Transfiguration - Mark 8:27-9:8

      Like the other scriptures that we have been studying in the Gospel of Mark this year, the question the author wants us to examine is 'who' not 'how'? For if we do not know the who, then there is no way we can even begin to grasp the how, because it is by the power of Jesus alone as the Messiah that the things we read about take place.

     But what is interesting in this particular scripture passage is that even when you know the who, it doesn't mean you understand everything else. Time and time again, Peter is seen missing the point in the midst of these two chapters. Yet, he still continues to follow Jesus.

     In contrast, Jesus states that not everyone will be a follower of Jesus. They don't understand the who so they are unable to follow him in the first place.

     The point of being a disciple of Jesus Christ isn't having all the right answers or understanding everything - no one can do that. Instead, being a follower of Jesus comes from recognizing who he is and being willing to follow him out into the world for the sake of the Kingdom.

Transfiguration Devo

February 23, 2020

Devotional

“Transfiguration”

Mark 8: 27-9:8

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: “Say That I Am” - Mark 8: 27-30

  Jesus invites his disciples into a conversation about who he is by first asking them what everyone else says about him. They are at the ready with many answers. But when he shifted the conversation to who they think he is, only one disciple dared to answer - Peter.

Often it is so easy to talk about what other people think about Jesus. In fact, lots of people both inside and outside of the church have thoughts and opinions about who Jesus is. But we need to take time to look inside of our own hearts to see who we think that Jesus is, personally, for us. 

There is a gentleman in this parish who says that no one else can have a relationship with Jesus Christ for you. Peter was only able to declare that Jesus was the Messiah because he had a relationship with him, even if he ultimately didn’t understand exactly what it meant. We, too, need to know Jesus personally in order to declare that he is the Christ?

If someone ask you who do you say that Jesus is, how would you answer?

Prayer: God, give us the time and space to examine our hearts and answer that question that Jesus asked his disciples so long ago - but who do you say that I am? Let us not just give answers of what we have heard others say, but instead come to know you for ourselves. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Rebuke” - Mark 8: 31-33

Peter had the right words to say - that Jesus is the Messiah - but he didn’t understand what that meant. His mind and heart had become cluttered with everything that he had heard about who the Messiah would be to the point where it prevented him from hearing, even from Jesus himself, what was to come. 

As Jesus told his disciples about his upcoming torture, death, and resurrection, Peter could not hear it. As a result, he rebuked Jesus, which lead to Jesus rebuking him. 

When we let our hearts become weighted towards what we have heard about Jesus instead of what we have experienced of Jesus for ourselves, we too can fall into the trap of Peter. We may be able to say the right words, but our hearts still may be far from the Savior. 

How can you come to know Jesus for yourself?

Prayer: Lord, help us to have a deep relationship with you. May we come and drink from your well of life and may it transform us from the inside out. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Follow Me ” - Mark 8:34-37

Jesus is taking on the role of the teacher in chapter eight of the Gospel of Mark. His disciples had seen him do great things - miracles and healings. But now he wants to take time to teach them more about what is to come. 

He is trying to convey that being a disciple is not about what you will get out of it. It’s not about glory, honor, or fame. Instead, it will involve suffering. When Jesus is telling his disciples to take up their cross and follow him, it brings to mind the image of those who would crucified, a horrible way to die, who had to carry their own crosses to the site of the execution. 

Yet, Jesus points out that this is the way to life. 

How are we called to sacrifice for Jesus today?

Prayer: Almighty God, help us to have the strength to truly follow you. To follow you, not just when it is easy, but even when the path is hard. Let us be willing to give it all for the sake of your Kingdom. Amen. 

Thursday: “Ashamed” - Mark 8: 38-9:1

But not everyone will be able to follow Jesus. Some will choose not to. For some they will be ashamed of Jesus. 

