July 07, 2024

Mt Pleasant :: Sam Fornecker: Risky Discipleship

22 minutes

Bible Study

Don't just take our word for it . . . take His! We would encourage you to spend time examining the following Scriptures that shaped this sermon:

Sermon Outline

Because we follow a crucified King, we must

Persist when rejected with Christ

Forgive when reviled for Christ

Believe when offended by Christ

Sermon Questions

The minister, John Stott, famously ascribed to our culture an "anti-authority mood." What do you think he meant?

This sermon uses Jesus's trade (Mk 6:3, "Is not this the carpenter...?") as a window into the meaning of discipleship. What other biblical truths need to be considered, to avoid the misguided conclusion that Jesus is an obsessive moralist, and moral perfectionism?

Twice in Acts (18:6, 20:27), the apostle Paul says that he is "innocent of the blood of all," because he had discharged the duty entrusted to him by God. Can you say the same? Or is there a relationship, or area of life, where you are resisting risky discipleship, because of the prospect of rejection?

In what ways are Christians reviled (if that isn't too strong a word!) in our culture? How should we respond?

Jesus "marveled" because of the unbelief of God's people (Mk 6:6). By contrast, he "marveled" at the belief of the Roman centurion (Mk 8:5–13). What is the warning here? And what is the next step for obedience?

Resources Referenced

Eckhard J. Schnabel, New Testament Theology (Baker Academic, 2023)

C.F.D. Moule, The Gospel according to Mark, CGTC (Cambridge, 1979).

Ezra Gould, The Gospel according to St Mark, ICC (T&T Clark, 1912).

William L. Lane, The Gospel of Mark, NICNT (Eerdman's, 1974).

David Esterly, The Lost Carving: A Journey to the Heart of Making (Penguin, 2013).

Tim Ingold, "Walking the Plank: Meditations on a Process of Skill," in Being Alive: Essays on Movement, Knowledge and Description (Routledge, 2022), 63–81.

Glenn Adamson, Fewer, Better Objects: The Hidden Wisdom of Things (Bloomsbury, 2018).

Questions?

Do you have a question about today's sermon? Email Sam Fornecker (

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