Mark 5: 1-20

     What is perhaps most beautiful about this passage of scripture is the lengths that Jesus went to in order to search for this particular man, cross the sea, going to a place others would rather not go, to a man who had been cut off from society.

     But it leads me to ask, as followers of Jesus Christ if we are willing to do the same.
 
     Are we willing to go to uncomfortable places in order to be bearers of Christ's light in the world?

     As I was preparing for this weeks sermon I was struck by the following thought - are there any people that I would rather not bring Christ's Good News to? It's a vulnerable question, but a powerful one. Who are the people that I don't want to tell about Jesus's love and forgiveness?

     If folks as a group or individuals come to your mind as you reflect on that question, I would invite you to pray for them, and ask God to speak to your heart as well.    

Mark 5: 1-20 Devo

January 26th, 2020

Devotional

“Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac”

      Mark 5: 1-20

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Unclean” - Mark 5: 1-5

  When someone was referred to as unclean in Jesus’s time, it wasn’t speaking about being dirty, persay. It was more about being ritually unclean. Who was and was not suited to be able to come forth for public worship. 

There were lists of things that could make someone unclean. But here is a man who is living in an unclean place, amongst the dead, and who has been cut off from society because he is possessed by spirits. He is deemed to be a nuisance at best and a danger at worst to those around him.

So the town’s people try to contain him. They chain him up and when that doesn’t work they simply cut him off from their every day lives, even if it means leaving him to hurt himself in the process.

Yet, this is exactly the person that Jesus sought out. 

Who are the people that we cut off today and how do you think Christ would treat them?

Prayer: God, we sometimes find ourselves cutting folks off from your Church without realizing it. Sometimes it comes across in the way that we treat people. Other times it may be communicated just as much by what we do not say. Forgive us, O Lord, and change our hearts to see as you see, we pray. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Legion” - Mark 5: 6-13

Jesus took time to ask the man his name, probably something that has not happened in quite some time as his humanity has been stripped from him in so many ways. Only it isn’t the man who answers, but the unclean spirits within him. They identify themselves as Legion, saying that it is because there are many. 

We are often told throughout the Gospels that even the demons recognize Jesus and this scripture is no exception. They know this is Jesus. They know his power. They know Jesus is not going to let them stay, tormenting this man. And so they ask Jesus to send them into the nearby swine instead.

It is my hope and prayer that we, as the body of Christ, recognize Jesus’s power as well. Jesus power to set free. To transform lives. To completely change this world. And that is what we are praying for daily. 

How have you seen the power of Christ in your life?

Prayer: Lord, make us people who recognize your power. May we be a people who are down on our knees, praying for your power to be made known in this world so that lives can be changed for your Kingdom. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Came to See” - Mark 5: 14-17

The people in the town came to see what was happening after. One would think that they would be struck with awe to see this man who they had once sent away into the tombs as whole and healed. But that was not the case. In fact, instead of worshiping Jesus or wanting to follow him, they beg him to leave.

Sometimes when people have a life changing encounter with Christ, we too can react with fear. Or when God is calling us to do a new things for the sake of his Kingdom. We can turn away in fear. 

We need to examine our hearts to see where there are places where fear dwells instead of awe and bring those before the Lord in prayer. 

What fear of what God is doing do you want to bring before the Lord in prayer?

Prayer: Lord, you not only transform the people we hear about in scripture but you transform us as well. Search us for any places where we may be in need of such transformation, we pray. Amen. 

Thursday: “Go Home” - Mark 5: 18-19

  While the townspeople were begging Jesus to leave, the man who has been healed is begging Jesus to let him go with him. But Jesus says no. That’s not his call at this point in life. Instead, Jesus does something odd for the Gospel of Mark. He commands him to go home and tell what the Lord has done for you. 

It is also interesting that Jesus doesn’t start by telling the man to go far and wide sharing what God has done. Instead, he sends him first back to where he came from. Back to the people who know him. So they too can give witness to this transformation within him. 

We, too, are sent forth with a similar mission and message, to tell what God has done for us. This is at its very heart what testimony is. Giving glory to God for what God has done.

  How do you share your testimony with others?

Prayer: Lord, give us the boldness in spirit to testify to what you have done in us, O Lord. To the change you have brought. And then send us out to proclaim it, all for your glory. Amen. 

Friday: “Obedience” - Mark 5: 20

  It’s interesting when you think of the man as shown at the beginning of chapter 5 of Mark as compared to verse 20. At first, he seems to be free. Even chains cannot hold him. Yet, he is not truly free until the end, when he makes the choice to be obedient to Christ. 

