Sermon and Worship Resources

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2 Corinthians 1:12--2:4

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... just how much more it costs to wear a hot name-brand than it does to get the imitation or knockoff. The maker's mark, the trendy cost-hiking logo, not only denotes brand but, as all kids can tell you, is synonymous with reputation. A brand is what ... might warp or distort the image and message of Christ that he's committed to communicating to the world. Paul wants nothing less than to put Christ's mark on the world, and to do so he has to be believed, he has to be trusted that he is who he says he is: a man ...

2. The Mark Upon Us

Sermon

Lee Griess

... of kindness done for their own reward and prayer done in secret, there is a need for us to begin Lent by looking deeper. And that is, in fact, the thrust of the reading from Matthew this evening. Jesus' words tell us to look within and to see the mark upon each of us. Beginning with the first pages of the Bible and the story of Adam and Eve, the Bible pulls no punches. In the picture of that first man and woman and their rebellion toward God, we see ourselves echoed in this portrayal of humanity. Adam and ...

3. The Mark Upon Us

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

Lee Griess

4. The Revelation Code III: The Mark on Harry's Forehead

Revelation 13:11-14:7

Sermon

John E. Harnish

... can vividly remember being asked, "How do people tell you two apart?" And I remember answering, "Well, Jim has a mole on the back of his neck and I have a birthmark on the sole of my foot." (I will spare you a display of the evidence.) It was the mark that set me apart as a unique individual. But more important, I remember the day Rev. Ralph Richardson placed his hands on my head and confirmed me as a disciple of Jesus Christ. I remember the night at Cherry Run Camp when I responded to an altar call and the ...

5. Mark 16:1-8

Mark 16:1-8

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... moved forward to the third day the Sabbath was over. It now was the "first day of the week." The women are worrying about the large stone that blocks their entrance into Jesus' tomb, but they do not stop to try to find someone to help them. In verse 5, Mark identifies the presence there in the tomb. He calls it a neaniskos, a term he uses only one other place in his gospel the enigmatic reference in 14:51-52. Clearly the position and description of this "young man" in the tomb is meant to suggest he is an ...

6. Bearing the Marks of Christ

Galatians 6:11-18

Sermon

James W. Moore

... We understand that God loves us, that God cares about us, and that God can use us and work through us. Some years ago, I worked at a Youth Camp for senior highs. On the final night of camp, we had a consecration service that dramatically underscored this mark of discipleship. Each young person there was asked to write on a piece of paper a list of his or her own unique abilities that God could use. These were put in sealed envelopes and presented at the altar in a communion service as an act of consecration ...

7. Mark 1:1-8

Mark 1:1-8

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... from John and makes possible the uniquely empowered ministry and message Jesus will offer all who listen to him. The Spirit-empowered Jesus, John the Baptist declares, is the one who fulfills all the Old Testament eschatological hopes. Jesus clearly receives the Spirit in Mark 1:10, but the Baptist's proclamation in verse 8 promises even more. Jesus is "more powerful" than John because he will offer this Holy Spirit to others, pouring it out on those who accept his message, even as John pours out the waters ...

8. Mark 13:1-8

Mark 13:1-8

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... do not come for Jesus' sake or on behalf of Jesus, as the phrase was commonly understood. Instead, all these who are claiming "I am he" are attempting to take on Jesus' messianic identity. That all these pretenders are blatantly false is made clear in Mark's text, for the signs and events that will usher in the messianic age have not yet occurred. Jesus' warning to his disciples that they not be "led astray" by these false messiahs is coupled with a specific guide. Although they may be frightened, perhaps ...

9. Mark 1:1-8

Mark 1:1-8

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to any new faith community. Rather it offers a renewal of spiritual purity and faith. That John the Baptist first “proclaimed,” then practiced this new rite of baptism make it part of the on-going divine activity John has been sent to announce. Mark’s gospel identified first John the Baptist, then Jesus himself, and finally the disciples (3:14: 6:12)( and the post-resurrection community (13:10; 14:9) all as “proclaimers” heralds (“keryx”) of God’s word. The importance of John the Baptist’s ...