It is not our job to judge who should and should not hear the Good News. For everyone should have the opportunity to come and know and accept Jesus Christ. However, we also cannot force people. Instead, all we can do, as Jesus’s disciples, is offer to share the Gospel and leave the rest up to the work of the Holy Spirit in people’s lives. 

How do you share the Good News with others?

Prayer: God of Grace, thank you for allowing us the opportunity to share you Good News with others. Raise us up as your servants. Send us out to our neighbors - next door and around the world - with the news of your Kingdom. Amen.

Friday: “Three Dwellings” - Mark 9: 2-8

  Less than a week later, Jesus took some of his disciples up a mountain. Perhaps they thought that they were getting the opportunity to go and rest - but what happened instead is they had an experience with the glory of God.

But Peter once again missed the point. He wanted to commemorate the experience - building booths that harken back to religious services, instead of letting the experience be lived in him as he went out into the world.

Sometimes it is a lot easier to commemorate an experience than to let it truly change us. It is easier to build a dwelling than to listen to the voice of God. But the transfiguration was something that was to be a witness in the world, testifying to Jesus the Messiah.

How has Christ transformed you?

Prayer: God, free us from a spirit of commemoration to a spirit of obedience. May we follow you, O Lord, to be a witness for you in the world. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic to prepare for worship: “First Last and Last First" - Mark 9: 17-31

Sabbath. Study. Serve.

Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: Mark 8: 27-9:8

From the Sermon:

Jesus asks a question, “Who do __________ say that I am?”

But then Jesus turned the question from what they _______ to what they __________.

Jesus is the ___________ sent by God to be a fulfillment of the convent promise made to Israel.

Peter got the correct ________ to who Jesus is, but he didn’t ___________ what it meant to be called the Messiah.

Peter shows us in this piece of scripture that we can both be ______ and ______ at the exact same time.

Reflection Questions:

How do we sometimes miss the point, as Peter did?

What makes us willing to follow Jesus?

Prayer:

Lord, forgive us for the times that we have missed the point. The times that we have made following you conditional on our expectations and understanding. Free us, O Lord, to follow you no matter what. Amen. 

What Defiles? - Mark 7: 1-23

     In scripture, we often see Jesus taking the ways that people think about things and turning them on their head. The teachings of Jesus were radical, but we've sanitized them today, and put enough distance between the teachings and us, that we sometimes miss the point. We made Jesus tame instead of letting his teachings and actions change us as well.
    The teaching in Mark 7 about clean and unclean is a perfect example. Jesus is essentially asking us a really difficult question - what makes something clean or unclean? And second, is that a reflection of the heart of God?
    Here's the thing, we can make scripture through interpretation say whatever we want it to say. But what we really need to be looking at is the Spirit - is the Spirit of our interpretation in line with the heart of God? Because if it isn't, if we make it more about our traditions or rules then about God, we've missed the point and we've dishonored God.
    Recently I watched the moving Loving, which tells of the court case that overturned the laws concerning inter-racial marriage. The judge that originally jailed the Loving's in Virginia for being an inter-racial couple used a lot of God-talk to justify his decision. But was that honoring to God? No.
    Traditions constantly need to be examined to see if they reflect the heart of God and honor God. Because too often we let our human interpretations speak for God instead of actually praying about God's intention. Let us not become people who focus so much on the law that we forget the Spirit, or so much on what we have made a tradition that it blocks us from following the heart of God.

What Defiles? Devotional

February 16, 2020

Devotional

“What Defiles?”

Mark 7: 1-23

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: “Defiled Hands” - Mark 7: 1-5

  Jesus in a conversation between his disciples and the religious leaders of the day. The topic before them - cleanliness. In ancient times, religious leaders had two things that they held in balance. The first was the written word of Scripture. In order to be a religious leader, you had to go through years of studying the Scriptures. But they also had the oral tradition. For quite a length of time, the Scripture wasn’t written down like it is today, and certainly folks didn’t have Scripture lying around their homes, like we do today. Instead, you got to know the word of God as it was handed down - hearing the stories of the faith about Noah, Abraham, Moses and so many others in homes and around campfires. It was how faith was taught - not by reading but by hearing. 

