Link: Mark 2:1-12
Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyDqJTJ_9pI
As we look at New Testament letters the opening verses give you the themes that will be unpacked throughout the rest of the letter. Many weeks ago in my intro sermon to Mark I laid out 3 major themes that will be unpacked in the Gospel of Mark:
- Insiders vrs outsiders
- Jesus' Authority or Who is Jesus and where does His authority come from?
- Faith, not in what you know, but in Jesus
Last week four words that I used to sum up Mark 1 were: repent...believe....follow....serve. As a model for us to live out. As we walk through the Gospel of Mark, if I am correct on those 3 themes and 4 words, what follows will support and re-enforce that. The first 12 verses of chapter 2 do just that. In essence Mark is saying remember those themes that I spelled out over here I am now going to unpack them for you in this story.
As I dive into this message I asked two questions:
- How do you respond when things don't go your way?
- How do you respond when Jesus doesn't act or respond the way you want Him to?
For many of us we respond in the same way to those two scenarios and if we are honest it's not real pretty. In today's story I have to imagine that when Jesus first says, "Your sins are forgiven" the friends had to be going "What????" As I walk through this message we'll look at how the themes play out in this story and what our response should be as we mature...
Take a listen.
Blessings,
PT
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Mark 1:29-48
Text: Mark 1:29-48
Link: Mark 1:29-48
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIJkODFeMXA
This message was one last walk through Mark chapter one. I had a seminary professor who told the story of how Dr. Howard Hendricks had his class take a segment of Scripture and list out 50 observations from that passage. They discussed it and then Dr. Hendricks gave them the same assignment again. To a certain degree that is what we have done with Mark chapter one as well. I gave an intro, then Pastor John came in and preached for me and then I came back and did one more walk by with this sermon as well.
So with that back drop take another look at Mark chapter one and ask yourself: "How would you some it up in 2-3 sentences or maybe 3-4 words.
The four words that I would use are: Repent....Believe....Follow....Serve.
Take a listen to the message and see how these four words provide not only an overview of Mark chapter one, but the whole book as well.
Blessings,
PT
Link: Mark 1:29-48
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIJkODFeMXA
This message was one last walk through Mark chapter one. I had a seminary professor who told the story of how Dr. Howard Hendricks had his class take a segment of Scripture and list out 50 observations from that passage. They discussed it and then Dr. Hendricks gave them the same assignment again. To a certain degree that is what we have done with Mark chapter one as well. I gave an intro, then Pastor John came in and preached for me and then I came back and did one more walk by with this sermon as well.
So with that back drop take another look at Mark chapter one and ask yourself: "How would you some it up in 2-3 sentences or maybe 3-4 words.
The four words that I would use are: Repent....Believe....Follow....Serve.
Take a listen to the message and see how these four words provide not only an overview of Mark chapter one, but the whole book as well.
Blessings,
PT
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Intro to the Gospel of Mark
Title: Intro to the Gospel of Mark
Text: 1:1-7
Link to message: Introduction to the Gospel of Mark
Link to Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPeiKCw_njk
We live in a world that tries very hard to compress everything into short, little sound bites. As we have moved from writing letters to emails to tweets, Facebooking and texts we have forgotten the art of letter writing. The Gospel of Mark is in the end a letter and as such there are major themes that Mark is going to go over and re-enforce. This message was designed to be a 10,000 to 20,000 foot flyby of Mark or a big picture view of the book, so we can lay out some of the major themes that will be unpacked as we walk through it.
Intro Questions:
- Who is Jesus and what did He do?
- What is a disciple and what do they do?
How do you answer that first question? So often our answers drill back to "Jesus died on the cross and rose again" while that is key and extremely important if we drill in an focus on just that we miss an important message from the Gospel of Mark. One of the major themes that Mark focuses in on is Jesus humanity and His modeling for us what it means to be human. Jesus said "Follow me" in saying that he is inviting us to become what we were created to be...
How do you answer the second question? The interesting thing is to walk through Mark and note the answer to those questions...As you walk through Mark ask yourself: who is "getting it" and who isn't? Who is on the inside and who is on the outside?
Give a listen to this message and the overview of Mark as we get ready to walk through this Gospel in the upcoming weeks and months.
The message contains multiple quotes from Pillar's The Gospel According to Mark by James R. Edwards.
Blessings,
PT
Text: 1:1-7
Link to message: Introduction to the Gospel of Mark
Link to Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPeiKCw_njk
We live in a world that tries very hard to compress everything into short, little sound bites. As we have moved from writing letters to emails to tweets, Facebooking and texts we have forgotten the art of letter writing. The Gospel of Mark is in the end a letter and as such there are major themes that Mark is going to go over and re-enforce. This message was designed to be a 10,000 to 20,000 foot flyby of Mark or a big picture view of the book, so we can lay out some of the major themes that will be unpacked as we walk through it.
