We recently looked at marks of a true believer, and one of those marks from 1 John is to love one another. Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-39 that the greatest commandment is to love God and the second greatest commandment is to "love your neighbor as yourself." So if I'm supposed to love the people… Continue reading Questions to ask yourself: Do I love others? (Part 1)
Jesus continues to show His authority as He conflicts increasingly with Jewish religious leaders. It is interesting to note that the previous verses talk about a feast with "sinners and tax collectors" and this text opens with a discussion of fasting (From France's Mark Commentary of the Greek Text.) Every facet of Jewish life is… Continue reading Walking through Mark: Mark 2:18-28
I became a believer when I was 8 years old. I remember my dad coming into my room and explaining the gospel to me using several verses from Romans, often called the Roman Road (Romans 3:23, 6:23, 5:8, and 10:9-10.) I was baptized on Easter morning, which is still really cool to me. Since I… Continue reading Questions to ask yourself: Am I a Christian?
As Jesus continues to heal, He gains status and popularity in the region. Crowds are flocking to Him to see what's happening and to have their problems solved. These crowds aren't always a good thing and here at the beginning of the chapter, they actually block access to Jesus so that a group of men… Continue reading Walking through Mark 2:1-17
I think there are questions we all ask ourselves. Some are trivial like what do I want to eat for lunch or what should I do next on my task list. But some are more philosophical and honestly a little scary. They require thought and a genuine assessment of oneself. They can cause hurt so… Continue reading Questions to ask yourself: Where is my identity?
In the first few chapters of Mark, we see a series of questions and answers concerning Jesus' identity. Interestingly, it is men asking the questions and, at least in part, the demons who answer. (From the Pillar New Testament Commentary by James R Edwards) We see this in the previous story in verse 27 when… Continue reading Walking through Mark 1:29-45
As we continue the series of what you should look for in a good sermon, a second standard to look for is how much the teacher talks about the gospel. Two aspects of gospel centered preaching is that it contains the elements of the gospel itself, and that it ties the passage of Scripture to… Continue reading Marks of a good sermon: Gospel centered
After calling Simon (also known as Peter), Andrew, James and John to follow Him, Jesus travels to a nearby town and immediately begins doing ministry. His ministry in this one day is so startling that His fame quickly spread through the whole area. Imagine the shock of His new followers with how quickly things were… Continue reading Walking through Mark 1:21-28
With the rise of technology, there are now so many places online to hear people teach the Bible. There are podcasts, websites and social media platforms pushing an overwhelming amount of content. How do you discern what's worth your time to listen to? How do you prevent yourself from wasting time on bad or mediocre… Continue reading Marks of a good sermon: Biblical
Mark begins with John the Baptist and his ministry, which seems a peculiar way to open a book about Jesus. Then, instead of doing a birth narrative, Jesus simply comes from Nazareth as an adult to be baptized by John the Baptist. Mark is setting the tone for his book as a fast paced narrative,… Continue reading Walking through Mark: Mark 1:12-20
a blog on practical Godliness 