We can often become confused about what freedom truly means. Free will was given to us in hopes that we would choose to worship and follow God, as the man did at the end of this scripture passage. 

How are freedom and obedience related in your life?

Prayer: Lord, free us to be your obedient servants we pray. Remove anything in our lives that may prevent us from freely following your will and your way. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word:

You are invited to read and pray over this coming week’s text: “Jairus’ Daughter Healed” - Mark 5: 21-45

Sabbath. Study. Serve.

Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: Mark 5: 1-20

From the Sermon:

When the towns people looked at this man, all that they were able to see was his ___________.

Jesus comes to one of the most alienated people that we find in the Gospel of Mark, and ___________________.

The towns people’s reaction to the healing of the man was to ask Jesus ______________.

Compare that to the man, who begs Jesus _______________________.

Reflection Questions:

Who are the people we sometimes knowingly and sometimes unknowingly cut off, because of our own fear or thoughts of who is worthy to come into the presence of God?

Are we the people who are begging to follow Jesus on the mission, no matter what it may be and no matter where we may be called to go, because we are so moved by what Jesus has done for us? Or are we the people sending the man away and quite frankly sending Jesus away as well?

How has Jesus changed your life and how are you proclaiming it?

Prayer:

Lord, we confess that there have been times that we have let our fear of others hold us back from sharing the Gospel. We have judged in our hearts and in our heads who we think is worthy of hearing your message of love and forgiveness. Forgive us, O Lord. Free us as well to go forth as your messengers in this world. Amen. 

“Parables in Mark” Mark 4: 1-34

    Jesus taught his disciples and crowds in parables - these stories that wove together the context the folks he was speaking to could understand with the deeper meaning Jesus is trying to help them unearth.

    This particular section of parables focuses on the Kingdom of God. Jesus was absolutely adamant in proclaiming that the Kingdom of God is a reality, yet in how he talks about it in these parables, just beyond our ability to comprehend, we are reminded that it is also mysterious.

   This is certainly true in our world today. We don't always get it right, just like the disciples didn't always get it right long ago. We try to make the Kingdom of God in our image instead of seeking out the face of God in order to have the Kingdom revealed.

   But maybe that's the point. We are invited to be a part of the Kingdom, but it isn't ultimately about us. It's about God. God who comes in unexpected ways. Who comes in the quiet. Who brings about the growth.

   We simply need to choose to come alongside God and be on the lookout for the movement of God amongst us!

The Parables of Jesus Devotional

January 19th, 2019

Devotional

“Parables In Mark” 

      Mark 4: 1-34

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Listen” - Mark 4: 1-9

  A crowd has gathered around to hear Jesus’s teaching and what does he start off with - a parable. A story with a deeper meaning than that which may first meet the eye. Parables start with something that people can relate to, but then expands the understanding and imagination of those hearing the words being spoken. 

Jesus calls out for the people to listen before he starts. There is such an emphasis on hearing and listening in the Gospel of Mark - perhaps because we don’t always live into the listening end in our lives. We may hear what people are telling us, but we don’t always truly listen, as our brain moves on to think of the next thing. 

God needs us to listen because God isn’t boxed in by our imaginations, or lack there of. God wants us to listen so we can respond to the invitation of the seed that we are being offered. 

What does it look like, practically, for you to listen to God?

Prayer: God, we confess that sometimes we do not make space in our lives to listen. We fear the silence instead of seeing it as an invitation to hear your voice. Other times we shy away from listening because we don’t know if we are going to like what we hear. Forgive us, O Lord. Help us to create space to listen to you more each day. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Do You Not Understand?” -Mark 4: 10-20

The disciples walked away from what Jesus had told the crowd and they didn’t get it. I have to wonder if they had been spending much of their time not getting it over the past days and weeks after excepting this call to follow Jesus. But this time they are brave enough to ask Jesus for clarification and he grants it, step by step.

But perhaps the most important thing that Jesus says to them isn’t the explanation they asked for. Instead, it was telling them that they were given the secrets of the Kingdom. Why? Because Jesus is right there with them. The Messiah. In the flesh. 

Are we brave enough to ask Jesus for clarity when we don’t understand? Or do we just pretend to understand, without even truly listening first? 

How do you respond when you don’t understand something?

Prayer: Lord, when we pretend that we understand when we don’t, we are like the weeds that choke out the seeds. When we insist that we know everything, we don’t give the seed of your word space to grow within us. Forgive us, O Lord. Cultivate our hearts with questions and may we become good soil in which your word can grow. Amen. 

