St Marcus MKE Sermons

Mark Jeske will be doing a bible study on Psalm 66:1-12 explaining how to "Re-energize" with the power that God gives.

This week Pastor Hein will be studying Colossians 3:22-25 as we worship under the theme "Disconnection from MEANINGFUL WORK." On Labor Day weekend, it's worth taking a moment and reflecting on the theological purposes of labor. So many Christians struggle, as does the world, with finding meaning in daily efforts, beyond simply a paycheck. But from the Garden of Eden onward, God infused work with meaning when he told humanity, created in his image, to "subdue the earth." In this lesson we will see how daily work is meaningful, what the goal of work for a Christian should be, and how to find fulfillment in doing "whatever" to the glory of God.

A Sermon from Mark Jeske: This Sunday we'll be studying Luke 24:36-49 as we worship under the theme Re-church: Rethink.

Ron Kelly leads a bible study based on 2 Corinthians 4:1-17. "Our Identity in Christ".

This week we'll be studying 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 as we worship under the theme "My Impending Resurrection".

A Sermon from Mark Jeske: This Sunday we'll be studying 1 Samuel 7:1-13 as we worship under the theme: Re-church: Survive the Disruption.

A Sermon from James Hein:This week we'll be studying 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 as we worship under the theme "My Love". Most tend to forget that when Paul penned this text, which is read at virtually every wedding, Paul was never just asked "What is Love?" and then provided some sentimental musings. No, he's writing it after 12 other chapters addressing the spiritual pride of the Corinthian Church. This group believed their identity was wrapped up in their giftedness. And as Paul defines love, he's offering a critique of the way many religious people view Christianity, a critique of the way the modern world views love, and teaching us that love is actually much more a person than a concept.

A Sermon from Dan Leyrer: This Sunday we'll be studying Romans 8:26-27 as we worship under the theme: "Give it Over to God". We will be discussing the power of prayer and the Holy Spirit's intercession in our prayer life.

A Sermon from James Hein: This Saturday we'll be studying 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 as we worship under the theme "My Gifts". Many Christians have thought vary little about the purpose of their spiritual gifting. They know their StrengthsFinder assessment, their Enneagram profile, and certainly their personal preferences; but their spiritual gifting remains something more mysterious. EVERY believer is uniquely gifted. And the purpose of that gifting is to glorify God by loving and serving others ahead of self. But what is your gift? Where should you plug in? If only half a body works, it's generally considered "disabled." Christ gifts his entire body to accomplish his extraordinary purposes. The Apostle Paul teaches us how to think about that this week.

A Sermon by Mark Jeske: This Sunday we'll be studying Job 38:1-11 as we worship under the theme "Enjoy God's Amazing Creation".

A Sermon by James Hein: This Saturday we'll be studying 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 as we worship under the theme "The Meal of Fellowship". Much of the debate over the years surrounding the Lord's Supper, and this text in particular, pertains to what is or is not truly present in Holy Communion. Deservedly so. Significantly less time, however, has unfortunately been given to the context. The Corinthians are so worldly that Paul goes to the extent of saying they're not even celebrating the Lord's Supper, though they think they are. Their lifestyle and interactions with one another are so contradictory to what God designed them to be, that they're doing more harm than good. So...what lifestyle IS the Lord's Supper designed to promote and celebrate? We'll get to the bottom of it.

This week we'll be studying 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 as we worship under the theme "My 'Rights'". Christians are blessed with many freedoms. It's an essential concept to faith, as Jesus died to set us free. That said, there is such a thing as an abuse of Christian freedom, and the Corinthians struggled with that too. Abusing freedom involves not only exercising freedoms excessively, but exercising them in ways that are unloving to "weaker" brothers & sisters. The Christian faith is as much or more about "we" than it is about "me." Paul has a great deal more to say as he helps reconcile the divisions in Corinth.

Based on Jeremiah 28: 5-9, Pastor Leyrer asks "When will I find peace?". No Jesus, no peace. Know Jesus, know peace.

This week we'll be studying 1 Corinthians 7:1-16 as we worship under the theme "Understanding Sex & Marriage." There is not a single more candid, practical section in the Bible for addressing human sexuality, temptation, romantic relationships, and what to do about all of it. While these conversations sometimes make me highly uncomfortable, they always tend to bear so much fruit. God's design for human sexuality, as well as the way he talks about intimacy with Him, its amazing!

