Mercy Hill

We live in a busy and stressful time. Along with the pressures of balancing work, family, and fun, we're bombarded with the allure of the false promise that we can do and have it all. This Sunday we're talking about the spiritual practice of observing the Sabbath, which is designed to combat believing that we can do and have it all. Join us as Drew McCarty breaks down what Sabbath is, why it is important, and gives us some practical suggests to practice it. 

One of the most consistent practices of the church throughout church history is gathering together for worship. At Mercy Hill, every Sunday we get together to sing, pray, and learn from the Scriptures. Why? In our modern world, we can get all the Bible content when need from podcasts or YouTube. We have access to more worship songs on Spotify than we could ever possibly listen to. We don't need other people to pray. So why do we gather for corporate worship each week?

On Sunday, Pastor Brandon mentioned a note you might see in your Bible after Mark 16:8 that should say something about these verses not being in the early manuscripts. In today's bonus episode, Pastor Brandon is joined by Dr. Jason Sampler, a dear friend and long-time member of Mercy Hill. Together, Brandon & Jason discuss where these verses came from, how we should read them, and what implications they have on us today.

After Jesus's death, Joseph of Arimathea requested Jesus's body, took him off the cross and buried him in a tomb. It was getting late on Friday afternoon, so he had to act quickly so that Jesus could be laid in the tomb before the Sabbath began. The disciples scattered, believing that the movement Jesus started was over. On Sunday morning, a few women went to finish properly anointing Jesus's body, only to find that Jesus was no longer in the tomb. The crucified King had risen from the dead! It turns out this wasn't the end of the story, but a new beginning. 

John Knox, the 16th century Scottish reformer, said, "To remember Jesus is to remember first of all his Cross." His Cross? Not his teachings or the miracles he performed, but when we think of Jesus, first and foremost, we think of his cross. The cross has become a symbol of love and sacrifice, of mercy and grace. Strangely, it is Jesus's death on the cross that we, as followers of Jesus, celebrate. Why? Why is the violent execution of a ragamuffin Jewish Rabbi, the object of our songs, our prayers, our celebrations, and our hope? This week, we dove deep into the implications of Jesus' crucifixion.

After the Last Supper, Jesus tells his disciples that they all will abandon him. Peter, with unbelievable bravado, responds that while the others may, he will never fall away. Then, Jesus, famously, tells Peter that actually he will deny Jesus three times that very night. And, of course, the story unfolds in precisely that way - Peter does deny knowing Jesus three times that night. It wrecks Peter. The experience forces him to see clearly his own unfaithfulness and weakness. We all know what it is like to realize in a moment that you are not as amazing or loving or steadfast as you'd previously thought. The question is: is there hope for us when we're confronted with our own weakness? Let's look at that together.

In Mark 14:32-50, Mark recounts to us the events leading right up to Jesus's arrest. We see the full humanity of Jesus as he expresses sorrow and anxiousness in prayer. He knows his death on the cross is imminent and he is feeling the weight of the task before him. Why does he persist in the face of such difficulty? Let's find out together.

In Mark 14, Jesus is having dinner at a friend's house, when a woman unexpectedly interrupts the meal to anoint Jesus with perfume. Sounds awkward, right? This is not one of those events that makes sense if you know and understand 1st century Jewish culture. It would have been just as socially awkward then as it would be now. Yet, Jesus calls her actions "beautiful." Listen to this week's sermon to hear Pastor Brandon breakdown why.

Pastor Brandon continues our series on the Crucified King. This week, we read Mark 12:1-12 and learned about Jesus' parable of the tenants.

In Mark 10, two of Jesus's disciples come to him and ask him for a preferred place of honor in the new kingdom that Jesus is going to set up. On one hand, you have to admire these guys. They are confident that Jesus is the true king and is going to usher in a new kingdom. On the other hand, they seemed to still be missing on the sort of king is Jesus and the sort of kingdom that Jesus came to establish. This Sunday, Pastor Brandon dove into the story and see that leadership looks radically different in Jesus's Kingdom.