Wednesday: “More Will Be Given” - Mark 4: 21-25

This section of Jesus’s teaching can often confuse us, unless we step back and remember that it is all in the context of Jesus teaching about the Kingdom of God. What makes up the Kingdom of God? That which proclaims God’s name and way and truth. 

Therefore, when Jesus says to his disciples “For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away” he isn’t talking about this in our human terms. Instead, it points to being spiritually rich. Spiritually fertile. Spiritually fulfilled. 

How do we become spiritually rich? By seeking out the face of God. Listening to Jesus isn’t always easy. Seeing what God is doing amongst us, isn’t always easy to recognize. But the more that we seek the face of God, the easier it becomes and the more will be given. 

What do you think it means to be spiritually rich?

Prayer: Lord, help us to not be distracted by the ways of the world that come to choke life out of us. Instead, let us seek you and your Kingdom first, all of our days. Amen. 

Thursday: “The Harvest” - Mark 4: 26-29

  What is difficult to understand about the Kingdom is that the seed is going to land where the seed is going to land. We are simply called to be the people who scatter the seed. Every place that we can. Then it is God who multiplies it. And it is God who brings about the harvest. 

We, as the workers in God’s fields, can’t actually judge or determine the success of the Kingdom, as much as we may think that we can. That is God’s work alone. Our work is to be workers in the fields - and to work with joy and confidence in God and commitment to God’s Kingdom. 

  How do you feel called to work the for the Kingdom?

Prayer: Lord, help us to set aside that which is not ours to have and help us to do with joy that which you call us to do. In Jesus’s name. Amen. 

Friday: “Mustard Seed” - Mark 4: 30-34

  Parables often have surprises in them and this ending parable about the Kingdom of God is no exception. We often think of mustard seeds as being small, but in our part of the world we don’t think of the giant bush that they grow into. That something so small could make something that produces so much. 

So it is with the Kingdom of God. We may think that we are just one person, just one disciples. Yet, with God using us, what is possible?

Often we write ourselves off before we even get started in the work God has called us to do. We come up with all of the reasons that we can’t instead of listening to God and responding in confidence. 

What would be possible if we hand our lives over to God?

What is a small thing you have done that has had big results?

Prayer: Lord, we want to renew our commitment to you and your Kingdom this day. Use us as workers in your field. Use us in ways we may not recognize. Use us, we pray. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “Jesus and the Garasene Demoniac” - Mark 5: 1-20.

Sabbath. Study. Serve.

Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: Mark 4: 1-34

From the Sermon:

________ - I need you to pay attention, because this is going to be important.

Sometimes we may _______ with our ______ but we aren’t really listening.

Martin Luther described understanding as the relationship between the learned_______, the ready _____, and the prepared _________.

We also misunderstand who the Kingdom of God _______________.

Reflection Questions:

What was  Jesus trying to tell people about the Kingdom of God?

How do we proclaim the Kingdom of God in our every day lives?

Prayer:

Precious Lord, thank you for coming amongst us to not only bring us new life through salvation, but to teach us about the very Kingdom of God. Thank you for inviting us to be part of its revealing and proclamation in the world, we pray. Amen. 

Jesus Teaches and Heals - Mark 2: 1-22

    The friends of the paralytic man in the first portion of Mark 2 have an important lesson to teach us - we don't get to choose our delimmas. But we do get to choose what we are going to do about them.

   When I consider this particular piece of scripture I am struck by just how far this man's friends will go for him. And it makes me question who in my life I would go that far for.

   If I'm honest, the list is pretty short. In fact, in the world that we live in, it seems like we will often do very little to help other people.

   In fact, sometimes we even get in the way.

   I was speaking to a colleague this week about how frustrated I get when we don't even think about other people. We are so focused on ourselves alone that we do not even see this paralytic man and his friends that are trying so deseperatly to have this moment with Jesus. We are so focused on our own wants and needs and desires that we miss who is right in front of us.

    But thankfully, the man's friends did not stop. They went as far as to dig a hole in their roof so their friend could be in the presence of Jesus.

    All too often we let small blips and hiccups get in the way of our relationship with Jesus and reaching out to others in his name. What would it look like if we were willing to go as far as this man's friends for those around us who do not yet know Christ? What could change in our world and what could change in us?

