Today we welcome Ray Badgero as our guest speaker. Ray graduated from Moody Bible Institute in 1968. He was a missionary in Germany and the former Yugoslavia. He returned to Moody as the Director of International Ministries where he served until 1995. Ray is currently the Director of the Master's Mission on Cooper Island in British Columbia, Canada. Ray and his wife, Lois have seven children.

As we begin our study in the book of Acts we find Jesus preparing His disciples for founding His church. Jesus’ plan is revealed clearly here in Acts for the church. But the principles He shares aren’t just for the 1st century church. What made the church succeed in the 1st century is a blueprint for how the church continues to succeed today.

The resurrection is an essential doctrine for us. Without it, we would have no faith according to the Apostle Paul. This is why Mark spends time to establish that Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the grave. But what is unusual in Mark’s witness account of the resurrection is that women are featured as the witnesses. For us this might not seem that unusual, but for the culture of the first century this would have been really thinking outside the box. Women are presented as credible witnesses who stayed by our Lord when the men disciples had left.

As we look at Mark’s account of the crucifixion of our Lord, we find that he points out how the events surrounding the Lord’s death fulfill an Old Testament prophetic psalm that pictured the Lord’s death hundreds of years before it took place. The 22nd Psalm pictured the events before and during the crucifixion with startling accuracy. Mark shows us the fulfillment of this psalm to declare one more time, without any doubt, that Jesus is the promised Messiah.

Indecision about what to do with Jesus is not an option. We can’t say “He’s a good man” or “He was a great teacher”. We must either accept Him as who He claims to be – the Son of God and our Savior, or we must reject Him. There is no middle ground. Pilate was faced with this same problem as Jesus was brought before him.

Mark’s account of Peter’s denial gives us a picture of a man with a broken heart. He had failed the Lord and he recognized it and had a broken and contrite heart about his sin. Peter repented of this sin and became very useful for the Lord after this failure going on to become a prominent leader in the church. Sometimes when we fail as believers we can think – “I’ll never come back from this. God can’t use me.” God’s transforming grace is there for us all. The key to experiencing it is humility. Grace can only be received. Unless we humble ourselves before God and recognize how very much we need Him, we can’t experience the power of His grace in our lives.

This morning we’re going to be looking into the trial of Jesus. This so called trial was basically a kangaroo court hastily assembled to render a verdict the religious leaders of Jerusalem sought. Yet what we’ll see is the plan and will of God was still being accomplished. What the chief priests, teachers of the law, and Pharisees meant for evil God would eventually use for good.

In Mark's account of Jesus' arrest, we find evil men being used by God to accomplish our salvation. What they meant for evil, God used for the good of all mankind.

There are times when we are blindsided by trials but other times when we have plenty of warning. In this morning's passage, Jesus knew the cross was coming. He warned His disciples. Mark presents the Lord's preparation for the cross and contrasts it with the preparation of the disciples.

Why is the monumental failure of the disciples included in scripture when these same disciples would become founders of the Church? The message we find in their failure is clear - we can all fail - the important question is what do we do AFTER we've failed?