  Something that emerged through holding oral tradition and written Scripture together was a tradition - practical applications of what had been taught. We see a great example of this in today’s scripture lesson  - as the religious leaders were talking about throughly washing hands before eating, washing food items from the market before you eat them, and washing the things you eat from and with. How this probably emerged was from the scripture around ritual cleaning, which often existed to prevent the spread of disease, and traditions emerged to help keep people clean around things like food. 

Often the religious leaders get a bad rap for forming traditions, but we’ve done it as well. Traditions often are reflections of what we value as congregations and individuals. 

What are some traditions you have? Where did they come from? Why are they important to you?

Prayer: God, we confess that sometimes we honor traditions more than the movement of your Spirit. Tune our hearts, O God, to follow wherever you may be leading, even if it means we need to leave behind that which is familiar to us. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Hearts are Far” - Mark 7: 6-8

Jesus’s problem today is not with tradition itself. The problem emerges when we forget a.) where our traditions come from and b.) try to make traditions as important as scripture. 

  One of the questions I ask the most when arriving at a new church is “why?” Why can be very informative because it helps me understand what each church does for special services, but it also gets to the root of why we do the things we do. What our traditions are and what they mean to us. 

Jesus skips right past the why question with the religious leaders, but I think the intent is the same. He wants them to think through why they have so many traditions around washing and cleanliness. But he also wants to point out a much deeper heart issue in their life - they have made the tradition as important as the Scripture. They focused so much on the rules around how to do something, they had forgotten the why.

How do we sometimes put traditions above Scripture?

Prayer: Lord, help us to examine our hearts and see where we have put our own preferences above your Word. Help us to examine our hearts and see the ways we may be far from you, we pray. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Commandments vs. Traditions” - Mark 7: 9-13

This scripture passage is found right between two massive feeding events that happen in the Gospel of Mark - on the one side the feeding of the 5,000 and on the other the feeding of the 4,000. Who you ate with really mattered in ancient culture, and we can assume that the religious leaders aren’t happy. So they are trying to catch the disciples slipping up so they can start to get the disciples (and Jesus) to act the way they want them to act. But Jesus sees right through that and calls they hypocrites - actors or pretenders, those who are going through the motions but have forgotten the intention.

I believe that most traditions grow out of good intentions. It’s a human expression of an important value. But we cannot let our human traditions become more important to us then God! Sometimes our social customs become barriers to God’s intentions and then we have a real problem. In the Church world I call this the issue of “we’ve always done it that way.” Powerful words that we sometimes use as a barrier when God is calling us to do something new or we don’t particularly want to live into the Word of God. It becomes a lot easier to fall back on tradition then to ask the hard questions about why we have the tradition in the first place and if our tradition still honors God the best way we know how. 

In what ways do we sometimes go through the motions while forgetting the intention behind what we are doing?

Prayer: Almighty God, help us to recognize why we do what we do. Help us to see beyond our actions to the heart that sustains them. Open our eyes we pray. Amen. 

Thursday: “Listen to Me” - Mark 7: 14-16

Jesus is taking this idea of clean and unclean and uses to it to teach those around him that it isn’t what’s outside that can make us unclean so much as what is inside - our heart and our intentions. He is essentially asking is your heart more focused on keeping the status quo or honoring God, because sometimes you can’t do both. 

  The same question can be asked of us - are we more focused on not changing and keeping our traditions or honoring God? Sometimes there are wonderful moments when we can do both, but sometimes God is calling us to set our traditions aside in order to live into the mission of the Kingdom of God in our current context. Is the intention of our heart to truly follow God wherever God is leading? Or are we so caught up in the way that we do things, that we are missing the very presence of God?

How do you respond when God calls you to do something uncomfortable?