As we observe Independence Day Pastor Jeske will take us through his message “You Don’t Have to Like the King to Support the King,” which is based on Daniel 1:1-7.

1 Corinthians 6:1-11 Christianity is nothing if it isn't forgiveness. So what would does it say to the world if two Christians cannot resolve their conflicts without taken it to a secular court? Christians are not necessarily the most talented, most beautiful, or most intelligent, but we should absolutely be leading the world in skills of conflict resolution - patience, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

This week we'll be studying 1 Corinthians 5:1-13 as we worship under the theme "Different From The World." Paul has talked about pride (self-righteousness, boasting, identity) for 4 chapters. Now he's going to teach on a manifestation of that pride: an incident of unrepentant sexual immorality in the church and the church's tolerance, even pride, of it. This chapter is one of Scripture's great teachings on self-discipline and church discipline.

Join us for our annual Juneteenth worship, celebrating our freedom in Christ, our diverse membership in a diverse neighborhood, and our compelling mission in the city. You will hear an original poem by Ron Kelly, traditional spirituals, gospel music by the Distinctively Different Quartet, and a Bible study on living our freedom from Galatians 5.

This week we'll be studying 1 Corinthians 3:16-4:7 as we worship under the theme "The End of Self." As Paul helps shepherd a messy church in Corinth from a distance, he's eventually going to give them practical guidance on issues like sexuality, marriage, abuse of freedoms, lawsuits, worship, spiritual gifts, etc. But he's addressing the underlying issue first - i.e. PRIDE manifesting itself in self-righteousness. The church in Corinth needs to empty themselves of pride. They need a new perception of self that comes from viewing themselves only through the lens of Jesus' cross. They need to find their identity only in Christ. In this section, Paul teaches the freedom of losing yourself in Christ.

Sermon: Matthew 7:21-29 WHAT KIND OF LIFE ARE YOU BUILDING? I. The Sand of Self Will Let You Down II. The Rock of Christ Will Hold You Up...Forever

This week we will be studying 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 as we worship under the theme "The Counterintuitive Kingdom." The divisions that existed in the Corinthian Church, and our world, are the result of a failure to look properly at the cross of Jesus. The cross of Jesus says that we are ALL sinners that can be saved only by the grace of God. Any differences in intelligence, wealth, beauty, past indiscretions, or otherwise, from the best to the worst of us, are all negligible in the realm of salvation. And either you believe that due to the cross, or the cross is offensive to you in its weakness and foolishness. That line is the only EITHER/OR that will exist for all eternity.

WE NEED THE SPIRIT'S HELP Based on Romans 8:18-27

NEW SERIES: Messy Christianity Summary: The Church in Corinth is considered by some to be Paul's "troubled child" of a church plant. They are saved by Jesus and gifted by the Spirit, just like any of the other churches he worked with, but they also seem to struggle to greater degrees with worldliness. They are great examples of being fully justified, but not yet fully sanctified. And it's MESSY. But Paul uses tremendous pastoral tact, clarity, & wisdom in guiding them. And particularly in a post-Christian culture, we should expect that our church will deal with messiness too. This week we will be studying 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, and worshipping under the theme "The Culture of Celebrity." Whereas the Eastern World has long been considered a "collectivistic" society, the modern Western World is characterized by radical individualism. While it has brought important rights to the "individual" it has also left many feeling alone, failures in a performance-based, accomplishment-driven society. As a result, we hook our wagons to those who have "made it" to attain some feeling of significance. And this system has certainly found it's way into the modern Church. What does God, through the Apostle Paul, have to say about it? That's what we're hoping to learn.

Worship with us on this Pentecost Sunday! Pastor Jeske’s message “We Need The Spirit’s Control” is based on Romans 8:5-11.

This week we will be studying Acts 15:22-35, and worshipping under the theme "THE JERUSALEM COUNCIL: Pentecost Implications." This coming weekend is Pentecost - a week where we celebrate the fact that God the Holy Spirit does not elevate any one human culture above another, but his family boundaries stretch over all nations, languages, colors, and cultures. Based on the past week of social disharmony and tragedy, it's important for Christians to ask how we're currently doing at portraying a light to the world, i.e. a Spirit-given culture that supersedes any earthly culture. The Early Church struggled with cultural superiority too, repented of it, received the grace of Jesus Christ, and then became a more beautiful version. We're looking to be that light to the world too.

