ARCC Sermons

On the heels of a great miracle of giving a man his sight back Jesus asks two revealing questions to His disciples. The first question of “who do people say that I am?” leading to the infinitely more important question of “who do you say that I am?”. This section is a very gentle way for the Messiah to introduce that gap between popular belief and reality. What you think of when you think about Jesus Christ is the absolute most important thing about you. It is the difference between life and death. This is huge for the disciples considering the thought of Jesus was going to become less and less popular in the days to come. To view Jesus as the Christ is more than just an opinion about a man. It’s an un-popular, life altering truth beginning now not to waiting for eternity.

Additional Scripture References:

Matthew 16:16-17

We often hear the phrase "seeing is believing". Unfortunately that breaks down in the fact that what you "see" is not always what you get. No matter what your system of thought is or what your worldview is, because we live in finite, fragile bodies we will not be able to "see" and "know" everything there is to know. There will always be inconceivable mysteries about life both inside of us and outside of us. The Biblical worldview, which doesn't always give answers to the mysteries, by putting Christ in the absolute center, being both the means and the end goal, brings glorious meaning to the mysteries we were never intended to know or understand this side of heaven. Therefore, the Biblical worldview would make the claim that "believing is seeing"... clearly.

Additional Scripture References:

1 Corinthians 12:13, 1 John 2:8, Hebrews 11:13, Exodus 14:10-11, Ezekiel 1:26-28

As Jesus' ministry continues to attract many, he performs another feeding miracle. Jesus is then tested by Pharisees for a sign from heaven even though he continues to give one after another. He therefore teaches his disciples to watch out for this type of staunch unbelief.

Additional Scripture References:

Matthew 15:38, Exodus 1:8-22, 4:21-23, 5:1-9, 12:37-41

It would be difficult for anyone to look around this world and fully accept the claim that God does all things well. The difficulty lies in the fact that we are stuck in the here and now unable to see how everything will play out. At the end of the day scripture doesn’t ask us to be able to see into the future in order to justify that statement. It calls us over and over again to look to what has happened in the past. The cross of Christ brings everything into perspective. The way we feel about the cross, death, and resurrection of Christ will have a great impact on the way we view our past present and future from this moment on. This passage allows us to see not only the amazing things Christ does, but the amazing way He goes about them. All of it comes into play in order to paint a much larger picture than what is going on in the moment.

Additional Scripture References:

James 2:16; Matthew 6:1-4; Isaiah 33-35; Isaiah 53:1-12; 2 Cor. 5:21; Romans 3:25; 8:1; John 3:16; Heb. 6:19; John 10:10; Psalm 147:3; Isaiah 35:5-6

For the simple fact that we are in such need of God’s grace it shouldn’t surprise us that we would miss it even if it were right in front of us. Mark states that “HE (Jesus) could not be hidden”. That statement is incredibly far reaching, but what we learn here is that if it weren’t for the grace of God Jesus and His salvation would be hidden from all of us. We must never forget that salvation came because of grace and not because of us. Sadly, over time spent in God’s grace and mercy we can be tempted to believe that grace and favour and blessing exist because of something we’ve done or accomplished which ironically was done and accomplished through God’s grace. Oh the lessons we can learn from this unclean, Gentile woman!

Additional Scripture References:

Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3:9, 10, 18; Romans 4:4-8; Philippians 2:13

Not only does Jesus tell us what the problem is (our hearts being far from Him), but He goes ahead and shows us as well. As the great shepherd Jesus exposes the hearts of those around Him. Jesus asks us to identify with two very practical and relevant issues: authority and money. How we deal with and approach these two issues gives us great insight into where our treasure is. Christ, as the great Shepherd opens our chest and allows us to see for ourselves just how close or how far our hearts are from Him.

Additional Scripture References:

Psalm 1:1-3; 119:1-2; 9-11; James 1:25; 1 John 3:23-24; 2 John 1:6 John 14:15; Deuteronomy 5:33; Leviticus 1:2; Exodus 20:12; Malachi 3:10; 2 Cor. 12:14-15; Prov. 4:23; 1 Tim. 5:8; Prov. 13:22; 1 Tim. 6:9-10; 1 Cor. 16:2; 2 Cor. 8:3; 2 Cor. 9:7-8; Luke 3:11; 19:8; Matthew 19:21: Luke 14:33: Acts 2:44

The Pharisees came a long way to get into an argument with Jesus about the importance of washing your hands before you eat. What we see is a group of people who simply missed the point. It is a great irony that Jesus points out to us the life and freedom wasted when we believe life revolves around us. It is that heart attitude that leads men to create more and more laws and traditions out of arrogance and self justification. Although the church today may not struggle with external washing, we have our own traditions and practices that take us away from the true worship instead of pushing us closer.

Additional Scripture References:

Hebrews 10:1-4; Hebrews 10:11-18; Mark 7:14-16; Isaiah 29:13-14

Scripture alludes to the fact that the disciples missed the point of the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. Scripture says they missed the point because their hearts were hardened. Even in the midst of being a part of the most admirable tasks and ministry we are in danger of having hard hearts. We fall into this when we forget that the entire purpose of our life is to worship God. There is great temptation that comes along that causes us to believe that life is about accomplishing something (even something great) rather than basking in what has been accomplished!

Additional Scripture References:

Romans 8:34; 1 Peter 5:9; Exodus 33:12-23; 1 Kings 19 Exodus 3:14; John 18:6; 1 John 4:18; 1 John 4:4; Jude 1:24

The story returns to Jesus and his disciples. As they return from their mission Jesus invites them to rest, if only for a short while, before a ministry opportunity presents itself once again. Jesus has another opportunity to teach people the realities of the "true" Kingdom leading to freedom and peace and joy and direction for a lost sheep. We are also given a picture, through this amazing miracle, of the kind of power one can walk in as they walk in faith and obedience towards God.

Additional Scripture References:

1 Peter 2:2; Ephesians 4:15; Psalm 23; Psalm 42:1; Ephesians 1:19; John 14:12-14

An opportunity will always come to take sin to the next level. It's why we have to be about bringing the darkness into the light. We must be a people of repentance. Oh how our sin and flesh will betray us at every turn! Not only does our sin bring about bondage, but it leads us into more and more sin leading to disaster in our lives and the lives around us. It is crazy how our "small" sin can turn huge before we know it. How does scripture teach us to battle this?

Additional Scripture References:

1 Cor. 10:6-13; 1 Cor. 9:19; Romans 7:18-20; Psalm 51:5; Job 31:1; Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13