Prayer: God of Grace, thank you for calling us beyond our comfort zones to the places you want your Word to spread. Give us obedience - both in heart and in action - to follow your will and your way, we pray. Amen. 

Friday: “Comes Out” - Mark 7: 17-23

  Traditions can be good things. But when we pour more time and energy into keeping our traditions than spreading the Word of God we are missing the point. When more of our resources go into maintaining the way we like things than listening to to the voice of God, we miss the point. When it is more about the way we’ve always done things then honoring God, right here and now, we are missing the point. Let us be known as people who the follows the Spirit and listens to God’s promptings. Let us be known, above, all as people who honor God.

How do we honor God with what comes out of our hearts?

Prayer: God, free us to be people who honor you - not just through appearances but deep within. Transform those areas where we are far from you and tune our hearts to sing your song of praise. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic to prepare for worship: “Transfiguration - Mark 8: 27-9:8”

Sabbath. Study. Serve.

Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: Mark 7: 1-23

From the Sermon:

The disciples were eating and the religious leaders of the time were calling them out to Jesus for having ______________.

Accepted __________ and __________  were passed down from one generation to the next.

While it looks like the disciples and scribes and Pharisees are having a disagreement about food, its actually not about the food itself. It’s really about the upholding of ____________.

The religious leaders were using external markers handed down through the generations to make a marker for ______.

Jesus goes on to say that there’s nothing on the _______ of a person that can defile, but only the things from ________.

Reflection Questions:

When we get so caught up in judging others, is it really to avoid looking at the places in our life that are defiled?

Are you more focused on the outside or the inside?

 Do you worry more about where you are with God or judging others?

 Are your traditions keeping people from the Gospel message or sharing it far and wide?

What Defiles?

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, change our hearts. Don’t just make us appear clean to others on the outside while we are defiled on the inside. Instead, cleanse us from within so we can radiate forth your light and your love, we pray. Amen. 

The Death of John the Baptist - Mark 6: 1-29

     If I had to sum up this section of the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Mark, I would call it "Missing the Point." From the very beginning of the chapter, where Jesus goes to preach in his home town and is rejected, the people are missing the point. 

     At first, it seems like something big is going to happen. The crowds have gathered. Jesus is speaking. But then people start to let their own memories and perceptions get in the way of what God is trying to show them through Jesus. So they reject it. And Jesus moves on. 

     But the point isn't the crowd. The point isn't even the rejection. Jesus is still Jesus - he is still the Messiah, whether people recognize it or not. Jesus is no less the son of God when we fail to recognize it. Jesus doesn't lack power just because the people wouldn't except it. 

 

    So it is with us as well. How many times are we like the crowds - missing the point? How many times do we make worshipping Jesus about us instead of simply because he is the Messiah? How have we failed to respond because Jesus shows up in ways we don't quite expect? What needs to be set aside in our lives so we can hear the Gospel anew and respond?

The Death of John the Baptist Devo

February 9th 2020

Devotional

“The Death of John the Baptist” - Mark 6: 1-29

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: “Is This Not?” - Mark 6: 1-3

  Sometimes we can let our own thoughts and perceptions get in the way of receiving the Gospel message. For the people in Nazareth, some recognized that Jesus came and was teaching them with wisdom and authority. In fact, they wondered exactly where such wisdom would have come from. But for others, all they could see was that he was Jesus, son of a carpenter and Mary, whose siblings were amongst them. 

Because he came from ordinary people that they knew they didn’t know how he could teach such extradoninary things. 

But their thoughts and perceptions then turned them off to everything Jesus was saying. Scripture tells us that they became offended at Jesus. Thus, shutting off their hearts and minds to the transformative work of his teachings. 

We, too, can let our own selves get in the way of the transformation of God when we think things like ‘what does that person have to teach me?’ Or ‘they are newer to church, what do they have to offer?’ We need to be cautious not to cut off our spirits from the work of Christ. 

What are some ways your thoughts and perceptions can stand in the way of Jesus’s transforming power?

