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The Gospel on the March

Bible Text: Mark 1:14-28 | Preacher: Kyle Wells | Series: The Gospel of Mark

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We don’t usually think of ourselves as being enslaved or oppressed, but the gospel of Mark reveals that Jesus is the liberator, and if that is so, from what might he want to free you?

Introducing Mark’s Good News

Bible Text: Mark 1:1-13 | Preacher: Kyle Wells | Series: The Gospel of Mark

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What do you do, or to whom do you turn, when your problems are too big for you to solve? Mark’s gospel provides a solution that might seem counter intuitive to our world of self help books and solution based seminars.

Following Jesus Into the Dark

Bible Text: Mark 16:1-8 | Preacher: Kyle Wells | Series: The Gospel of Mark

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The way of trust is a movement into obscurity, into the undefined, into ambiguity, not into some predetermined, clearly delineated plan for the future.  The next step discloses itself only out of a discernment of God acting in the desert of the present moment. The reality of naked trust is the life of a pilgrim who leaves what is nailed down, obvious, and secure, and walks into the unknown without any rational explanation to justify the decision or guarantee the future. Why? Because God has signaled the movement and offered it his presence and his promise.
—Brennan Manning, Ruthless Trust
Sermon Summary: This week we begin a new sermon series in the gospel of Mark. We worship Jesus as our risen Lord, and we are called to follow him as our King. But what does that mean, and how can we follow him when we can’t see where he is leading? Come and hear what the gospel of Mark teaches us about following Jesus.
Passage to Consider: Mark 16:1–8

When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

 

Confession of Sin:

Almighty God, in raising Jesus from the grave, you shattered the power of sin and death.

We confess that we live as if we remain captive to doubt

and fear, bound by the ways that lead to death.

We overlook the poor and the hungry,

and pass by those who mourn.

We despise the weak

and abuse the earth you made.

(Silent confession)

Forgive us, God of mercy. Make us new, through the power of Jesus Christ, our risen Lord.

Amen.

God is Love

Bible Text: 1 John 4:7-19 | Preacher: Kyle Wells | Series: 1 John

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“I loved not yet, yet I loved to love.
        … I sought what I might love, in love with loving.”
—Augustine, Confessions
 

“Love is all you need.” —The Beatles
Sermon Summary: How can we know what love is? Does the love we have been given require anything of us? Come and consider God’s sacrificial love as we continue our study in 1 John.
Passage to Consider: 1 John 4:7–12; 15–19

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.

 

Confession of Sin:

Eternal God, we confess that often we have failed

To be an obedient church:

We have not done your will;

We have broken your law;

We have rebelled against your love;

We have not loved our neighbors;

We have not heard the cry of the needy.

Forgive us, we pray.

Free us for joyful obedience.

Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

 

Song to Consider:

Assurance, the Judgement, and the Love of God

Bible Text: 1 John 3:19-4:19 | Preacher: Kyle Wells | Series: 1 John

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“When love comes, fear goes.” —William Barclay

 

“Sinner, thou thinkest that because of thy sins and infirmities I cannot save thy soul, but behold my Son is by me, and upon him I look, and not on thee, and will deal with thee according as I am pleased with him.”
—John Bunyan
 

“Fear is a sign that he considers himself worthy of punishment, because it is punishments that instil fear.”
—Philo of Alexandria
 

Sermon Summary: Is it possible to live in confidence of God’s love even when we are confronted with our weakness and failures? Come and hear how God’s love overcomes our fear as we continue to study 1 John.

 

Passage to Consider: 1 John 3:19–20; 4:16–19

3:19-20

19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him;20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.

4:16-19

16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.

 

Confession of Sin:

Compassionate God, you love us with unfailing, self-giving mercy;

Forgive us for not returning your love.

-silent confession-

Jesus Christ, you ask us to love others sacrificially;

Forgive us for walking away from our neighbors in need.

-silent confession-

Holy Spirit, you equip us to love unconditionally;

Forgive us for caring more for our own concerns than for the concerns of others.

-silent confession-
God of grace, we repent of our lack of love for you and others and receive forgiveness through Jesus Christ, our Redeemer.  Amen

Assurance and the Tests of Life (Part 2)

Bible Text: 1 John 2:3–6 | Preacher: Kyle Wells | Series: 1 John

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Is my relationship with God simply a matter of personal, private faith, or does it impact my relationships with others? Consider as we continue to study 1 John’s teachings on the “tests” of true faith.

Assurance and the Tests of Life (Part 1)

Bible Text: 1 John 4:13–15 | Preacher: Kyle Wells | Series: 1 John

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Does it really matter what I believe about Jesus? If so, what must I believe in order to call myself a Christian? This week, we will consider these questions as we look at passages from 1 John 4 and 5.