MUMC Plugged IN

This week we begin a new series where we will look at "Stuff Jesus Didn't Say". In the first week we dig into "Jesus just wants me to be happy". This brings up a lot of questions about what it means to be happy, what Jesus desires for our lives and what it means to take up our cross daily.

The Christian life is more than fleeting happiness and getting everything we ask for.

As we have walked through the gospel of Mark this Lenten season through to the cross, we have been struck by how much of the interpretation of the story of Jesus is left to us, the reader. Just like those in the story, the disciples, Pilate, the Roman guards, the followers of Jesus, the robbers crucified with him, and the crowds that followed and mocked him; we all are confronted with his death. 

We have reached the last part of the road to the cross. As we have walked with Jesus we have heard Him speak of the kingdom of God and now, as we approach Jerusalem, we will see it unfold. 

As we turn the corner on the last leg of our journey through the gospel of Mark, Jesus has gathered with His disciples to celebrate Passover. Even though Judas has already agreed to betray Christ, he sits at the table and eats right along with him and listens to Jesus talk about what is to come. 

From the very beginning, Jesus taught us that the Kingdom of God is about sharing.

We always remember the "Great Commission" given by Jesus at the end of his time on earth but, that wasn't the only time that he commissioned and sent disciples and followers out. Early in their discipleship with Jesus, he sent them into the surrounding cities to share the gospel.

As Jesus began His ministry, he went to Capernaum. There he taught in the synagog but he also healed and cast out demons. One interesting feature of the story is that Jesus didn't go out of his way to heal all the sick, broken, and hurting people. Instead, he healed everyone in Capernaum because each of them had someone who brought them to Jesus. 

This week we are on the second stop on our road to Easter where we find Jesus calling some unlikely men to be his disciples. These were not the star students or what would be considered conventional choices, but men who were going about their jobs...fishing.

He wasn't as concerned what they WERE but what they would BECOME.

This Lenten season we will travel through the gospel of Mark. From John the Baptist preparing the way for the ministry of Jesus, along the road and through to the cross, we will walk with Jesus.

In its first few words, Mark lets us know that this story is only the beginning. This road that leads from the wilderness to the cross is being traveled still by those of us who have taken up the journey and continue it today.

This week, we conclude our study of some of the short, personal letters of the New Testament with a deep dive into Jude. In this short letter, Jude lays out a stern warning against those who view grace as a means to further their own agenda. 

Even though this was written during the early history of the church, the descriptions and warnings that Jude lays out could have been written this week.

Philemon is a unique letter in the New Testament. If you haven't spent time studying it, this is a letter that Paul is writing to accompany a run away slave (Onesimus) as he is returning to the household that he has fled. 

In its few verses, Paul lays down an argument for what it means to be a part of the family of believers and just how deeply the transformation of salvation changes our very identity.