Music in the Wilderness

2015.02.22 - Kevin Makins, Alex Drumm, Jeff Wynands & Nimal Agalawatte - The Church Calendar

Music in the Wilderness

Mark 1:9-15

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Most sermons start with information, and then move from your brain to your gut. We had a question: what if we had a sermon that started with your emotions and then worked to your brain?

This lead to an experiment: a musical sermon!

What exactly is a musical sermon? Give it a listen and you’ll hear.

The text:

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.“

The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Seeing God Down the Mountain

2015.02.15 - Leshia Knopf - The Church Calendar

Seeing God Down the Mountain

Mark 9:2-9

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In the ancient world people were used to meeting the god(s) on top of mountains. That was where you expected to find a god!

Jesus also reveals his divinity on a mountain, but what happens before and after this epiphany reveals even more.

The text:

Mark 9:2-9

2 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” 8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. 9 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

"But I'm Not Concerned About That Now"

2015.02.08 - Stephen Edwards - The Church Calendar

“But I’m Not Concerned About That Now”

Mark 1:29-39

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Isn’t it weird to think that Jesus was human? Like a REAL flesh and blood human who had to work, and pray, and get up early, and ask the hard questions about what it mean to do God’s work.

What does it mean to be fully human like Jesus?

The text:

Mark 1:29-39

29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. 31 He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
32 That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered around the door. 34 And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. 35 In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and his companions hunted for him.
37 When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” 38 He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” 39 And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Unclean Spirits

2015.02.01 - Kevin Makins - The Church Calendar

Unclean Spirits

Mark 1:21-28

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The live sermon recording failed this week, so instead of having no podcast (which is a bummer) or re-preaching it to no-one-all-alone-in-my-room… I called up Susan Littleton! Sue is a part of Eucharist and was happy to sit down with me and play the role of our whole congregation in the sermon.

And we couldn’t have picked a stranger one: the text this week is about unclean spirits, and exorcisms! HA!

It’s easy to want to write off this sort of talk in scripture as superstitious nonsense, but in many ways the stories of Jesus reveal a part of reality that our culture has forgotten: that there are very real spiritual powers around us, and that they can be unclean!

What does Jesus do with these unclean spirits, and what does it mean for us? Let’s dive in.

The text:

Mark 1:21-28

21 They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. 22 They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
23 Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24 and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.