Sermon Central
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"1 Powerful Gospel, Mark"
Contributed by Peter Loughman on Jun 8, 2007 (message contributor)
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1. Introduction To Mark: The Voice Of One
Contributed on Jun 8, 2007
We are called out to the wilderness, back to our relationship with Jesus before all the distractions of the world came upon us. Starts with a concise understanding of authorship and biblical authority.
I am just the voice of one who is greater than this; after me comes the one more powerful than I, one whose sandals I am unfit to untie…I answered to the One who gave this message to me, the voice still resonates in my soul; The voice still rattles my bones – “Prepare the way, make straight paths ...read more
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2. Judgment, Salvation: No Kidding, Better Than Fishing
Contributed on Jun 18, 2007
The Gospel is an exclusive messge, not an inclusive message. We must Repent, Believe, Follow or we are not in the kingdom of God. This exclusive message shows Jesus is the only way to salvation.
You may have heard about the two guys from Texas, who came up to Alaska do some ice fishing. They landed in Anchorage, but didn’t bring any fishing gear. So before they did their ice fishing they stopped by a Wal-Mart to get some supplies. They asked the clerk if he had any ice picks and the clerk ...read more
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3. Authority Of Jesus: Jesus Paparazzi
Contributed on Jun 21, 2007
Mark shows that Jesus is the authority right at the start of his ministry: He heals at a word or a touch, he drives away and silences demons, He was the authority then, He is the authority now.
Preview - (Before the reading of the Scripture)- As we read the Scripture this morning it may appear to us that Jesus is going about his day and we may get the message that Jesus is generous in his blessings. Though this is true, Jesus is more than generous, This passage is about authority, the ...read more
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4. Faith, Sin, To Overcome: Skylight Installation Guide
Contributed on Jun 30, 2007
Sometimes faith means moving through obstacles. We also see healing and forgiveness go hand in hand. The friends have enough faith to get the paralytic before Jesus - Then Jesus proves he has the authority to forgive.
Last week, as we ended chapter one, we saw that Jesus is the authority. This week, as we start chapter two, we see an intensification of this theme, Jesus is the divine authority, for not only does He have the authority to heal, as we saw in chapter one, but he also has the authority to forgive ...read more
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5. Forgiveness And The Unforgivable Sin: The Unforgiven
Contributed on Jul 24, 2007
All sins can be forgiven, except blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. The meaning of this is explored with practical application.
This morning we have some absolutely wonderful Scripture in front of us that opens our eyes to spiritual things. I love the Scriptures of our Lord Jesus Christ. You know, isn’t this true: We have difficulties in our lives, we have situations we find are hard to deal with, we have relationships that ...read more
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6. Parable Of The Sower: God's Word
Contributed on Jul 28, 2007
"He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” is dicussed in depth, with practical application. What type of soil are you? Don’t be so quick to say good soil, most in American Christians are rocky or weedy soil.
A middle-aged man was distraught over his wife’s stubborn refusal to admit she had a hearing problem. One day he asked his family doctor for advice how to convince his wife that she has a hearing problem. The doctor promptly told him that when he got home he could confirm the hearing problem by ...read more
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7. Unbelief, Authority: Spiritual Congestion
Contributed on Aug 27, 2007
Could it be that we are living just like the people in Jesus day, could it be that we are so familiar with Jesus that we dismiss his authority and perpetuate the dominance of evil in our lives?
Billy lived in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma. She was born in a sod shack to pioneer parents, had less than a high school education and spent her entire life in the local area, she hated to travel – yet at least twice every year, a team from Gourmet magazine and Bon Appetit magazine would arrive ...read more
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8. Protecting Our Sin: Happy Birthday Herod
Contributed on Sep 2, 2007
Herod and Herodias will do anything to protect the sin they love so dearly, and we will too. Stop protecting your sin, repent, and receive healing from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Because of a minor infraction, a sailor aboard the USS Reeves, bound for Japan, was busted one rank, fined and given extra duty for three weeks. He was looking forward to celebrating his 21st birthday on July 22, and so he consoled himself every night during his extra duty by reciting this phrase ...read more
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9. False Faith: Faith Amnesia
Contributed on Oct 14, 2007
Faith is about trusting in a person. Faith is not about stuff. It is not about things happening or things not. It is not about things coming together. It is not about a happy feeling or a secure moment or even knowledge - it is about a person.