Intro Questions:
- Who is Jesus and what did He do?
- What is a disciple and what do they do?
How do you answer that first question? So often our answers drill back to "Jesus died on the cross and rose again" while that is key and extremely important if we drill in an focus on just that we miss an important message from the Gospel of Mark. One of the major themes that Mark focuses in on is Jesus humanity and His modeling for us what it means to be human. Jesus said "Follow me" in saying that he is inviting us to become what we were created to be...
How do you answer the second question? The interesting thing is to walk through Mark and note the answer to those questions...As you walk through Mark ask yourself: who is "getting it" and who isn't? Who is on the inside and who is on the outside?
Give a listen to this message and the overview of Mark as we get ready to walk through this Gospel in the upcoming weeks and months.
The message contains multiple quotes from Pillar's The Gospel According to Mark by James R. Edwards.
Blessings,
PT
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Keeping It Fresh
Title: Keeping It Fresh
Text: Psalm 98
Link: http://www.buzzsprout.com/15930/263444-keeping-it-fresh
Youtube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaGMssuMt-c
We recently celebrated the most important event in history...Jesus' resurrection from the dead, but what did you do the Monday following Easter? For most of us we went back to work and slipped right back into the routine of the daily grind....What happened the next day? Over time every day kind of looks the same doesn't it? In fact, I would bet that most if not all of us several weeks past Easter are going through the motions and haven't given Easter much thought.
What did the disciples do after seeing Jesus face to face? At the end of the Gospel of John we see them doing what? Fishing...they did what was familiar...they were waiting and in the midst of waiting they slipped back into the routine of the familiar...
Psalm 98 challenges us that our worship of God and our relationship with Him should remain fresh. Our relationship with the living God is dynamic...what happened with the disciples when the Spirit was poured into them? They couldn't keep quite...all who believe in Jesus have the Spirit poured into them and yet we remain silent...
Read through Psalm 98 and take a listen to this message on keeping our relationship with Jesus fresh...
Blessings,
PT
Text: Psalm 98
Link: http://www.buzzsprout.com/15930/263444-keeping-it-fresh
Youtube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaGMssuMt-c
We recently celebrated the most important event in history...Jesus' resurrection from the dead, but what did you do the Monday following Easter? For most of us we went back to work and slipped right back into the routine of the daily grind....What happened the next day? Over time every day kind of looks the same doesn't it? In fact, I would bet that most if not all of us several weeks past Easter are going through the motions and haven't given Easter much thought.
What did the disciples do after seeing Jesus face to face? At the end of the Gospel of John we see them doing what? Fishing...they did what was familiar...they were waiting and in the midst of waiting they slipped back into the routine of the familiar...
Psalm 98 challenges us that our worship of God and our relationship with Him should remain fresh. Our relationship with the living God is dynamic...what happened with the disciples when the Spirit was poured into them? They couldn't keep quite...all who believe in Jesus have the Spirit poured into them and yet we remain silent...
Read through Psalm 98 and take a listen to this message on keeping our relationship with Jesus fresh...
Blessings,
PT
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Hosanna: The Word, The Message
Title: Hosanna: The Word, The Message
Palm Sunday Message delivered by Guest Pastor John Mancusi
Link: http://www.buzzsprout.com/15930/259228-hosanna-the-word-the-message
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzPULy0Ab8L87dtGXZM6Mvg
As I shared yesterday I was out for several weeks and during that time FBC was blessed to have several guest preachers fill in for me. On Palm Sunday, a friend of mine, Pastor John Mancusi, spoke on the story we know as the Palm Sunday narrative. A huge "Thanks John" for expounding on Hosanna and challenging us to truly wait upon the Lord and His timing...
I love what John says about the Palm Sunday crowds: "They did what they could to make what they expected to happen, happen..." Great line and so true of us today as well. How often do we pray, seek God or expect God to respond in certain ways and then instead of waiting upon Him start doing whatever we can to make happen what we want to happen? I don't know about you but that line of thinking has gotten me into trouble in the past and I try to avoid it now.
Give a listen to John as he shares about waiting upon the Lord.
Blessings,
PT
Palm Sunday Message delivered by Guest Pastor John Mancusi
Link: http://www.buzzsprout.com/15930/259228-hosanna-the-word-the-message
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzPULy0Ab8L87dtGXZM6Mvg
As I shared yesterday I was out for several weeks and during that time FBC was blessed to have several guest preachers fill in for me. On Palm Sunday, a friend of mine, Pastor John Mancusi, spoke on the story we know as the Palm Sunday narrative. A huge "Thanks John" for expounding on Hosanna and challenging us to truly wait upon the Lord and His timing...