Jesus Teaches and Heal Devo - Mark 2: 1-22

January 12th, 2020

Devotional

“Jesus Teaches and Heals” -

    Mark 2: 1-22 

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Authority” - Mark 2: 1-12

I do not find it surprising that in the second chapter of the Gospel of Mark, the most controversial thing about Jesus isn’t his teaching (people are crowding into the house for that) or his healing (that has happened in several places to the point where his fame is growing), but offering forgiveness. 

Not just any forgiveness, but the forgiveness of sins.

When Jesus utters those words the Pharisees who were amongst those listening to him started to question him in their hearts, asking who was this person that he could forgive sins. 

Of course he was Jesus, the one and only one who truly has the power and authority to forgive sins. 

Sometimes this story confuses people because Jesus offered both spiritual healing from sin and physical healing from paralysis. They think that because of this linking together in one story that the man must have been sick because he had sinned. But when I think about people I know who are sick, often it is not their sin that has made them ill at all. Rather, because of the brokenness of this world, illness exists. But this story reminds us that Jesus has come to heal us and bring us to wholeness, both of body and spirit.

  What is one area where you need forgiveness today?

Prayer: God, we thank you that you have came to save us as whole people, to bring freedom to the captive and recovery of sight to the blind, and to set us free from sin. Heal us we pray. Illuminate any places within us where we stand in need of forgiveness and allow us to bring those things before your throne of grace. Forgive us, we pray. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Follow Me” - Mark 2: 13-14

There is just something about Jesus that when he calls, we follow. I think often it is that Jesus meets us where we are at and knows that our spirits are already seeking. Seeking for a Savior. Seeking for the One who can fill the emptiness and void in our lives. 

Levi, this one who no one would have expected to follow Jesus, he heard Jesus say “Follow me” and he went. He got right up out of his tax booth and went. 

I hope and pray that we have the same desire and yearning to follow Jesus today. That when he calls us to follow him and give our lives to him as his disciples that we are willing to do so. To leave it all behind to go where our Savior leads.

What holds you back at times from following Jesus?

Prayer: Lord, we confess that we say that we want to hear your voice, we say we want to feel the stirring of your Spirit, yet sometimes when we hear you calling, we do not always go willingly. Forgive us, Lord. Keep calling us until we respond like Levi and leave it all behind to follow you. Amen. 

Wednesday: “In Need” - Mark 2: 15-17

  What I find striking about Levi is that he invited Jesus to come to his house and eat, knowing that the people who would be there were not desirable company for many. In fact, Mark describes them as “sinners and tax collectors.”

The Pharisees got so confused about why in the world Jesus would be amongst these people. But that is exactly who Jesus came for - those who needed him most. 

The Pharisees were so busy judging others and wondering why in the world Jesus would break bread with these folks that they missed that they were in need of healing as well. They wanted to control the table - who was welcome. They wanted to control who God was for. 

If we are honest, sometimes we do this as well. We try to control who is welcome or under what terms. We try to control God’s grace. But grace is an uncontainable thing. And while it is our gift to receive, freely given by God, it is not ours to control. It is God’s gift alone. 

How do we try to control God’s grace?

Prayer: God, we confess that we try to say who is included and excluded from your table of grace. We want people to come to us. Or to meet certain requirements before they are welcome. But that is not why you came. So free us, O Lord, as well. Free us from our control and our judgments. Free us to realize that we, too, are in need of a Savior. Amen. 

Thursday: “Fasting” -Mark 2: 18-20

  All of a sudden a conversation emerges about different types of disciples. Followers of Jesus versus followers of John versus followers of the pharisees. The last two groups were observing the practice of fasting - abstaining from something, usually eating.

Usually fasting was related with confession of sins. The book of Leviticus calls it “denying one’s self” and links it to high holy days, like the day of atonement (Lev 23: 26-32). 

But for Jesus, it wasn’t just about fasting as an act, it was about examining the heart. This is the day to be with him, to learn from him, to spend time in his presence, because the day will come when the disciples will not have that. 

The Pharisees, and probably even the disciples, did not understand what Jesus was saying to them. But he was inviting them to get back to the heart of relationship with God through him. 

  What does practicing fasting mean to you?

Prayer: Lord, we confess that we like the disciples long ago, don’t always understand. And we confess that even now, centuries later, we can still fight as your people about things like fasting. Invite us anew to get back to the heart of the matter, O Lord. Renew us, we pray. Amen. 

Friday: “New” - Mark 2: 21-22

  I’m not sure we always like Jesus’s teaching about old wine in new wine skins - it can be scary to think about doing something new, especially when we are so used to doing it the way that we are familiar with. 

