John Baumgartner \\ God requires prayers and thanksgiving from all people on the earth. Prayer offered with thanksgiving is a vital act in Christian life and corporate worship. God the Father hears all and only prayers made in the name of the Son, by the help of His Holy Spirit, with understanding, reverence, humility, earnestness, faith, love, and perseverance. We are commanded to pray for everything according to His word and not to pray for anything His word forbids.

Caleb Drahosh \\ At the end of the first week of creation, God blessed the seventh day and set it apart as a Sabbath day for rest and worship. Since the resurrection of Christ, the Church has recognized the first day of the week and called it the Lord’s Day, because it is the day that Christ was raised from the dead. On this Lord’s Day, we rest from all our work (excepting works of necessity and mercy) to joyfully worship God—in public with the gathered church and in private with our families. The aim of our gathering is the building up of the church by equipping and encouraging one another to love and good works.

John Baumgartner \\ Jesus returns from the Transfiguration’s mountaintop experience with God back to the trials and troubles of His life. Unbelief is all around Him—the scribes, the crowds, even His disciples are faithless. A father comes to Him with barely any faith at all, pleading with Jesus to heal his son. Jesus helps him see his real trouble, and redirects his eyes from focusing on his circumstances to focusing on Jesus. Both the father and his son are healed by Jesus.

Caleb Drahosh \\ Jesus leads Peter, James, and John up a mountain and transfigured before their eyes. Moses and Elijah are there and the Father speaks: "This is my beloved Son; listen to Him." The three disciples witness a forward-looking glimpse of Jesus in post-resurrection glory. Jesus continues to give spiritual sight to His disciples; their understanding is limited, but growing.

Caleb Drahosh \\ Although the world is full of opinions about Jesus, Peter makes the good confession: Jesus is the Christ. He is the One who came into the world to save His people from their sin. But this confession comes with a cost: your life.

Caleb Drahosh \\ In his Gospel, Mark records Jesus healing many, but he gives some unique details in this instance. Jesus leads the blind man out of the town, spit on his eyes, and laid His hands on the man. At first the man's sight is only partially restored. Again Jesus laid His hands on the man and the man's sight was completely restored. Jesus performs this miracle for the benefit of His disciples, to show them that their sight, their understanding, does not come all at once, but Jesus chooses to reveal truth over time.

Caleb Drahosh \\ In a similar fashion to the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus feeds four thousand. Afterwards, the Pharisees come seeking a sign, but Jesus refuses. He then offers His disciples a warning concerning the Pharisees and Herod, but the disciples are just looking to eat some food. Jesus' compassion for people doesn't dry up; we're given many chances to see and understand. Our needs –– as individuals and as a church –– are met in, through, and by Christ. But Jesus rarely meets our needs in the same way as He meets the needs of others.

Blaze Culliton \\ Jesus removes an unclean spirit from the daughter of a woman who falls at His feet, acknowledging that Jesus is Lord and provides for all who believe. Jesus heals a deaf man with a speech impediment and those around are astonished beyond measure.

John Baumgartner \\ The Scribes and Pharisees made rules to protect themselves from breaking God’s laws, but in the end it only made them worse. Jesus points out the real problem isn’t with the rules but with the human heart. No rules can keep a person from sinning because rules don’t solve the heart problem. We need Jesus to give us understanding and soften our hard hearts so that we may follow Him.

Caleb Drahosh \\ After Jesus feeds the five thousand, He goes up the mountain to pray, preparing Himself for the next wave of ministry. The disciples leave in a boat, and Jesus comes to them walking on the water. But the disciples do not understand; they're terrified, astounded, and their hearts are hardened. When they get to Gennesaret, the crowds bring all the sick to Jesus. Jesus continues to meet many needs, but even those who witness it all, struggle to trust Him.