Jesus continues to be revealed as the Messiah, the Son of God, through public and private miracles. He cares for a large crowd by teaching and miraculously providing a meal. He reveals his divinity privately to his disciples by walking to them on the water. And His healing of many confirms to all that He is the Son of God.

Last week we eased our way back into Mark's Gospel, today we are fully immersed. Thus far, Jesus' authority has been on display in his teaching and miracles, but his reception has been diverse, especially in his hometown. But Jesus' ministry continues as he sends out the twelve and we see the cost of following Jesus fully on display in the death of John the Baptist.

Although you won't find the wonder of Christmas in The Gospel of Mark, Mark's Gospel is, nevertheless, full of wonder. That's clear from the opening verses of chapter 6. Jesus, having amazed the crowds with his compassionate miracles, now astonishes his would-be hometown fans with his deep wisdom, and even winds up marveling himself at their chilly reception. Fitting it is to begin the New Year, where we leave off the old year, in wonder of Jesus, and with his words fresh in our ear, "Follow Me!"

As we continue today in our Advent series, we light the candle of JOY. It is our inward response--expressed outwardly--to the good news of what God has done for us and in us through His Son Jesus, the Savior who is Christ the Lord.

As we continue today in our Advent series, we light the candle of LOVE. The coming of Jesus not only defines love for us but it puts it on full display. The message of Christmas teaches us that He is Emmanuel—God with us, but His demonstrated love proves God is for us as well.

Advent means coming. We look back with hope at the first Christmas when Jesus came into our world as a humble baby in a manger and we anticipate His second coming. For many, Christmas is a time filled with hope and anticipation. How does the reality of Christ coming as a baby and His promised return fill us with hope and anticipation that goes beyond Christmas?

In this, the final message before we break for Advent, Jesus demonstrates his power and compassion when he encounters two desperate people. Their stories are different, and yet, they each share some common ground. Jesus meets their needs but in ways neither expected.

In the final two messages before we break for Advent, Jesus demonstrates his power and authority over a fierce storm (4:35-41), an army of demons (5:1-20), a chronic disease (5:25-34) and even death itself (5:35-43). Today we look together at those first two events.

Jesus’ teaching in Mark 4 is a picture of the reception his message has received thus far. It is a reminder to us all that not everyone will respond the same way to the Word of God. It is also a personal challenge for each of us to examine the receptive condition of our hearts.

In our study of the book of Mark we have seen Jesus teach and demonstrate his authority and power. As we continue today, Mark the author, will continue to show us who Jesus is and there will be a variety of responses. As we see how people responded then, each of us can consider how we have responded and how we are responding each day to Jesus.