LOOK FOR YOUR KING I. He's in Heaven, Ruling All Things for Us II. He's on Earth, Doing All Things through Us Based on Ephesians 1:16-23

This week we will be studying Acts 19:23-41, and worshipping under the theme "THE RIOT IN EPHESUS: The Power and Weakness of Idols." In this account, we actually don't hear any Christians speaking. We only see the secular society in Ephesus responding to Paul's preaching of Jesus & the Resurrection, speaking about how this world's gods can't compare. Paul's message incites a city-wide rebellion. From this we learn how passionately the world defends its false gods and what to expect when we legitimately bring the culture-shaping truth and love of Jesus Christ into the world. We also find motivation to let go of our own idols to which we often clutch too dearly.

Join us for worship for the sixth Sunday of Easter! Pastor Jeske’s message “The Resurrection Changes Everything” is based on I Thessalonians 4:13-18.

This week Pastoral Assistant Ron Kelly will be lead us in a message from Ephesians 2:1-10. This text is essential in understanding the manner of salvation - by grace, not by works. That message runs counterintuitive to a flesh that encourages us to feel like we are the center of the universe. It runs counterintuitive to the spirit of a society that tells us we can do ("work") anything we put our minds to. The manner of the gospel is something this fallen world rages against. So we remind ourselves of a truth that is alien to this world.

Mother’s Day is our theme for this morning, please join us in worship! Today’s message is titled “Adoptive Mothers are God’s Heroes Too” and is based on 2 Chronicles 22:10-12.

This week we'll be studying Acts 17:16-34 under the worship theme of "PAUL'S SERMON IN ATHENS II: Witnessing to a Post-Christian World." That's right we're bringing it back for a second straight week. I mentioned last week that Acts 17 may very well be the single most helpful text in the Bible for figuring out how to evangelize in 2020 America. If you care about witnessing as a Christian in 2020, you must wrestle with Acts 17. The highly educated, pluralistic, hedonistic philosophers that Paul meets in Athens are about as close a biblical equivalent to America's cultural moment as one can find. The Athenians need Law & Gospel, but they need it applied in a away that resonates to their worldview. In particular, this week we're going to learn the art of convincing someone they're already worshipping an Unknown God. We're also going to see the importance of repeatedly pushing people back towards the Resurrection as the focal point of any evangelistic conversation.

We focus on Jesus as the Good Shepherd in our study this morning. Pastor Jeske’s message is based on John chapter 10 - “THE GOOD SHEPHERD REALLY DOES CARE FOR HIS SHEEP.”

This week we'll be studying Acts 17:16-34 under the worship theme of "PAUL'S SERMON IN ATHENS I: Witnessing to a Post-Christian World." Acts 17 may very well be the single most helpful text in the Bible for figuring out how to evangelize in 2020 America. The highly educated, pluralistic, hedonistic philosophers that Paul meets in Athens are about as close a biblical equivalent to America's cultural moment as one can find. The Athenians need Law & Gospel, but they need it applied in a way that resonates to their worldview. So we're actually going to spend 2 weeks seeing how Paul teaches us to do that.

Join Pastor Leyrer on this Third Sunday of Easter as we worship under the theme “He Lives in Our Hearts by His Word.” Today’s message is titled “What a Difference God’s Word Makes,” and is based on Acts 2:36-47.

This week we'll be studying Acts 16:23-34 under the worship theme of "THE JAILER AT PHILIPPI: How a pragmatist gets converted." Acts 16 is a chapter of conversions that are all unique. Timothy, Lydia, The Slaver Girl, and the Jailer are all VERY different people. The gospel works for all of them. And yet God's ministry to them through Paul (and others) is different from one situation to the next. It tells us something about God's personal discipleship plan for us. In particular, we're going to zero in on the category of person that most modern people fall into - the Jailer, i.e. the pragmatist. The Jailer is spiritually apathetic. What can shake someone out of their indifference and lethargy about Jesus? ANSWER: crisis & the practical benefits of Christian faith. We'll see all of that in this lesson as Paul & Silas minister in prison.

For the past 3 years, after Easter, we've taken a look at the Book of Acts, which tells us what the Early Church did after Jesus ascended into heaven. This year we will do the same, moving from Acts 15 - Acts 19, covering incredibly valuable lessons from The Jerusalem Council, Paul's Mission Work in Macedonia, Paul's Sermon in Athens, and the Rioting in Ephesus. This week we'll be studying Acts 15:1-21 under the worship theme of "THE JERUSALEM COUNCIL: The Gospel is BOTH Non-Negotiable AND Extraordinarily Flexible." The Council at Jerusalem is the single most important event of the Early Christian Church that most Christians don't really know about. Yes, Jesus died for our sins and rose from the grave and the Spirit now compels us to believe this. But are there REALLY no further qualifications for salvation? Your flesh and world religions tell you there are. The gospel says otherwise.

