Mark Driscoll Audio

Jesus was a world-class, Spirit-filled preacher of Scripture. At the beginning of his ministry, he traveled throughout the Galilean region, preaching in synagogues. When he preached in his hometown of Nazareth, he unrolled and read from the scroll of Isaiah; Jesus taught that he is the fulfillment of Scripture. He takes care of the poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed. Jesus is our riches, freedom, sight, and liberation.

Jesus preaches in his hometown of Nazareth, but the people reject him. They would rather kill Jesus than kill their religion. He teaches from 1 Kings 17 (Elijah and a pagan widow) and 2 Kings 5 (Elisha and Naaman the leper) to show that even religious people are as needy as the starving widow and that their sin is as horrific as leprosy. We see in this passage at least eight ways we could be compelled to reject Jesus: theology, control, greed, selfishness, familiarity, comfort, embarrassment, and religion.

Temptation is like bait on a hook. Satan will bait the hook with anything enticing enough to get you to bite, then he will reel you in to death. Jesus was tempted in every way by Satan, but never sinned. Jesus responded by quoting Scripture, that is, the sword of the Spirit, even after Satan tried to turn the sword against him. In light of Luke 4, Pastor Mark shares ten temptation truths to help us resist the bait: # Satan is a real Enemy; # Satan will H.I.T. you; # Jesus is your victorious Warrior-King; # The Holy Spirit is your power; # Biblical truth is your counterpunch; # Christ is your identity; # Escape is always possible; # Satan eventually taps out; # Repent whenever you tap out and fight another round; and # Life is a battle with many rounds.

In the final installment of the Vintage Jesus series, Pastor Mark Driscoll gives a Christmas Eve service on the historical significance of the birth of Jesus Christ and what kind of lasting change his birth has left on earth.

Jesus’ genealogy shows us that God works faithfully from one generation to the next. God redeems messed up families and raises up new patriarchs and matriarchs to create new family lines because of his covenantal faithfulness to and love for ill-deserving people. Four covenant heads are mentioned in Jesus’ genealogy from Luke: David, Abraham, Noah, and Adam. Each points to and foreshadows Jesus, but Jesus is greater than all four. If we are born again in Jesus, we are added to his family line as well.

Pastor Mark Driscoll examines the birth of Jesus from Luke 2 in light of four categories: the historical (what God said and did), the theological (what that means), the biographical (how that changes us), and the doxological (how we worship). He answers seven common questions about the incarnation of Jesus Christ (that is, when God became flesh and entered into human history) and shares how we can have comfort and encouragement because Jesus is like us, Jesus is unlike us, and he came to make us like him.

Pastor Mark defines what worship is, what worship isn’t, and points out some of the false gods our culture encourages us to worship. He then goes on to explain what it means to worship through Jesus, worship like Jesus, and to just plain worship Jesus as our most worthy Savior.

To begin the Advent season, Pastor Mark describes 25 of the more than 60 prophecies pointing to the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Pastor Mark preaches from the Jordan River, where John the Baptizer baptized many, including Jesus Christ. John preached a baptism of repentance to the religious people who came to hear him, whom he called a “brood of vipers.” John urged them to live a life of true repentance instead, which includes conviction, confession, repentance, and restitution. Baptism shows that repentance is made possible through Jesus—his life, death, burial, and resurrection.

Pastor Mark preaches on the southern steps of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem—on the same steps that Jesus himself would have walked. Jesus was first brought up the steps by his parents to be dedicated in the temple; as a boy, Jesus debated with scholars at the temple, and as a man he taught day after day in the temple. Still, Jesus promised to destroy, and did destroy, the temple because it had become an idol. We do not need the temple today because Jesus has fulfilled all of its functions.