10. Mark 1:1-8

Mark 1:1-8

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... the Lord.” John is clearly an Elijah figure, making his dictums from the Jordan river region that was Elijah’s old stomping grounds (2 Kings 2:6-14) and ushering in the beginning of a new age with his proclamations of preparation. As much as Mark elevates the person of John the Baptist by identifying him with the prophet Elijah, this connection also serves to affirm Jesus’ status. Elijah was to return and proclaim the way of the Lord, the return of God, not some separate messianic figure. If John the ...

11. Mark 11:1-11

Mark 11:1-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... to his disciples the words that will act as a kind of "open sesame" for them. Their response of "The Lord needs it. . ." should be seen as a reference to Jesus as "the Lord" not, as some suggest, as "the Lord" or master of the colt. Typical of Mark's gospel, the disciples' mission to get the colt goes exactly as Jesus had foretold. The animal is unbroken, is tied where he said it would be, and the disciples are confronted only with questions to which Jesus has given them answers in advance. The actions next ...

12. Marked By The Cross

Romans 6:2-4

Sermon

George Bass

... and informed about the Christian faith, I believe that she gave a positive answer, “Yes, Jennifer, the cross is still there” or something like that. She could have said, “You can’t see it, but it is still there and it will always be there. You have been marked by the cross forever.” She would be right on both counts, of course. For one thing, the cross of Christ -- the sign of God’s new covenant with us in Jesus Christ -- is invisible. It cannot be seen with the naked eye; it was traced on our ...

13. Mark 1:9-15

Mark 1:9-15

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... was not understood by first century Judaism as a sign of the divine Spirit at all. According to this second argument, Mark's description of this dove/Spirit then is possibly the work of a later Markan redactor. The Nazarene "Gospel According to ... Son, might be the divine's acknowledgment that "in you I take delight" (REB). Now that Jesus' special status has been unmistakably proven, Mark reveals the flip side of Jesus' special chosenness, his "only- ness." It further shores up Jesus' claim as the Son to be ...

14. Mark 10:17-31

Mark 10:17-31

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... already done exactly what Jesus had asked of the rich man given up everything they had and followed him. In effect, Jesus agrees with Peter by promising that for all the things his disciples have given up for his sake, they will receive back "a hundredfold." Mark's text is a bit convoluted here, as he uses elements both from Matthew's version where rewards are accorded only after the eschaton and Luke's version, which promises good things both now and in the age to come. To keep everything from sounding too ...

15. Mark 1:14-20

Mark 1:14-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... person and the message of Jesus. Turning away, the act of repentance, leads to a turning towards, a turning towards faith in the mission and message of Jesus the Christ. Once Jesus’ gospel, his good news about the kingdom of God, has been declared, Mark’s text immediately moves to record how Jesus goes about building this kingdom through the establishment of a community of followers. When Jesus begins calling disciples to join him, it is hard for us to comprehend what an unprecedented act this is vis a ...

16. Mark 15: 1-39 (40-47)

Mark 15:1-15

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... . The curtain in the Court of Israel depicted the earth, sea, and heavens. Whether tearing apart the separation between God and the people or rending the separation between the heavens and the earth, either rip demonstrates a new cosmic reality. But the final moment in Mark’s crucifixion scene is not dark and despairing. Faced with the body of Jesus on the cross, a witness to his last words, but not a witness to the torn curtain, confesses: “Truly this man was God’s Son.” That witness was the Roman ...

17. Mark 1:4-11

Mark 1:4-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... is simply a symbolic gesture, a baptism with water only. The one whom he proclaims as yet to come will offer a truly new gift baptism with the Holy Spirit. After John the Baptist's declaration that the one he awaits is "more powerful" than himself, Mark's revelation in verse 9 is indeed surprising. If Jesus is the one John the Baptist had been sent to announce, why should this "more powerful" one have to experience the baptism with water John offers? Since Jesus does not need his heart opened to repentance ...

