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A Warning and A Witness - The Gospel According to Mark: Following Jesus (Ch 12:38-44)

As Jesus continues debating and teaching in the temple, he notes a stark contrast between the religious leaders who were preoccupied with receiving honor and adulation from the people and a poor widow who gives everything she has in adoration and service to the Lord.  We continue our series in Mark's gospel and learn something of what Jesus means that it is better to give than to receive.  

A Questions about the Law - The Gospel According to Mark: Following Jesus (Ch 12:28-37)

We all know the importance of having rules and laws that govern how we live, but we also sense that not all rules are as significant as others, and so we like to figure out which ones are most important for us to obey. When asked by one of the religious scholars which of God's laws is the most important, Jesus gives an answer that literally goes to the heart behind our obedience to any of God's commands no matter how small.  Listen as we discover how Jesus answers another question from his critics about the law.  

 

Questioning Jesus on Theology - The Gospel According to Mark: Following Jesus (Ch 12:18-27)

Having bad directions can get you lost for a time. Having bad theology can leave you lost for eternity. When Jesus is challenged by some religious leaders with a question about the resurrection, he does not hesitate to tell them they are wrong and to point out why they are misled. Join us as we see Jesus answer another trick question with the truth of God.

Questioning Jesus on Politics - The Gospel According to Mark: Following Jesus (Ch 12:13-17)

Asking questions is a good thing when we are genuinely seeking to learn, to gain insight, and grow in understanding.  But questions can also be a tool by which we try to trip someone up, to catch them off guard, and seek to discredit them.  Such is the case in Mark 12 where Jesus is confronted with a series of questions, the first of which is a question about politics.  Jesus' answer reveals not only the hypocrisy of his critics but how Christians are to live in relationship to the civil authorities over us. 

 

Jewish Rulers, Tenant Farmers, and Us - The Gospel According to Mark: Following Jesus (Ch 12:1-12)

What do the hypocritical religious rulers of Jesus's time have in common with tenant farmers, and with you and me?  Jesus makes it very clear in the Parable of the Tenants in Mark chapter 12. Dr. Tony Clark brings us the word from Mark's Gospel today.

Cursing Trees and Cleaning House - The Gospel According to Mark: Following Jesus (Ch 11:12-25)

Following his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on that final Passover week, Jesus' return to the city the next day is marked by the cursing of a fig tree and overturning the tables of the money changers in the temple.  Did Jesus wake up on the wrong side of the bed, or does he have something important to teach about what it means to trust and worship God? Listen to find out. 

The Arrival of the King: The Gospel According to Mark: Following Jesus (CH 11:1-11)

As Jesus prepares to enter into Jerusalem, he gives very specific instructions to his disciples in regard to procuring his mode of transportation. These instructions and Jesus' triumphal entry tell us a great deal more about Jesus and his mission than we might expect. In this episode, we look at this familiar passage of the triumphal entry and the arrival of the King.

What Do You Want Jesus to Do for You? The Gospel According to Mark: Following Jesus (Ch 10:35-52)

In Mark 10, two of Jesus' disciples, as well as a blind man, come to him with a request and Jesus responds by asking both, "What do you want me to do for you?"  How would you answer that question if Jesus asked it of you?  Here we look at the contrast between how James and John, and blind Bartimaeus approach Jesus, and what it teaches us about the motives and manner with which we come to him with our own desires and needs.  

How To Get a Camel Through A Needle's Eye - The Gospel According to Mark: Following Jesus (Ch 10:17-31)

The famous statement of Jesus that it is easier to get a camel through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter heaven, is about more than just the danger of riches. Jesus uses the occasion of this wealthy man's question about entering God's kingdom, to expose the thing we all lack and thus that we all need in order to inherit eternal life.  Join us as we learn from Jesus what it takes to get a camel through a needle's eye.  

 

Receive the Kingdom Like a Child: The Gospel According to Mark: Following Jesus (Ch 10: 13-16)

God's word tells us that children are a blessing, but too often they are viewed as a burden. That's what the disciples thought when parents were bringing their kids to see Jesus. They didn't want Jesus bothered. But Jesus is quick to welcome the smallest children to himself and to see them as a model of how we are to receive him and the kingdom of God which he brings. In this episode we see Jesus bless the little children and call us to child-like faith.