The Town

<p>We were in a bad situation and Jesus was born to change the situation. We were in debt, lost, dead, orphaned and condemned and yet Jesus came to earth to become our Lord and change the situation. There were reasons why Jesus came and reasons why calling him Lord changes everything. Joy has dawned!</p>

<p>Our culture says that fear and anxiety are as much an inevitable part of the human experience as birth and death and are to be accepted. Yet when the angels appeared to the shepherds to announce the birth of a Savior they commanded the men to "fear not". Why? Because Jesus brings the world great joy which crushes fear and anxiety. When we know who is in the manger and we look upon the face of Christ all of our fear must turn to joy.</p>

<p>Jesus defeated the grave and rose again. We hear the story every Easter. We gather to remember it every Sunday. The women in the text had forgotten the promise of Jesus that he would rise on the third day. That is the reason that they are afraid when they find the stone rolled away. We also forget. Despite the holiday and the church gatherings and the reminders we have in our lives, we forget that Jesus is alive. That is why we need to be reminded. In the New Testament, Paul often writes to churches to "remind" them of things they have already heard (1 Cor 15:1). As disciples, we are forgetful. Therefore, we must be reminded of the gospel frequently.</p>

<p>Oh, the irony. Puny men are trying to pass judgment on the God who judges the world. Men are flocking to bear false witness against the God who commanded not to bear false witness. The chief priest is accusing the God in whose Temple he serves of blasphemy. This is a picture of how blind we can become. Do we get so caught up in religiosity that we can't see God standing right in front of us? It seems to be getting darker and darker as we read these verses. If it weren't for Jesus' predictions about his own death, these events would come as a complete shock. Mark has spent the majority of the book persuading us of Jesus' identity. Mark has shown us Jesus' kingship, Lordship, and leadership. But now the King must die in order to give his life as a ransom for many. Jesus' humiliation gets worse and worse.</p>

<p>The murder of Jesus was not a just event. His accusers show up in the middle of the night to arrest him. Jesus proposes a wise question: "Have you come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me" (vv. 48-49). These men did not have the courage to arrest Jesus in the day; they waited until no one else was around so that the darkness might hide their deeds. They also brought excessive weapons to arrest Jesus; maybe they remember him overturning the tables in the Temple and don't think their manpower would be enough to restrain him. Either way, their actions are cowardly. These events feel more like a city mugging or a schoolyard brawl than an arrest.</p>

<p>The road to the cross is a difficult one. Sometimes, we can get so caught up with Jesus' divinity that we forget his humanity. In this passage, all the events that have been predicted numerous times are now starting to take place. Jesus knows that his friends are not going to be steadfast in his time of trial. Jesus knows that his friends are going to make bold promises about their loyalty to him and pathetically under-deliver. Jesus knows that he will have to endure hell in the next hours at the hands of Gentile dogs, religious hypocrites and his own disciple.</p>

<p>Every week at Stone's Throw, we break off a piece of bread (trying not to pick the spot that results in you taking half of the loaf for yourself) and dunk it in some grape juice (trying to make sure you aren't the guy whose finger touches the juice, disrupting the holiness of the event for everyone in line). In this passage, we see the introduction of that practice. In the parallel account in Luke 22, we see Jesus command us to do this when we gather in remembrance of him. When we take communion each Sunday, the truths of this passage should enter our minds as we remember Jesus.</p>

<p>In this scene, a woman interrupts a dinner party. She breaks an expensive bottle of ointment open and anoints Jesus. A denarii was the average daily wage during Jesus' time period, so 300 denarii is in the neighborhood of the average yearly wage for a Palestinian. We can understand why some disciples are upset that this bottle is being "wasted" on Jesus. Their argument makes sense; imagine how much good you could do for the poor if you had a year's worth of salary to spare.</p>

<p>In theological circles, eschatology is known as "the study of last things." One thing I think we can all agree on is that eschatology can get very, very weird. The study of the end times can get very muddy between some terrifying biblical imagery, some whack-job pastors making gloom and doom predictions, hilariously bad Christian movies and books that are written for entertainment. This next section of Scripture is called the Olivet Discourse; that is because Jesus and his disciples are sitting on top of a mountain overlooking the temple. There are hundreds of interpretations of these upcoming verses, but the central truth is that Jesus is the omniscient, omnipotent God who knows and controls all the events of history.</p>

<p>God is faithful and He has made His church fruitful. He is changing people and saving people. We celebrate what God is doing in our midst and what better way than under a Big Tent! Complete with outdoor worship, a baptismal tank, BBQ, and moon bounces!</p>

<p>Who is the most spiritual person you know? If you asked that question to a Jew in Jesus' day, they probably would have pointed to a scribe or a Pharisee. The most religious people memorized large chunks of the Bible, could pray for an hour out loud and sat in the front of the church. We do the same thing today; our religious hero can school any atheist in apologetics, give tons of money to orphans, wear a face microphone and carry a heavy study Bible. But our hero can perform all these tasks and still be spiritually dead. Jesus breaks down these misconceptions.</p>