18. Mark 1:29-39

Mark 1:29-39

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Jesus have the power to cast out demons, his authority is such that he can forbid these demons to speak out, keeping them from revealing his true identity. The success of Jesus' healings and exorcisms in that pleasant home environment is short-lived. Much of Mark's gospel focuses on the theme of conflict and confrontation in Jesus' life and ministry. Things are just too good for Jesus to stay in the shalom zone of Simon's home any longer. Given this Markan concern, the gospel writer is probably implying ...

19. Mark 9:2-9

Mark 9:2-9

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... with Jesus is far from clear. And then, of course, there are those "booths" Peter blathers on about what does their mention add to the point of this remarkable incident? First, we must look at the Trans-figuration's place in the chronology of Mark's gospel. Mark places it at a crucial moment in his story. Peter has just confessed, "You are the Messiah" (8:29) and received the ear-pinning rebuke from Jesus when he questions the necessity of a suffering, dying, rising Christ (8:31-33). Jesus is repeatedly ...

20. Mark 1:21-28

Mark 1:21-28

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... spirit directly addresses Jesus, challenging him with a traditional defensive phrase (literally “what is there between us and you?”) that denies any connection between the speaker and the one being addressed (see 1 Kings 17:18; 2 Kings 3:13; Judges 11:12, Mark 5:7; John 2:4). The unclean spirit contemptuously rejects Jesus’ presence and person. But the spirit goes on to precisely define who Jesus is. There is a wonderful play on words between “Jesus of Nazareth” and “the Holy One of God.” In ...

21. The Messiah’s Mark

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... this individual Scribe. He judges which commandment is “first,” but also points beyond the Torah to the kingdom. It is not the Torah that brings this Scribe “not far from the kingdom of God.” It is the man’s reception to Jesus and his words. Mark’s final comment on this exchange asserts that “After that no one dared to ask him any question.” Though this may seem like a “throw-away” comment, it actually reveals one of the greatest betrayals of the faithfulness of those groups who had been ...

22. Mark 1:4-11

Mark 1:4-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie" (vs.7). Furthermore, John notes that a crucial difference will attend the ministrations of this one to come: "I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." In Mark, Jesus appears at the Jordan to experience John's baptism. The difference John had promised is immediately made evident, for as Jesus emerges from the water, "... he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove" (vs.10 ...

23. Mark 16:1-8

Mark 16:1-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... with an opportunity for faith. It is that opportunity the angel reveals to the women in the commission he gives in verse 7. The women, who had come expecting to anoint a dead body, are now told to recall and embrace as true the words Jesus had uttered in Mark 14:28 (“But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.”) Jesus has not been “raised” as some ghostly creature to some ethereal plane. Jesus’ body was not in the tomb because he had been resurrected and was on his way to Galilee to ...

24. Mark 3:20-35

Mark 3:20-30

Sweet

King Duncan

... it. They attack it. Today’s narrative begins with a “focus on the family.” But it is not a pretty picture. Mark is the only gospel that records this extreme judgment and reaction expressed by Jesus’ family. The term translated in v. 21 ... offers the first of yet another of his distinctive sayings — an inclusive “gnomic” utterance that begins with “whoever” or “if anyone” (see Mark 9:37-40; 10:29-31; 10:43,45; 11:23). “Family” is now redefined as “whoever does the will of God.” ...

25. Mark 1:21-28

Mark 1:21-28

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... rejects any connection to Jesus and his heavenly power, while tacitly acknowledging Jesus' ability to "destroy us." Jesus' unique identity and status is revealed by the demon when it names Jesus as "the Holy One of God." This title is used only this one time in Mark. It appears elsewhere in the New Testament only in Luke 4:34 and John 6:69. In the Hebrew Scriptures the title is applied to Elisha (2 Kings 4:9), Samson (Judges 16:17), and Aaron (Psalm 106:16), always to describe persons specially consecrated ...

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