by ray | May 9, 2010 | Mark, NT, Sermons
So far, we talked about how God veils himself because he does not want to overwhelm us and make us believe, but he is creating space for us to seek God and respond on our own. Along those same lines, we also talked about how Jesus spoke in parables because he wanted...
by ray | May 7, 2010 | Mark, NT, Sermons
Jesus speaks in parables because he is veiling himself and giving us a chance to respond without coercion, but rather in voluntary love and surrender. But there is another reason why Jesus speaks in parables. Here is an excerpt from Mark 4 — 9Then Jesus said,...
by ray | May 4, 2010 | Mark, NT, Sermons
In the past couple of weeks, I hope you have noticed a trend that religious people totally missed Jesus. Those who were diligent in studying the scriptures missed Jesus because religion had become a major sin, a roadblock in recognizing Jesus for who he was. Now in...
by ray | Apr 29, 2010 | Mark, NT, Sermons
All this talk about teachers of the law and the Pharisees and you might be thinking, what does this have to do with me? I have been reflecting on this passage and I realize there is a lot more religion in my life than I care to admit. Earlier, I shared how religious...
by ray | Apr 27, 2010 | Mark, NT, Sermons
How do the teachers of the law and the Pharisees view Jesus? They view him as a threat. He threatens their entire religious system. He threatens what they had worked so hard to attain. The social standing. The financial security. They must have thought, I will...
by ray | Apr 25, 2010 | Mark, NT, Sermons
1Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand,...
