In this world, it is hard to feel truly satisfied.  But in this famous story of the feeding of the 5,000, we are given a glimpse of where satisfaction may be found. Jesus reveals himself to be the compassionate Shepherd from heaven, who denies himself in order to feed his people until they are satisfied.

There are many who hear the term “10 commandments” and immediately are turned off. All they can think of is rules and condemnation. Psalm 19:10 says this about God’s commandments: “They are to be more desired than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.” In this sermon, we begin the 1st Commandment and learn how to turn away from idolatry.

Last week we saw a painful episode in which Jesus himself faced rejection. Today, we come to a passage that challenges us to see ourselves in that same story. In fact, the message of these verses is nicely summed up by what another book of the Bible says: “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim. 3:12). Because our Savior suffered rejection, his followers must also be willing and prepared to suffer rejection too. 

Many people assume that if you have started to go to church, then they have “converted to Christianity.” But authentic conversion is not about making a couple of changes. It requires a spiritual restart. You must be made new. You must die and be raised to new life.

Rejection is hard. But it really depends on who is doing the rejecting, and who is being rejected. In this passage, Jesus is a prophet who is rejected by his hometown. Yet he demonstrates that he has the marks of God’s ultimate Prophet—the one who truly reveals the way to be saved. The response he receives teaches us that we must not allow our familiarity with him to lead us over time to push him away. 

Doing good is something we can all agree on. But why? Why do good works? In this catechism sermon on Q&A's 86–87 from the Heidelberg Catechism, we learn that we do good works because of our new status, new image, and new motivations.

If you've ever been in a desperate situation, you might identify with the two main characters of this story in Mark 5. One is a prominent member of the community with a dying  daughter. The other is a woman suffering from a chronic disease. Jesus enters into these situations and responds mercifully to their weak faith. He heals them, but he also strengthens their faith—and in doing so, he gives us all hope.

In this story from Mark 5, Jesus casts many demons out of a man whose life had been ruined. He was isolated, oppressed, and unclean. But Jesus dramatically reverses all that, and in doing so, he shows us what his cross has accomplished for all of us.

What comes to your mind when you think of the Final Judgment? Does it give you any comfort, or only a sense of dread? In Scripture, the 2nd Coming of Christ and his final judgment upon the world is meant to reassure Christians that their obedience and suffering is not in vain. In this final lesson in our series on the End Times, we look at some key passages on this important topic.

Jesus calms a great storm on the Sea of Galilee, but not without teaching his followers a lesson about true faith and godly fear. In this famous passage from Mark's Gospel, we learn that Jesus proves his trustworthiness to his people, and that he is worthy of our deep reverence too.