Posts with the category “the-king-and-his-cross”

Drawing from Mark chapters 14 and 15, Pastor Mike examines the parallel stories of Jesus and Peter during the night of Jesus' arrest and trial. While Jesus boldly declares his identity as the Messiah before the high priest, Peter denies any association with Jesus three times outside in the courtyard. The sermon centers on the meaning of the cross — that Jesus willingly gave his life not because he was powerless to stop it, but because humanity could not save itself. The tearing of the temple curtain at the moment of Jesus' death signals that God himself opened the way to his presence. The sermon culminates in two words from the resurrection account — "and Peter" — which demonstrate that God's grace anticipates our failures and pursues us anyway. Because of the cross, our failures are not final; Jesus' faithfulness is.  Read More

This sermon examines two contrasting approaches to Jesus as illustrated by Mary of Bethany and Judas Iscariot. Mary's extravagant act of anointing Jesus with costly perfume serves as a model of wholehearted trust and gratitude, while Judas's betrayal reveals the danger of approaching Jesus with a self-serving agenda. The sermon challenges listeners to examine how their view of God shapes their relationship with him, warning against a "vending machine" mentality that seeks to use God to accomplish personal plans. The central theological argument is that because God has already given his best through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, believers can respond by trusting God with their best, not out of a desperate attempt to earn his favor, but out of genuine gratitude and surrender.  Read More

Preaching from Mark 13, this sermon addresses the natural human desire for certainty about the future in the face of uncertainty and fear. Jesus, in his final extended teaching before his arrest and crucifixion, prepares his disciples for a world that will look very different from what they expected. Rather than providing a detailed timeline of future events, Jesus calls his followers to resist deception, remain faithful under trial, and anchor their trust in his words rather than in the circumstances around them. The sermon emphasizes that eschatological knowledge is less important than eschatological faithfulness -- that being ready for Christ's return is not about decoding headlines or following confident predictors, but about living faithfully in the present moment with the part God has assigned each believer.  Read More