Prayer: God, we confess that at times we are not very obedient. We let our own selves get in the way; we become our own stumbling blocks. Forgive us, O Lord. Remove from us anything that would prevent us from following you and the leading of your Spirit. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Unbelief” - Mark 6: 4-6

  Jesus was not received well in his hometown of Nazareth. People let their unbelief stop them from receiving God’s Word. When we hear that a crowd had gathered to hear Jesus, we often think that the fact a crowd came was the point. But in this story, its not so much the crowds as the location - a place that could not accept Jesus because they thought they already knew him. And it was not so much the crowd as their unbelief. 

Expectations are a funny thing. Sometimes they can tighten our senses. Other times they stand in the way of seeing something as it truly is. In the case of Jesus in Nazareth, it was the latter. 

People didn’t expect the Messiah to come in this way, as one that walked amongst them. They thought he would be a conquering hero not a humble man full of wisdom and power. Their expectations blocked them from seeing what was right in front of them. 

When was a time that your expectations prevented you from seeing the work of God?

Prayer: God, help us to be free from the expectations that hold us back from seeing you and your power. Open not just our eyes, but our hearts as well, so we may receive and respond. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Shake Off the Dust” - Mark 6: 7-13

In a lot of ways this particular passage from the Gospel of Mark can be troubling. Is Jesus really telling us to leave places where people do not want to hear the Good News? Doesn’t that seem like we are giving up on people. 

And perhaps this would be the case - if it was all about us. But this portion of scripture is about the disciples going out in obedience to proclaim the work of God. They are tasked with a specific task. Go and stay with folks. Show up where the people are. Listen to their stories. Speak the truth of the Gospel. And then if people aren’t receptive, move on. Not because they aren’t worthy of your attention, but because God is still working on their hearts. 

The work is God’s to do. We are simply the servants responding. We show up and live into our call, and then trust God to do the rest. We are not solely responsible for people accepting or not accepting Christ. Instead, we are responsible for showing up, listening and speaking with authenticity and integrity. The outcome is God’s alone. 

Tell of a time when you shared the Gospel with someone. How did it go?

Prayer: Almighty God, help us to recognize that we are not in charge of people’s acceptance of your grace and truth. Instead, free us to respond to what we are called to do - to go and be with folks, spreading the Good News. And let us trust you for the rest. Amen. 

Thursday: “Whom I Beheaded” - Mark 6: 14-16

Sometimes conviction shows up in the strangest of places. 

Word of Jesus and his disciples is spreading throughout the region and the news has reached even the King. In the spirit of the “who do you say that I am?” question that will come a little later in the narrative, everyone seems to have an option about who Jesus is. To some he’s a prophet. To other’s Elijah. But King Herod is sure that it is John the Baptist, whom he had killed, back from the dead. 

King Herod was convicted by what he had done to John by the presence of Jesus. Was Jesus the resurrection of John the Baptist? No. But Herod had that thought because he what he had done and his spirit needed to deal with it.  

We all have different things that we convicted about from time to time. Sin can creep into our hearts and lives and as much as we may try to ignore it, it needs to be rooted out. 

How do you respond to the conviction in your life?

Prayer: God of Grace and God of Glory, root around in our hearts, we pray, and find any unconfessed sin. Bring it to our attention so we can humbly come before you and repent. Cleanse us. Amen. 

Friday: “The King Was Deeply Grieved” - Mark 6: 17-29

  When King Herod was pleased by his daughter Herodias’s dancing and he promised to give her whatever she asked for, he was not expecting her to ask for the head of John the Baptist. In fact, scripture says that her request deeply grieved him, yet he gave it to her anyway. 

Why?

Because King Herod was afraid of looking weak in front of his guests. He was afraid of what people would say if he did not respond. So he ignored his grief and gave into the demands and perceptions of other people. 

We, too, can sometimes put other people before God when we think more about other people’s thoughts and reactions then being faithful to God. We need to guard our hearts from putting people as Lord of our lives, dictating our beliefs and actions. 

