Jeff Shelnutt Sermons

The disciples have a choice when the terrifying storm comes upon their boat and Jesus is asleep on a cushion: they can have fear or have faith. Jesus is Lord of all creation, therefore, the wind and the waves obey Him. In this account, we learn something about trusting in the storm, praying in the storm, and obeying in the storm.

Mark arranges several parables together in order to give the reader insight into Jesus' teaching about the kingdom of God. The kingdom grows imperceptibly, incomprehensibly, and out of obscurity. The kingdom grows on God's timetable. Like with our own spiritual growth, kingdom growth is difficult to analyze but powerful and impactful over the long run.

This parable Jesus tells about different types of soil shows us the different responses to the Word of God. According to Jesus, this parables serves as the key to unlock the other parables, particularly as they pertain to the Kingdom of God. He who has received the Word in turn becomes a sower so that others might hear as well.

Jesus used common, everyday scenes to convey spiritual truths about the kingdom of God. Mark doesn't record many parables in His Gospel, but the Parable of the Sower is an exception. This parable is about how people respond to Jesus and His message. We serve a speaking God. We must choose whether we will and heed His words.

The Resurrection was a one-time event that every Christian looks back to in faith. But resurrection power is an ongoing reality that God grants to those who are in Christ. Because of the resurrection of Jesus, the Christian is justified. Because of the resurrection life of Jesus, the Christian is given the ability to resist sin and live righteously.

The opposition of the scribes and Pharisees to Jesus is understandable. But even Jesus' own mother and brothers did not understand His ministry and mission. The follower of Jesus will face opposition, and sometimes this opposition will come from the most surprising places. Yet, God gives grace to His own so that they might do His will even as Jesus always did the will of His Father.

Many people wonder what it means to commit the eternal sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. To understand Jesus' words, we must realize why He spoke them and to whom. The focus of this passage is not actually on what has been called the "unforgivable sin." The focus is on God's willingness in His abundant grace and mercy to forgive all sins.

According to the religious authorities, the twelve disciples chosen by Jesus were "uneducated and untrained" men. Who were they? Who did they become? And how did they get from who they were to who they became? By answering these questions, we discover how others will also recognize us as having been with Jesus.

Though the religious class opposes Jesus, He is as popular as ever with the common people. They flock to Him for healing, and in the process, hear His teaching. Out of many disciples, Jesus appoints twelve who will be with Him and will be sent out to preach His kingdom message. Every Christian is called to be with Jesus, and then to proclaim with their words and life that Jesus is King.

At the close of Jesus' early ministry in Galilee, the Pharisees are watching Him closely for a reason to accuse Him of breaking God's Law. This time, it is a question of whether it is permissible to heal on the Sabbath. In the scene in the synagogue that unfolds, Jesus reveals the problem is the Pharisees' failure to see God accurately, and failure to view the word of God correctly. If we miss that the Law teaches doing good and showing mercy, then we miss the point. And, we come dangerously close to missing Jesus.