<p>Jesus is a master at knowing how to respond to questions based on who he is talking to. He is a good listener. Sometimes, he chooses to not answer (11:33); elsewhere, he blatantly corrects (12:27). In this situation, he answers directly and encourages a teachable scribe. The question asked in this passage concerns the heart of the Laws of God. The answer is known as the Shema (meaning "listen" from Deuteronomy 6). It boils down to "love God with everything and love others."</p>

<p>Through his three year ministry, Jesus had made a lot of enemies. In this passage, yet another group is revealed to have quarrels with Jesus' teaching: the Sadducees. They rejected the teaching of resurrection and believed that the soul and body perish at death. However, Jesus has taught multiple times about the resurrection at the final day, and about his own resurrection following his brutal death. The Sadducees try to use the Tanakh (The Law, the prophets and Writings) to disprove the resurrection. Jesus' response is quite simple: "you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God" (v. 24). What a crazy claim! Jesus just told the guys that had memorized more scripture than most of our local congregations put together that they don't know the Bible!</p>

<p>Jesus' enemies are swarming around him just as he had predicted on three previous occasions. The shadow of the cross is looming large over his ministry. Over the next few sections of Mark, we see the Pharisees, the Herodians, the Sadducees, and the scribes all aligning together to oppose Jesus. These groups are not friends with one another, but they are embracing the saying that, "your enemy's enemy is your friend." They have a common interest in the death of Jesus. By killing him, they believe their institution, religion and way of doing things will be left alone. For his enemies, Jesus is simply a nuisance rather than the Son of God.</p>

<p>"The characteristic of Jesus that left the most lasting impression on his followers and caused the greatest offense to his opponents was his exousia, his sovereign freedom and magisterial authority." Jesus has walked into the religious institution of the day and challenged the leaders and people directly. He has disrupted hundreds of years of tradition and has claimed to do so by God's authority. The leader of the religious wants to know where Jesus gets off telling them what to do. They respond to his disruption quickly and eventually decisively -- at least for the time being.</p>

<p>Most of us think of teaching as verbally explaining truths. Sometimes that is the case, but Jesus takes two different tactics to convey truths to those around him. First, in this passage he uses the metaphor of the fig tree. The people of God are called to bear fruit; Jesus rebukes a tree for not bearing fruit and curses it. This is a metaphor for Israel and the temple-- it isn't bearing fruit as it is called, and therefore, Jesus rebukes it. This will culminate in the destruction of the temple and fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.</p>

<p>It is finally here. Jesus has been traveling towards Jerusalem since chapter eight, and now he makes his entrance. The rest of the book (approximately 38% of it) will be dedicated to the final week of the mission. Mark wants us to know where the focus of Jesus' ministry lies. In this section, Jesus rides into town proclaiming his kingship. Riding on a humble donkey is fulfillment of prophecy concerning the coming king in Zechariah 9:9. "Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."</p>

<p>In this passage, Jesus is in Jericho, which is about 15-20 miles from Jerusalem. This healing is the last one recorded in this gospel and the final event in Mark before Jesus enters the city; that means in just over a week, Jesus will change the world by his death and resurrection. Additionally, this timing means that that the Jewish holiday of Passover is right around the corner. You can imagine that the roads are probably packed with people making their way to Jerusalem to worship. In addition to the pilgrims, there is a man named Bartimaeus who will stop at nothing to be healed.</p>

<p>Repetition is a way of showing importance. Most likely, the things that you say over and over to your kids are the things you are most zealous about. For the third time, Jesus declares his purpose: to go to Jerusalem and be killed. And this time, he goes into further detail than before; he will be mocked, spit upon, flogged and killed. But he never forgets to leave out the fact that after three days, he will rise.</p>

<p>We all at some point ask what we must do to inherit eternal life. The big idea is this: we can't. It is only what Jesus has done that grants eternal life. Jesus calls us to place our faith in him and in him alone.</p>

<p>Children are gifts from our Father above and they are also pictures of how we approach him. Jesus loved children. We are likewise called to love children, and not just our own. At Stone's Throw, we value kids because Jesus values them.</p>

<p>Children are gifts from our Father above and they are also pictures of how we approach him. Jesus loved children. We are likewise called to love children, and not just our own. At Stone's Throw, we value kids because Jesus values them.</p>

<p>Our dreams, pursuits, goals, actions, objectives, thoughts, plans, indeed our whole lives, are spent centered on seeking happiness. Jesus tells us that unless we are willing to cut off all things that cause sin, we will not experience true happiness with him forever.</p>

<p>Our natural inclination in all things is to be the best, but the Kingdom of God has no room for those seeking their own glory. Those who would follow Jesus must come humbly, like a little child, because Jesus was the epitome of humility. He became last and was a servant to all. Likewise, we must take up our cross in a similar way and follow him.</p>

<p>"I believe; help my unbelief!" Have you ever felt this way? The answer should be "yes." Fortunately, we can place our weak faith in the one who loves the weak. Jesus' love isn't dependent on our current level of faith, and we err when we make faith itself the object of our faith. It's all about what Jesus has done for us.</p>