Do you strive to please people more than God? Why or why not?

Prayer: God, let us sit you on the throne of our lives alone. Let us look to you as the one to whom we are faithful and true. Let us follow you alone. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic to prepare for worship: “What Defiles?” - Mark 7: 1-23

Sabbath. Study. Serve.

Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: Mark 6: 1-29

From the Sermon:

John Wesley described  sins of ______________ and sins of _______________.

It is hard to lead in the place from where you ________.

Jesus was able to heal a few folks by the laying on of hands, but as a whole he was _________ by the town’s disbelief.

The people of Nazareth could not set aside their own _________ to catch a glimpse of what God was doing.

The disciples were to do their _____ wherever they found themselves and then leave the rest up to ______.

Herod feared the wrong _______.

Reflection Questions:

Have you ever let your own biases or expectations get in the way of responding to God?

In what ways do we prioritize pleasing people over following God?

What sins of commission or omission is God trying to point out to us today?

Prayer:

Lord, at times we get it wrong. We think that you cannot show up in certain ways because they are unexpected. Or we put other people above your voice and way in our lives. Forgive us, O Lord. Lead us on your path anew. Amen. 

Mark 5: 21-45

     Part of the struggle in reading the healing stories of Jesus is that we celebrate the healing, but we forget what made it possible. In other words, we long for healing, but we forget who the healer is in the first place. As a result, because we have forgotten that Jesus is healer and the character of Jesus, we start to act like healing is a scarcity. If that person gets healed, will Jesus really heal me, too?

     But Jesus isn't in the business of scarcity. He is all about abundance.

     Throughout the Gospels we see such abundance at work. Abundance in the harvest. Abundance in the Kingdom. Abundance in the generous and gracious nature of God.

      But somehow when we take the text and apply it to our own lives we make it all about scarcity, instead. Which isn't in the character of our Lord and Savior.
 
       While we are limited human beings, who may only be able to do so much, may only be able to be in so many places, these are not restraints on God. We cannot be everyone or in all things, but God can be. We may see healing as limited, but Jesus sees it as abundantly freeing.

      And that is the healing that Jesus brings is about the abundant life. And this is the mission of Jesus as well.

      How have you experienced the abundance of Jesus in your life?

Jaris' Daughter Healed - Mark 5: 21-45 Devo

February 2, 2020

Devotional

“Jairus’ Daughter Healed”

Mark 5: 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: “Fell at His Feet” - Mark 5: 21-24

  We don’t know much about Jarius beyond what we find in this text. He was a leader at the synagogue and he had a daughter who was very sick. Yet, because we know that Jarius was part of the synagogue, we can assume that it probably wasn’t a very popular decision amongst the other leaders who disliked Jesus, to come to him for help. 

Yet that is exactly what he did. Because his love for his daughter outweighed the fear that he may have had at others in leadership. 

We are told that Jarius came and fell at the feet of Jesus, a sign of total and utter desperation. His daughter was nearing death. Could Jesus come and help? Just come and lay his hand on her and she could be restored. 

We all probably have had experiences in our lives where the love we have for others who are dear to us has lead us to our knees before Jesus. Where we have risked what others may have thought about us because we knew that what Jesus has to offer is much greater. We, like Jarius, fall before Jesus is an act of desperation. 

What has made you desperate to come before Jesus?

Prayer: God, we thank you for the ability to come before you, no matter what we may be facing. Speak to our desperate hearts, O God, and bring healing into our broken lives. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Endured Much” - Mark 5: 25-28

In contrast to Jarius, we find this woman who is equally desperate, but we are not told her name. She has tried everything, enduring over twelve years, bleeding that could not be stopped. She had heard about Jesus and the power in his healing and as she saw him in the crowd that day she thought it may just be her one and only chance to find healing. 

But while Jarius believed that Jesus had to come to his daughter and touch her to bring healing, this woman thought that if could just touch his cloak, maybe she could be made well.

