Mosaic Boston • Jamaica Plain

This week we look at the Apostle Paul’s perspective on life. He was whipped, stoned, cursed, sick, imprisoned, shipwrecked, and eventually beheaded. He gave it all for one purpose: To know and follow Christ. To that end, he lived life with reckless abandon. And then encouraged us to do the same. He always saw the future glory of eternity far outweighing any earthly benefits, circumstances, or pain he experienced. Watch this week as we observe the life lived in light of eternity.

We’ve all had life-altering encounters. In good and bad ways we’ve all met people that have profoundly altered the course of our lives. Maybe with someone famous or maybe someone we'd never expect. It could also be that we’ve been an agent of change for someone else. Today we’re going to look at Philip and Nathaniel, both of which had unforgettable encounters with Jesus that altered the course of their lives and eternity.

What is a Christian? If you were to ask 10 people that question, you'd probably get 10 different answers. But did you know that's not what the early followers of Jesus called themselves? They went by a totally different name: Disciple. Listen this week as Pastor Ivey looks at when Jesus recruited the first disciples and then shows what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.

How should we respond when it seems like God isn’t listening to us when we pray? How should we respond when God seems hostile toward us? This week we look at an unnamed woman that asked for her daughter's healing. In many ways, Jesus seems uncharacteristically hostile and frustrated with her. But this woman never gives up and actually is the only person in history to win an argument with Jesus. This is more than just a story about a mother who needed healing for her daughter. This is a story about prayer.

Maybe you've spilled coffee on yourself or stubbed your toe in the night. Everyone makes mistakes. The problem is when we label more sinister actions "Mistakes." That lie, the time you cheated, or those really dark thoughts aren't mistakes. If we're honest, we meant to do those things. They're something else. Pastor Ivey unpacks Mark 7:14-23 and we hear how Jesus diagnoses our biggest problem. Our biggest issue isn't that we need to try harder or do more. It's deeper and more fundamental.

Jesus never does miracles to show off. He suspends nature for brief moments to reveal who he is. Every event has a purpose, and Jesus walking on the water is no different. The problem is that the disciples don't seem to like the Jesus that is revealed through this miracle. This should cause us to ask what happens when the most amazing and powerful person we know sends us into danger and then reveals themselves in a way we don't like? Listen this week to hear how the disciples respond.

We've all had moments where we needed God to provide and multiply. This week we look at the miraculous feeding of the 5,000. We'll get a glance at the Great Shepherd at work. In this amazing passage, the budget was slim, but the provider was great. We’ll see three ways in which Jesus acted to provide for his people and how we fit into the story.

We’ve all sacrificed for something we really want. Maybe it was a car, job, house, or school. But as we get older you realize everything costs you something. We'll gladly sacrifice for things we really desire or believe in. Discipleship is the act of following Jesus, and there is one thing that Mark wants us to know in this week's passage: Discipleship will cost you everything.