But with newness comes something that is all throughout Mark 2: 1-22, hope. 

Hope is what helped the friends bring the man to Jesus, no matter what. 

Hope is what helped Levi claim his new identity. 

Hope is what Jesus offered around Levi’s dining room table.

Hope is what folks had forgotten and needed to reclaim about fasting. 

With hope, Jesus is calling his disciples, and us, to something both ancient and new. Something that is deeper. Something that is life changing. 

And that is what we are tasked with carrying forth to the world. 

What hope does Jesus offer you? How can you share this hope with the world?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for being the bearer of hope to the broken hearted. Thank you for doing something new in us. Thank you, O Lord, for calling us to be bearers of that newness and hope to the world. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “Parables in Mark” - Mark 4: 1-34

Sabbath. Study. Serve.

Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: Matthew 2: 1-22

From the Sermon:

In this particular story, the people come to meet Jesus _________________________.

Here is a man who is desperately in need of healing from Jesus and the good folks listening to Jesus are ______________.

These friends will do _____________________ to get their friend in the presence of Jesus. 

How far are we willing to go to be bearers of _______?

Reflection Questions:

Have we ever got in the way of someone coming to love the Lord?

Do we want to be the people in the house blocking the way or the friends who will do anything to bring someone to Jesus?

How are we as a people of faith bearing the hope of Jesus in the world?

Prayer:

Lord, this week we remember. We remember the promises made long ago at our baptism. We remember the covenant that was made. We remember that the promises there don’t get taken away, when we fail to remember. So speak to us again, Precious Lord. Lead us to a place of renewal. Let us rededicate our lives to you and you alone. Amen. 

Jesus's Ministry Begins - Mark 1: 21-45

     The beginning of the Gospel of Mark is a whirlwind - Jesus is moving fast. In college, I had to translate part of the Gospel of Mark for Greek class. Guess what one of the words that occurred the most was? Kai - translation 'and'. Mark just zips through one event, connecting it with 'and' in order to show the pace that Jesus is moving at. 

    In Mark 1: 21-45, Jesus heals three distinct individuals and the crowds of people who come to him. Even when tries to get time away to pray, one of his disciples hunts him down to try to get him to go back and heal more people who are waiting. 

    But Jesus didn't just come to heal in Mark. He also came to teach about the Kingdom of God. 

    Which leads me to wonder, as Jesus's disciples do we often have our eye on the healing more than the teaching? In other words, do we get so caught up in the action of being Jesus's disciples that we miss the time to sit and reflect on what he is trying to teach us? And what would it mean for us today if we seriously considered the teachings of Jesus?

    Jesus isn't done healing. He isn't done teaching. He is unleashing us out into the world with this powerful Kingdom message. But we also still need to reflect on his teachings here and now today. For they transformed lives long ago and still transform lives today. 

Jesus's Ministry Begins Devo

January 5th, 2020

Devotional

“Jesus’s Ministry Begins”

Mark 1: 21-45 

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Astounded” - Mark 1: 21-22

  When the word of God is proclaimed it is powerful. It has the ability to comfort. To convict. To challenge. To encourage. To shape us as Jesus’s disciples. 

Some of the first people that Jesus taught in the synagogue were astounded. 

When I was at my last appointment, I followed a pastor who left shortly after he was ordained to become a military chaplain. He knew that this was God’s call upon his life, so while he was working on ordination requirements he was also in training for chaplaincy at military schools. I inherited some of his chaplaincy training materials, including this captivating sign that hung right inside of the pastor’s study that asked a simple question, “have you prayed your way into worship today?”

In other words, have you prayed that the Word capture your heart and attention. Have you asked God to be astounded? Have you desired that God shape you in this way?

Being astounded didn’t stop long ago. It still happens today. The question is - are we praying for it?

What could it look like for you to prepare your heart for worship?

What do you pray for before worship?

Prayer: God, we confess that sometimes we do not prepare ourselves for you to move. We act as if being astounded by you and your Word is something that happened long ago, not today. Forgive us, Lord. Shape and mold us, we pray. Amen. 

Tuesday: “I Know Who You Are” - Mark 1: 23-28

Folks are a little bit in the dark about who Jesus is for the majority of the Gospel of Mark. While this is true for the other Gospel writers as well, Mark points out time and again that the people didn’t recognize that Jesus was the Messiah. 

That is true in this first healing story in this weeks text as well. 

The people miss it, but the demons they get it. The unclean spirits call out to Jesus and ask what he has to do with them? Is he going to destroy them?

