Pastor's Corner: WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?

  Watch and Pray : “ The Spirit is Willing, but the Flesh is Weak” Mark 14:32-42 Introduction : There is a lot of talk these days about AI, artificial intelligence, and how it is affecting every part of our lives. A far cry from the report that during the early days of computerized language translation when someone tried to use a famous verse from our passage in Mark to test the new program. They tried to translate from English to Russian the phrase, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” The result missed the mark just a bit: “The whiskey is good, but the meat has gone bad!” Oh well, hopefully we can do better as we seek to understand what God has for us in this passage, Mark’s account of Jesus praying in Gethsemane. Last week we took a first look at this scene and focused on what this passage shows us about who Jesus is, and what He came to do. As the first Adam, through his disobedience brought death and the curse, the last Adam, Jesus, the God-Man, took the curse f...

  GETHSEMANE, Part 1: “ He was crushed for our iniquities…” Mark 14:32-38 Introduction: We’ve been looking at Mark for quite some time, remembering that this Gospel has been called a “narrative of the passion with an extended introduction.” As we came to chapter 14, we moved into the climax of the story, the passion of Christ . We’ve looked at the Gospel so far through the prism of three questions, which once again come front and center in the purposes of the writer: 1) Who is Jesus? 2) Why did He come? And 3) What does it mean to follow Him?   (I hope you see those questions as a discipling tool that can guide you through this gospel, and a way perhaps, to read it with someone, and talking together about the answers to those questions, Disciples making disciples!). We’ll come back to this context and the third question next week, but today as we look at Jesus in Gethsemane, I want to focus on the first two questions. How do these verses teach us about who He is and why ...

  Guard Your Heart! Mark 14:26-31 Introduction : I remember a moment as a young driver going confidently down the road in snowy and slushy conditions near the 35 mph speed limit. I was a good driver, I thought, in complete control. Suddenly, my car began to slowly drift off course. I turned into the skid, no response, I was hydroplaning on the slush, absolutely no control! The car did what physics now demanded and continued in a slow spin... off the road and into a front yard! By the grace of God no damage done! Do you ever feel like things are just spinning out of control? In our current context in Mark 14 the disciples think they are in control, but that will change rapidly as the chapter progresses!  It is good to know that ultimately, even when we don’t understand, God is in control. There were likely moments during the passion week, our context here in the Gospel of Mark, when the disciples wondered what was happening, “Is anyone in control?”    ...

  The New Passover Mark 14:12-25 Introduction : One of our ladies who has taught children for years, reminded us at a recent Bible study that kids are not afraid to ask questions! One of their favorite questions seems to be “WHY?” Kids always want to know why we believe what we do, and why we do the things that we do . We shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions! Time and tradition can obscure the truth even for mature believers. One of the things associated with the celebration of Passover was the practice of the youngest child present to ask questions, “Mommy, why do we eat these foods?” “Daddy, why do we do these things?” It is an opportunity to teach, and for all who are present to be reminded, of the things that are really the basis of our faith.          As Passover was associated with the redemption of the Firstborn and of the Exodus, Jesus used the bread and wine to symbolize His coming sacrifice and the rescue He would accomplish… On th...