Mark, Media, Sermons, Uncategorized | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Over the last two weeks we have seen Jesus turn the worldview of the Jewish religious leaders of his day upside down. They believed that following various clean laws and traditions would make them clean and acceptable before God. Therefore, they specialized in external ritual, rules and regulations. Jesus agreed that they were unclean, but disagreed with them regarding the source and solution to their uncleanness. “Your uncleanness”, Jesus told them, “comes from the inside not from the outside.” Today, in Mark 7:24-8:10, Jesus demonstrates that he meant what he said as he leaves the boundaries of ancient Israel and travels deep in the heart of “unclean” Gentile (non-Jewish) territory. We’re going to look at three stories that took place during this trek and get a snapshot of God’s global purposes in Jesus.

Mark, Media, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

At first glance, it may seem Mark 7:14-23 is about some ancient, irrelevant controversy. Jewish religious leaders believed that following various clean laws and traditions would make them clean before God. For this reason, they were rigorous in their practice of them and encouragement of others to do the same. In this section, Jesus turns all of that upside down. He agrees that they are unclean, but disagrees when it comes to the source of and solution to it. This is an important section about human nature, the source of our greatest problems, and our radical need for a Savior.

Mark, Media, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

This week we follow Mark's narrative (Mark 7:1-13) as he describes an important debate between Jesus and the religious leaders of his day concerning authority, tradition, and the function of scripture. As we observe this ancient story, we will come to question our own views on ultimate authority, and learn how we are to then understand God's word.

Mark, Media, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Today in Mark 6:45-56, we see another one of Jesus’ most famous miracles: walking on water. One of the challenging aspects of talking about Jesus in our cultural context is that, in America, we have largely become overly familiar with him, which can subtly steal our awe and astonishment. This is one reason we’re going through a prolonged study of Jesus’ life and work – to stoke the awe of some, while helping others get their awe back and still others to experience it for the first time. Mark writes to capture our attention. It can be hard to trust someone you don’t know, so he goes to great lengths to clarify exactly who Jesus is, what he is like, what he came to do and why it all matters. He wants us to see Jesus for exactly who he is, as that is key to understanding the world’s history and our own.

Mark, Media, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Today in Mark 6:30-44, we reach one of Jesus’ best known miracles: the feeding of the 5,000. This particular miracle had such an impact that its one of the only miracles that each of the Gospels record and in many ways, this miracle is the grand finale of Jesus’ public ministry in Galilee. In our passage today, Mark is unmistakably helping us see that Jesus is a revolutionary good shepherd – and that changes everything about everything.

Mark, Media, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Mark is making it clear that unbelief, rejection, and hostility are the context in which Jesus’ mission advances. We forget how helpful this would have been to Mark’s first readers in Rome as they underwent their own persecution. Today, in Mark 6:7-30, we get insight into the basic anatomy of Jesus’ mission – and our role in it. Up until now the disciples have been extras and bystanders, but that is all about to change.

Mark, Media, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

In Mark 6:1-6 we see Jesus as the subject of both radical belief and radical rejection. Not just a product of a modern mindset, the message of Jesus has always been offensive to some. If we are to truly understand, however, who Jesus is, then we must confront His offensiveness and wrestle with our own unbelief.

Mark, Media, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Today, in Mark 5:21-43, Jesus and his disciples return to Capernaum. What follows, upon arrival, are two powerful stories of healing and hope. Both stories in this passage are about fear, faith, and how trusting Jesus leads us from one to the other. Through these eye witness accounts we see the amazing grace of Jesus displayed powerfully through healing and resurrection.

Mark, Media, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

This week in Mark 5:1-20 we hear the eyewitness account of a man demonized to the point of self-destruction. Through the description of this man's broken condition, we see parallel to our own hearts, and look to Jesus' unique power and authority to save and heal.

Mark, Media, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Today, we’re jumping right back in where we left off: Mark 4:35-41. In this section we get another eye-witness account of the life of Jesus, one that involves a Galilean hurricane. The purpose of this story is not to highlight some virtue, like in Aesop’s Fables. Rather, Mark is continuing to pull back the curtain to reveal more and more of who Jesus was – and is. Today, he offers us additional insight into the unique identity of Jesus and, in this case, how it specifically applies to our fears, big and small.