Richard Dawkins, the famous Oxford zoologist said, “Faith is the great copout, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, a lack of evidence.” Does Jesus prove Richard Dawkins right in our passage today? Jesus is ...read more
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10. Cross Follow Disciple: Back Of The Line
Contributed on Oct 22, 2007
A Christian is a follower of Christ, but what does it mean to be a follower? Jesus answers this question telling us to take up our cross, but what Jesus means by "take up his cross" may be very different than what we imagine it to mean.
An out-of-towner drove his car into a ditch in a desolated area. Luckily, a local farmer came to help with his big strong horse named Buddy. He hitched Buddy up to the car and yelled, "Pull, Nellie, pull!" Buddy didn’t move. Then the farmer hollered, "Pull, Buster, pull!" Buddy didn’t ...read more
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11. Transfiguration, An Apocalyptic Experience
Contributed on Oct 31, 2007
The Transfiguration is apocalyptic in nature revealing not only the divinity of Jesus, but also looks forward to the time when all is in complete submission to him.
I hope this sermon is helpful to you in your studies. I have found William Lane’s commentary on Mark (new international commentary) very helpful and highly recommend it. There was a magician who was hired to do his act on a cruise ship. He had been there for several years and did the same act ...read more
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12. Greatest In The Kingdom: Last Things First
Contributed on Nov 18, 2007
How to be great in the kingdom of God. The last become first - we become less, so Jesus becomes greater, we become great because of Jesus authority. Practical, clear, concise.
First things first, who can argue with wisdom like that? It is the essence of Stephen Covey’s book of the same name, “First Things First”. Covey claims that his organizing process will help you categorize tasks so you focus on what is important, not merely what is urgent. Covey claims that using ...read more
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13. Good Works - When We Don't Need God Anymore
Contributed on Jan 1, 2008
Ironic isn’t it? We can do so well in our Christian walk, we depend upon our Christian competencies rather than the Holy Spirit.
Was Jesus kidding? “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Come on, what does that mean? Certainly Jesus is speaking in metaphors, certainly Jesus is exaggerating, certainly Jesus means something else….. In the city of ...read more
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14. Kingdom Of God: Jesus' Cup
Contributed on Jan 8, 2008
Are we taking what we prefer, or what we see as a good thing and entering into the Kingdom of God and claiming it as God’s will, when it is nothing but our own doing?
Pile the kids in the car, hit the remote, garage door opens, and out you go on another drive. Grocery store. Hardware store. The bank. Costco. It is just a trip across town. Nothing exciting, just an every day trip. Kids either don’t want to go, or they complain about going or they act bored out of ...read more
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15. Effective Prayer - Don't Give Up
Contributed on Jan 15, 2008
We don’t bring an issue before Jesus once, and that is the end of it, there is a purpose to our repeatedly bringing up an issue before God, and that purpose is the building of our faith. This is what Jesus does with Bart.
Bartimaeus. Physically blind, financially strapped. Stuck in a job that is going nowhere. He is a nuisance. He is in the way. He is a passing thought. He is in fact, a painful reminder to everyone walking by, that disaster is very possible in their own lives. This man is nothing….and yet, and yet, ...read more
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16. Palm Sunday Without Figs, But With A Clean Temple
Contributed on Jan 22, 2008
Triumphal Entry, Fig Tree, Cleaning Out The Temple - all prophetic actions. Looks at how these stories interact for a greater prophetic meaning.
