True Grit Confidence is widely celebrated in our culture as a good thing.   Call it grit or determination or conviction but when we see it we generally applaud it.  From our movies celebrating an unsung hero whose determination wins …

Children, Money, and the Kingdom Entering the kingdom of God would have been on the mind of anyone who was paying close attention to Jesus’ earlier teaching on hell (c.f. Mark 9:42-48).  And now he lays out in this passage …

What Jesus Says About Divorce Marriage is no human idea.  It came from the very heart of God who said in the very beginning, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make a helper fit …

What Jesus Says About Hell We will address three separate issues in the passage this week. First, a practical ministry concern that appears to be born out of a jealous heart of one of the disciples.  Secondly, and most importantly …

What True Greatness is Really About Jesus and his disciples are on the move again this time heading towards Capernaum the little village along the Sea of Galilee that is home of Peter and Andrew.  Along the way many conversations …

Small Faith, Big God Jesus and his small group of disciples return from their mountaintop excursion to find the remaining disciples engaged in an argument with the Jewish religious leadership over the disciples’ inability to cast out a demon.  But …

The Mountaintop Experience We have now moved into the second half of the Gospel of Mark.  Through the first eight chapters Mark was slowly leading us to discover the true identity of Jesus.  We learn who Jesus is from the …

On the heels of Peter’s remarkable confession that Jesus is the Christ, comes a surprising teaching from Jesus on what it means for him to be the Christ.  Peter may have used the correct term but as we shall see …

After a frustrating encounter with his disciples, Jesus moves on to the Jewish village of Bethsaida where a blind man is brought to him.  Bethsaida, which means “house of the fisher,” is located on the northern shore of the Sea …