John Baumgartner \\ The disciples have spent all this time with Jesus and still don’t get it. The kingdom of God is not what they think it is and is not coming the way they think it will. They rebuke those who are bringing children to Jesus. Jesus corrects them. The kingdom of God belongs to such as these children, and none can enter the kingdom unless they receive it like a little child.

Caleb Drahosh \\ The Pharisees try to trap Jesus by asking Him about divorce. Jesus, again, turns their test against them. The problems with the interpretations of the laws regarding divorce stemmed from the Pharisees incorrect understanding of marriage. And so Jesus refreshes them on marriage. When the disciples question Jesus further, He speaks about the gravity of sin that disrupts God's good order in marriage.

Caleb Drahosh \\ The disciple John saw someone casting out demons in Jesus' name, but the person was not with their group. Jesus is unbothered; the work is done in His name. Jesus takes the opportunity to teach the disciples about the seriousness of being a Christian. Personal sin and individual sin must be cut off at the source. Sin is deadly: it's the very thing that sends people to hell. But Jesus doesn't want anyone to be mistaken: everyone gets fire. But for the Christian, the fire comes now, in the form of trials.

Caleb Drahosh \\ For a second time in Mark's Gospel, Jesus speaks openly about His impending death and resurrection, but His disciples simply don't get it. Out of fear they don't seek clarification. Additionally the disciples argue who is the greatest among them. They are reluctant to tell Jesus about the argument, but Jesus knows, and so He instructs them. It is the servant — the lowest, the last — who is first. Jesus is the suffering servant; how we react to the lowest in society is how we react to Jesus.

Caleb Drahosh \\ The call to worship is God’s invitation to those who have been made to worship Him. God is the initiator of our worship; we must have the identity of true worshipers which is ours in Christ.

The benediction (which means “good word”) is a blessing spoken as the final word by a minister at the end of a worship gathering. It expresses our hope and confidence in God’s grace to His people that enables us to walk with Him through whatever we face in this life.

Caleb Drahosh \\ There’s nothing that we have that isn’t given to us by God. God is the Creator of everyone and everything and so all things belong to Him first. The foundation of giving for the Christian is the generosity of God. No act of generosity is greater than the giving of Jesus Christ. Reflecting God’s generosity is commanded in Scripture. This is done by taking a portion of what one has been given by God and giving it back to Him in the way that He commands.

Caleb Drahosh \\ Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the two Ordinances which the Lord Jesus instituted to be practiced by His church until He comes again. In Baptism, the minister of the Gospel submerges a believing Christian in water in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. This immersion in water in the Name of God signifies and seals to the believer all the benefits and graces that are theirs in Christ Jesus because of their union with Him by faith.

In the Lord’s Supper, believers receive bread and wine according to the order which Christ gave them in remembrance of His death. This bread signifies Christ’s body broken for us, and the wine signifies His blood shed for us for the forgiveness of our sins. In receiving the bread and wine in faith, the believer is spiritually fed and strengthened by participating in the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

Caleb Drahosh \\ Preaching is central to the gathering of the church for worship. In His wisdom, God has given His Church a book, the Bible, and preachers to proclaim all that is contained within it. Preaching that is God honoring and right proclaims and interprets what God has said in His Word and explains what the response of the faithful church must be. God brings about the salvation of sinners and growth of saints in maturity through the preaching of His Word.

Mark Reeves \\ Believers sing in churches because Scripture directs us to sing. Jesus Himself sang with His disciples. We sing praises to God for what He has done and for who He is. We sing to affirm our belief and proclaim the truth to others. By singing, we align the affections of our hearts to the truth of God’s Word. Singing is the Word centered focusing of our heart’s overflow to praise and proclaim God’s excellent ways toward us.

John Baumgartner \\ Ever since our first sin in the garden, we naturally try to hide, justify, and blame others instead of owning up to our own sins. We feel the accusation of guilt and try everything we can to get rid of it, but we cannot. God forgives those who come to Him and honestly tell Him their sins. Because the church is one body, we confess together as that one body for the sake of all our members. God comforts His people even before they have confessed, and eagerly proclaims His forgiveness to all who do confess their sins, coming to Him for forgiveness in Jesus Christ.