Note to reader: (The individual stories in Mark 11:1-25 each have an important message when we look at them individually – when taken together they show us a far greater meaning in terms of prophecy. - May God bless you in your preaching.) A grand arrival; A cursed fig tree; Cleaning out the ...read more
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17. Final Authority?
Contributed on Jan 29, 2008
Every person in America believes that they are the final authority on who Jesus is, period. Our downfall? When one is the final authority, all others must be sidelined.
In high school I was on the track team – I was a sprinter. Our coach would make us sprinters run long distance as well as run sprints for practice. We hated running long distance, it was so boring, it was so tedious, we felt it was against our nature. But still we had to run a three mile loop that ...read more
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18. Choosing Between Two Evils
Contributed on Feb 5, 2008
Anytime you find yourself choosing between two evils, step back and asses the situation – Is the question before you in reality a moral dilemma, or is it just something you do not want to do? God promises us that He will not place us in such situations.
A man and woman find themselves standing at the pearly gates. Saint Peter, to his surprise, finds the couple very disappointed to be getting into heaven. You see, they were on their way to get married and instead of arriving at their wedding, they ended up at the entrance of heaven. The bride is ...read more
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19. Poor Widow - Release Your Old Life
Contributed on Feb 7, 2008
Placing the coins in the offering, was a greatest act of faith Jesus had seen all day, for what she gave was her total trust to God.
Note: This was preached on Ash Wednesday, but the content is good anytime of the year. The first two sections support the final section about the poor widow and call for a recommitment to Jesus. God bless. - Peter What is it that God is looking for in our lives? When God sits back and looks ...read more
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20. The Anointing Of Jesus
Contributed on Feb 21, 2008
Mark contrasts the full commitment of Mary with Judas who moves his commitment to Jesus aside in favor of something else. We all know how that turned out.
A man was shopping for a valentines day gift for his wife and as he passed the cosmetics counter it occurred to him that perfume would be the perfect gift. So he asked the sales representative to show him some of the most popular brands of perfume. The first bottle she brought out was $150. “That’s ...read more
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21. Lord's Supper - The New Passover
Contributed on Feb 23, 2008
Don’t you ever forget. Don’t you ever believe in the lie – You are not worthy of redemption. You are worthy of the blood of the lamb. You are worthy of bread of life.
Twelve men entered the Upper Room with Jesus, eleven men would look back at the time as a time of powerful redemption, as a time of healing and communion – one man, he would look back with regret. Eleven men would break bread and share the cup with others becoming some of the most honored men in ...read more
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22. Gethsemane - We Overcome Through Jesus
Contributed on Mar 8, 2008
The moment I faced my complete lack of control, was the moment where I found total freedom in our Lord Jesus Christ.
“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!” declares the LORD Almighty. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones.” So Zechariah predicts of Jesus and his disciples in the book of Zechariah 13:7 . ...read more
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23. Jesus Trial
Contributed on Mar 15, 2008
Every single one of these men - Judas, Peter, The Sanhedrin, believe that they are faithful, and they appear faithful to those around them. But appearing to be spiritual, appearing to be faithful is neither spiritual nor faithful, it only appears to be.
Jesus, an innocent man, is arrested in an olive grove and now stands ready to be condemned to death – there is no doubt about the outcome. How did it all come to this? How did it come to this, that the most theologically adept men of the day sat ready to condemn an innocent man, they sat ready to ...read more
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24. Easter - Dead Men Tell No Tales
Contributed on Mar 20, 2008
What’s done is done, we cannot change our past - but through the power of the Lord Jesus Christ we can rise up and live again, we can become whole, we can be redeemed.
Everyone had failed him. There was betrayal, denial, abandonment, and the results were catastrophic: Jesus had suffered an excruciating beating, He was forcibly driven through the city to a rock outcropping called, “The Skull” and left to die naked on a cross. For days Jesus lay decaying in a ...read more