And Jesus silences them. You think at this point, the people would start to get it, but instead of seeing Jesus as the Messiah they wonder if he is one who is teaching with new authority. They haven’t seen anyone like this before, but it doesn’t cross their minds that he is the one they have been waiting for. 

The same thing can happen to us from time to time as well. We miss the point. We overlook what Jesus has come to teach and proclaim. We only see as if through a veil, to quote the apostle Paul. But even when the people missed the point, even if we don’t fully get it, the Word of Jesus goes on. In spread throughout Galilee, because the Kingdom of God cannot be contained. 

What is something that we can overlook about Jesus?

Prayer: Lord, help us to see you are you fully are. Speak to our spirits. Remove the veil from our eyes and our hearts and then send us out to boldly proclaim your Kingdom come. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Left Her” - Mark 1: 29-34

In this particular section of the Gospel of Mark, the healing of Simon’s Mother in Law is one of my favorite stories. The woman is in bed with a fever. None of her family knows what to do. But Jesus, when he comes into the home, doesn’t even have to tell her to get up. He simply takes her hand and lifts her up, and the fever left her.

I don’t know about you, but there are some times in my life that I need Jesus to just take my hand and pick me up. When life has me down. When I know that I can do nothing by my own power. I need Jesus. 

The problem comes when we do not submit to this type of authority the rest of the time in our lives. When we do trick ourselves into thinking that we can do it by our own power and might. 

The woman is so sick that she didn’t even realize what was going on. Sometimes we are so sick in spirit that we trick ourselves into thinking we don’t need healing. 

How do you rely on Jesus’s authority and power in your life?

Prayer: Almighty God, help us to recognize that we need your healing. Help us to claim the truth that we cannot do anything on our own. Be with us, we pray. Amen. 

Thursday: “He Prayed” - Mark 1: 35-39

We all need time in our lives to pray. For Jesus, admits all of the people coming to him for healing, even up to the doorstep of where he was staying, he needed to get away. So he went out into the darkness of the night for some quiet time with God. 

Which of course was interrupted by Simon telling him that everyone was looking for him. You can almost hear the thoughts in Simon’s mind, can’t you. What are you doing here Jesus? Don’t you know that the people need you? Get up! Let’s go!

We can hear some of those same voices in our lives - telling us that there is more to do. To get up. That we don’t need that quiet time of prayer. 

But of course, we do need that time with the Lord, for it alone can sustain us for the work ahead. 

When is your quiet time with Jesus? How does it impact your day?

Prayer: God of Grace, thank you for calling us away from the business of the day to find ourselves in you. Let us just sit with you, O Lord, as you whisper to our spirits in the quiet. Strengthen us, we pray. Amen. 

Friday: “If You Choose” - Mark 1: 40-45

  Sometimes in the Gospel of Mark, people get close to recognizing who Jesus is, but aren’t quite there. That was true for the man in this scripture passage. He says to Jesus, if you choose, you can make me clean. He sees something in Jesus. Some sort of authority, but also the power he has. 

Of course, Jesus did choose, but then he told the man not to say anything to anyone about what happens. 

But he couldn’t contain himself. He wanted to go and shout it to everyone who will listen. 

Often right after we have a life changing experience with Jesus, we too are like this man, telling everyone who will listen. But as times goes on, we don’t tell that story as much anymore. Or with as much fire. It starts to fade. What would it look like if we lived every day like the man who was healed? How could our story help lead others to the love and power of Christ?

What do you tell people about how Jesus has changed your life?

Prayer: God, free us to proclaim your story in us. May our testimony touch others hearts and minds all for the sake of your Kingdom. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic to prepare for worship: “Jesus Heals and Teaches ” - Mark 2:1-22

Sabbath. Study. Serve.

Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: Matthew 1: 21-45

From the Sermon:

Mark jumps right in to the beginning of Jesus’s earthly ministry - a ministry marked by __________ and ____________.

Jesus came to liberate those who are __________.

Jesus came to set the_____________ lose in this world. 

Amazement is not ________.

Ministry is _____________ to the people and taking care of their needs, meeting them _______________________.

We go and reach out to folks because they matter to Jesus and if they matter to Jesus ___________________________________.

Reflection:

What does this text have to do with me today?

How could the word you received help you to be a bearer of the Christ light in 2020?

Prayer:

Lord, as I sit this week with this text and the word I have received, I ask that your light guide me. That you speak to my heart about what you may be calling me to in this coming year. Create divine appointments, O Lord, to help me share the Good News of your Kingdom. Amen.