 4:26-34

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... passes, there continues the slow, predictable, inevitable but still inexplicable growth of the seed from "stalk" to "head" to "full grain in the head" (v.28). The progressive, unchecked growth and development of this "seed," this word Jesus presents, is noted literally in Mark's gospel (3:7,8; 4:1), and it is implied as the model for the gospel's spread and growth in the future. All this growth, while uncontrolled by the sower, is not without some definitive end purpose. Growth continues until the fruit ...

99. Mark 9:30-37

Mark 9:30-37

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... been arguing about who was to be the greatest? That a formal lesson is now to occur is signaled by Jesus sitting down and calling his disciples to surround him and listen. By denoting at this point the rowdy, restless band of followers as "the Twelve," Mark reminds the reader that this unlikely lot is the "chosen" of Jesus. They are the ones given authority to preach, teach and heal in Jesus' name. In their hands and hearts lies the future of Jesus' ministry. Delivered to this special group in this formal ...

100. Mark 8:31-38

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to emphasize the divinely mandated nature of the progression of events he articulates. The “suffering,” “rejection,” and death he describes are not failures. They are fulfillments of God’s design. Jesus refers to himself here, and in the other two passion narratives in Mark (9:31; 10:33-34), as “the Son of Man” or “the Human Being.” While the title is one Jesus frequently used to discuss himself in the third person, the phrase “Son of Man” was a fairly common idiom of the first century ...

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