<p>Peter, James, and John experience the incredible transfiguration of Jesus, seeing him in a way they had not seen before. This presentation of Christ terrifies them and moves them deeply. What is our response? Without Jesus, God's glory would destroy us because of our sin. But Jesus stands in the gap for us. So this should lead us to worship him.</p>

<p>Jesus has now been recognized as the long-awaited Messiah, the Savior, by his disciples. From this point forward Jesus begins pronouncing the suffering he must endure on the cross. He also teaches that any who would call themselves his disciple will also suffer for the sake of the Gospel.</p>

<p>Jesus defines Jesus. The Pharisees tried to manipulate Jesus and we still do today. We attempt to shape who he was, what he came to do, why it mattered, etc. But we must be careful, because adding to or changing the Gospel will ruin our faith.</p>

<p>The Gospel of Jesus is for all men everywhere to hear and to respond. Works of the Law will merit us nothing; salvation is through the grace of God alone. This means that everyone is welcome at the King's table, regardless of their past and in spite of their efforts to earn God's favor.</p>

<p>The stain of our depravity cannot be removed by anything other than the blood of Jesus. When we come to Jesus he takes our sin-stained rags and gives us his righteous robes. This happens at the Cross. The Gospel cleanses.</p>

<p>Jesus Christ is not like other kings. He doesn't simply pursue the creation of monuments to himself, built on the backs of his people. Rather, he shepherds them and gives them rest that cannot be experienced outside of him. He is a servant king.</p>

<p>Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins and died our death so that we could be acceptable to God.</p>

<p>Following Jesus will require much of you. But you also get to live out a life of purpose, on mission for the King! We too often look at Christianity as a miserable path that must be taken to avoid hell. On the contrary, we have been called to an urgent, God-glorifying existence.</p>

<p>Not even death could conquer Jesus, and he ensures that death will not have victory over his children either. While the timing of God will often not make sense to us, we can trust him, knowing that he has all the facts. He will always be faithful, even in the midst of tragedy.</p>

<p>Demons and spiritual battles are a reality, but so is the fact that Jesus is the King who rules over them. We err by not understanding Christ's power, but we also err by placing the responsibility for our sin on the devil.</p>

<p>Jesus is not a chump or a pansy. He is the Lord of all the earth and there is nothing beyond him. Storms are vicious, huge, intense, and scary, and Jesus can dismantle them with a word. We don't serve a king with a bigger bark than bite. Jesus is the real deal.</p>

<p>Jesus gives us a lot of insight on the nature of the kingdom of God. We are part of the kingdom, responsible to be ambassadors of the King. This means we must understand the context in which God is operating.</p>

<p>Jesus spoke in parables often. These stories are literary devices using hyperbole, metaphor, simile, and the like to impart various truths. The particular parable in this passage helps us understand how God works in the hearts of men, and our role in proclaiming the Gospel message.</p>

<p>No one has made a mark (no pun intended) on history like Jesus Christ. He is the most polarizing figure who has ever lived. Of all the things we think about him, know about him, or say about him, it comes down to three options: He is either a deceiver, a crazy-man, or the God of all creation. What say you??</p>

<p>Jesus was being heavily pursued by the masses of many regions because his fame had spread, but he only called some. There was no intrinsic reason why the apostles deserved to be so near to him. It was by grace alone that Jesus sought them and sent them.</p>

<p>This sermon was preached by Stone's Throw member Michael Shannon on 2 Corinthians 5.</p>

<p>Christmas makes certain promises certain.</p>

<p>This sermon was preached by Jim Weaver from Crossroads Presbyterian Church <a href="http://(http://www.crossroadsfamily.com" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">(http://www.crossroadsfamily.com</a>) on John 2.</p>

<p>God appears to shepherds in Luke 2 and tells them to "fear not". The peace that Jesus brings is the antonym of fear allowing us to experience true joy in the face of a world that identifies so readily with fear.</p>

<p>In Matthew 1, Joseph, the adoptive father of Jesus has just heard the news that his future wife, Mary, is pregnant. Joseph is deciding how he can exit the scene quietly when an angel appears to him with a message. In this passage we find out exactly why the love of God casts out all fear--he is with us.</p>

<p>Sometimes we fear that God is not listening, involved, or cares.</p>

<p>God has graciously given us a time to rest, based on the pattern of his own work in creation. We are to seek full enjoyment of God and His people on the Sabbath, not use it as a rod to beat people with restrictions.</p>

<p>The Gospel is good news! Right?? Jesus has come to bring us freedom and new life, and he is working for us right now. We no longer have to keep the Law to earn the favor of God. He has sent the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom, comfort, and understanding. This is new stuff, and it's good stuff! Isn't it??</p>

<p>We cannot make the mistake of thinking the church is a collection of people who have been cleaned up and all think alike. The church is to be a place where grateful people come for healing and accept those who seek similar healing. We aren't as good as we think we are. That's where Jesus comes in.</p>