Message from Easter Sunday, based on Luke 24: 13-35.

Pastor James Hein leads us in worship on this Maundy Thursday under the theme “A Union of Things Coming Together” based on Hebrews 10:19:25.

Pastor Jeske leads us in worship this morning as we observe Palm Sunday. Today’s message is titled “I Must Keep Going” and is based on Luke 13:31-25.

This week we'll be studying John 12:20-33 under the worship theme of "Jesus Offers LIFE THROUGH DEATH." Common sense would tell us the way to rise above the world would be to go up. But Jesus' Kingdom is upside-down to this world. In this lesson he'll provide an extraordinary analogy of a seed dying that gives us the secret to Kingdom expansion. The way to LIFE is actually through DEATH.

Pastor Hein explains why we and other churches keep baptismal fonts visible in their sanctuaries. We can take comfort not only in our own baptism but also the baptism of our Savior. Based on Romans 6:1-4.

Pastor Steinberg centers his message around the figure of Jesus that stands central not just in our sanctuary, but also in our lives.

This week we'll be studying John 12:1-1 under the worship theme of "Jesus Offers THE ULTIMATE INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY." Sometimes "zealot" or "fanatic" is used as a dirty word for religious practitioners. The reality, however, is that EVERYBODY worships someone/something, and worship, by its very essence, is extreme. So what does extreme Christian worship look like? We find a perfect example this week in Mary of Bethany.

Pastor Leyrer highlights the significance of the color purple during Lent.

From now until Easter we are back into our GOSPEL OF JOHN: Believe and Live! series, in which we see how our own unbelief is the biggest obstacle we find to true life. This week we'll be studying John 11:17-27 under the worship theme of "Jesus Offers SYMPATHY & HOPE." Jesus loves all people, but he also had some earthly friends that were his closest. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus fell into that category. So, when Jesus hears that Lazarus has fallen ill, and waits to visit him, his patience in the face of panic doesn't feel like love to his friends. We can learn so much from Jesus' interaction with Martha - including how to process grief, how Jesus ministers to us personally, and what the resurrection really means beyond even any superficial level.

Pastor Kleist outlines the meaning of phrase INRI (Iēsus Nazarēnus, Rēx Iūdaeōrum) or, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews," which was fixed above Jesus' head during his crucifixion. Recorded on March 11, 2020.

From now until Easter we are back into our GOSPEL OF JOHN: Believe and Live! series, in which we see how our own unbelief is the biggest obstacle we find to true life. This week we'll be studying John 10:1-15 under the worship theme of "Jesus Offers GOOD SHEPHERDING." The only Bible text that I’m aware that is built into EVERY funeral service is Psalm 23 – the Good Shepherd Psalm (i.e. “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want... …” There MUST be something about it that so powerfully resonates with human longing that in our most vulnerable moments, the SHEPHERD metaphor, even in a non-shepherding society, is comforting. The safety, the satisfaction, the protection and provision, the tender loving care…it touches the heart in a profound way. Why? We all intuitively know we need some form of shepherding. And Jesus tells us he IS the GOOD SHEPHERD.

This year for Lent, we’re walking through the theme, "Silent Sermons from the Sanctuary" to find inspiration and depth of learning from within the walls of our church. "The Zimbelstern" Recorded 03/04/2020

From now until Easter we are back into our GOSPEL OF JOHN: Believe and Live! series, in which we see how our own unbelief is the biggest obstacle we find to true life. This week we'll be studying John 8:12-20 under the worship theme of "Jesus Offers LIGHT FROM ABOVE." One of the hallmarks of The Gospel of John is the 7 famous "I AM" statements. In this text we find Jesus' claim: "I AM the light of the world." And the obvious question is what does that even mean? What properties does LIGHT possess that are properly applied to Jesus Christ. We'll figure that out and find out what it means for us.

This year for Lent, we’re walking through the theme, "Silent Sermons from the Sanctuary" to find inspiration and depth of learning from within the walls of our church. "The Communion Vessels of St. Marcus" Ash Wednesday Recorded 02/26/2020