I love what John says about the Palm Sunday crowds: "They did what they could to make what they expected to happen, happen..." Great line and so true of us today as well. How often do we pray, seek God or expect God to respond in certain ways and then instead of waiting upon Him start doing whatever we can to make happen what we want to happen? I don't know about you but that line of thinking has gotten me into trouble in the past and I try to avoid it now.
Give a listen to John as he shares about waiting upon the Lord.
Blessings,
PT
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
A Doubter's Diary
Title: A Doubter's Diary
Guest Preacher: Dr. Phil Sell, TEDS, Deerfield, IL
Text: Psalm 73
Link:
http://www.buzzsprout.com/15930/257236-a-doubter-s-diary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE3gm505HwQ
Recently I spent several weeks away from FBC ministering in El Paso, TX and one of my seminary professors came up and delivered a message titled "A Doubter's Diary." I want to say a huge "Thank You" to Dr. Sell for opening up the word and teaching on a topic that many Christians wrestle with (doubt), but hide or feel like they can't express. Take a listen as Dr. Sell has great wisdom in dealing with doubt.
Blessings,
PT
Guest Preacher: Dr. Phil Sell, TEDS, Deerfield, IL
Text: Psalm 73
Link:
http://www.buzzsprout.com/15930/257236-a-doubter-s-diary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE3gm505HwQ
Recently I spent several weeks away from FBC ministering in El Paso, TX and one of my seminary professors came up and delivered a message titled "A Doubter's Diary." I want to say a huge "Thank You" to Dr. Sell for opening up the word and teaching on a topic that many Christians wrestle with (doubt), but hide or feel like they can't express. Take a listen as Dr. Sell has great wisdom in dealing with doubt.
Blessings,
PT
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
The Eternal Essence of a Deep Relationship - Love
Text: 1 Corinthians 13
Link: The Eternal Essence of a Relationship - Love
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/
Main Challenge: Love needs to be central to everything we do
Originally I was going to title this message: 50+ Shades of Love, because I believe that books/movies like 50 Shades of Grey demonstrate that world has a warped understanding of love and we in the church have allowed that warped understanding to creep into our understanding as well. Which leads me to my intro questions:
- Do we really understand love?
- How do you define it?
A good portion of my message is taken from the book Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham, Jr. In the book he sheds light on how fiction (myth) skews and impacts our understanding of love. What follows is an outline from the book...I would encourage you to listen to the message and take your own notes.
The Cupid Myths
Myth 1: Love is a random force
Myth 2: Love is an overwhelming force
Myth 3: Love is an uncontrollable force
Myth 4: Love is a sensual force
The result of this understanding: Love does not translate
A Biblical understanding of Love: "Love is an act of the will accompanied by emotion that leads to action on behalf of its object."
The Biblical Model of Love is volitional
The Biblical Model of Love is transferable
The Biblical Model of Love is secure
The Biblical Model of Love satisfies
Application or So What?
"If you want to know whether or not someone truly loves God, watch what he or she does."
When individuals encounter Christians they should feel love, because we understand the Biblical Model of Love. When we have a Biblical understanding of Love the so what will be easy...love should be the driving essence of everything we do...read 1 Corinthians 13...
Blessings,
PT
Link: The Eternal Essence of a Relationship - Love
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/
Main Challenge: Love needs to be central to everything we do
Originally I was going to title this message: 50+ Shades of Love, because I believe that books/movies like 50 Shades of Grey demonstrate that world has a warped understanding of love and we in the church have allowed that warped understanding to creep into our understanding as well. Which leads me to my intro questions:
- Do we really understand love?
- How do you define it?
A good portion of my message is taken from the book Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham, Jr. In the book he sheds light on how fiction (myth) skews and impacts our understanding of love. What follows is an outline from the book...I would encourage you to listen to the message and take your own notes.
The Cupid Myths
Myth 1: Love is a random force
Myth 2: Love is an overwhelming force
Myth 3: Love is an uncontrollable force
Myth 4: Love is a sensual force
The result of this understanding: Love does not translate
A Biblical understanding of Love: "Love is an act of the will accompanied by emotion that leads to action on behalf of its object."
The Biblical Model of Love is volitional
The Biblical Model of Love is transferable
The Biblical Model of Love is secure
The Biblical Model of Love satisfies
Application or So What?
"If you want to know whether or not someone truly loves God, watch what he or she does."
When individuals encounter Christians they should feel love, because we understand the Biblical Model of Love. When we have a Biblical understanding of Love the so what will be easy...love should be the driving essence of everything we do...read 1 Corinthians 13...
Blessings,
PT
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