What Jarius and the woman both had were hope. Hope in Jesus. Hope in what he could offer. Hope that lead them to risk it all. 

Hope isn’t wishful thinking. Hope is an act of faith. Faith that leads us to seek out Jesus in the first place. 

How are hope and faith related in your life?

Prayer: Lord, help us to fully claim that our hope, our help, our faith, rests in you. Encourage us we pray, when we like the woman in this text, endure much. Lead us again to your presence. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Healed” - Mark 5: 29-34

The woman touched Jesus’s cloak and she was healed. But Jesus reminds us that it wasn’t the act of touching that healed her so much as her faith in Jesus. 

This scripture has been twisted to tell those who haven’t found the healing they may be seeking that it is a lack of faith that holds them back. But really, seeking after Jesus in and of itself is an act of faith. 

Rather, over time we come to see that healing can look many different ways. For this woman she was healed in her body. For others of us, we may find a different type of healing, a healing that we never expected and may not even recognize yet. But when we come before Jesus we do find healing. 

What healing have you experienced through Christ in your life?

Prayer: Almighty God, we confess that sometimes we miss the point. Sometimes we are so insistent that healing can only look one way that we miss what you are doing in and bringing into our lives. Forgive us, O God, and open us up to your healing in your perfect timing. Amen. 

Thursday: “Do Not Fear” - Mark 5: 35-36

The phrase “Fear not” or “do not fear” is found hundreds of times in scripture. And the most common thing about the phrase is that it is conveyed at times when fear is perhaps the most common response. 

Jarius has just heard that his daughter is dead. The people are trying to tell him to send Jesus away, for surely there is nothing more that Jesus can do. Yet, it is into this space of grief and fear that Jesus tells those gathered to “do not fear”.

But he doesn’t stop there. He continues, telling folks to believe.

Sometimes fear can hold us back from belief. Fear can get in the way of recognizing what Jesus is up to, blocking our hearts and our sight, from what is to come for the Kingdom. 

How are fear and belief working in your life?

Prayer: God of Grace, thank you for inviting us to fear not, especially when it is our most natural response. Thank you for inviting us into something new through belief. Let our eyes gaze upon you, at all times, we pray. Amen.

Friday: “Get Up” - Mark 5: 37-43

  Everyone gathered in the house that day thought it was the end of a little girls life after only twelve years. In fact, when Jesus told everyone that she wasn’t dead, just sleeping, they laughed at him in disbelief. But this was not the end for the child - there was more to come. 

Jesus took the girl by the hand and commanded her to get up. And that is exactly what she did. 

Sometimes we need Jesus to tell us to get up as well. We need Jesus to take our hand so we can find new life. Abundant life. Life that leads to amazement. And that is exactly what Jesus offer us, if only we listen to the cry of his heart. 

Where are some places you have heard Jesus commanding you to get up?

Prayer: God, free us to get up. Free us to go forth. Free us to share your Kingdom’s message through our lives, we pray. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic to prepare for worship: “Death of John the Baptist” - Mark 6: 1-29

Sabbath. Study. Serve.

Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

  Scripture of the Week: Mark 5: 21-45

From the Sermon:

Jarius and the woman were united by one thing, a ________________ for Jesus.

Jarius thought his daughter was worth the ______.

The woman had the _________ to interrupt Jesus’s day and touch him, to touch just the hem of his garment.

We believe that healing is _______ and healing is ________.

Sometimes our ____________ is actually an act of ________.

Reflection Questions:

Have you ever been so desperate for healing, so desperate for Jesus that you were willing to risk it all?

What in our lives cries out to Jesus out of desperation?

Prayer:

Lord God, Healer of our brokenness, we bring our hearts before you today. For some of us we are seeking physical healing. For others healing in our relationships, our world, and even our spirits. Meet us where we are, Precious Lord, and let us be open to the abundant life that you offer anew. Amen.