Second, Jesus is criticized by the Pharisees for having dinner with “sinners” – 15While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the “sinners” […]
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Mark 2: Are You Critical of Jesus? (Part 1 of 4)
Today, I want to continue the theme of seeing and hearing the real Jesus. Do you notice a pattern from this chapter? In one short chapter, Jesus is criticized 4 times by 4 different sets of people and each time he defends himself. I want to begin by pointing out that most, if not all, […]
Mark 1: Quest for the Real Jesus (Part 3 of 3)
So we talked about why it might be that we are hard of hearing when it comes to discerning the voice of God in our lives. There was the example of my son Jeremiah who has massive wax boulders in his ears so that when we speak to him, he can’t hear us, literally. The […]
Mark 1: Quest for the Real Jesus (Part 2 of 3)
An important prerequisite to hearing and seeing God is having a messenger in your life. Prior to Mark, we have to note that there were 400 years of silence from the end of the Old Testament to the beginning of the New Testament. God had sent prophet after prophet calling people to repent of their […]
Mark 1: Quest for the Real Jesus (Part 1 of 3)
How was everyone’s Easter? In preparation for Easter, I’ve been meditating on the 7 sayings of Jesus on the cross. If you get a chance to study those, I highly encourage you to do so! As I was doing the Good Friday thing, a question popped into my head — do I know the real […]
Voluntary Chains
What is your notion of freedom? Is it to say, you are free to pursue anything you want without any restraint? What if we raised our kids that way – my parenting is to be hands off and I’ll let my boys do whatever they want, when they want. They could eat junk food all […]