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.