Rainier Valley Church - Seattle

Big Idea: Someone will have authority over you life, the question is who and why? Jesus has authority over storms, spirits, and suffering. Jesus demonstrates his authority over nature by silencing the storm. Jesus demonstrates his authority over demons by casting them out. Jesus demonstrates his authority over suffering by healing. Jesus is the creator, the Lord, and the healer. How will we respond and live in life of the authority of King Jesus?

The Gospel of Mark: Servanthood, Discipleship, and Following Jesus #6 Mark 4:1-34 "Jesus and Kingdom Stories" Which story is driving your life? Jesus calls his followers to hear, respond to and share the Gospel while sin, the cares of the world, and opposition hinder Kingdom growth but the promise of the Kingdom is guaranteed to grow until it encompasses people from every nation. The stories we believe matter. The stories that we listen to, that we share, and the we believe shape everything about us. Which story will we believe? Which story will we share? Which story will we reject? Which story will shape our lives?

Everyone believes something about Jesus. Gandhi believed Jesus was an innocent man who voluntarily sacrificed himself for the good of others. Martin Luther King Jr. described Jesus as “an extremist for love.” Muslims believe Jesus was the second most important prophet, after Muhammad, and Judaism labels Jesus as a false prophet. Buddhism teaches that Jesus was an enlightened man, and Hinduism suggests Jesus was a holy man akin to a saint. A very popular opinion widely held in our culture and almost universally believed in New Age spiritual movements is that Jesus was a wise moral teacher but would such a great teacher say the sorts of things Jesus did about himself?

The Gospel of Mark: Servanthood, Discipleship, and Following Jesus #4 Mark 3:7-19 "Jesus Prepares His Team" As we look at Mark 3:7-19, we see that Mark is specifically highlighting the difference between the crowd and the called, between fans of Jesus and those who will actually follow Jesus. Fans have knowledge but not intimacy (3:7-8), Fans want goodies but not God (3:9-10), and fans like convenience but don't really have conviction (3:11-12). There is a major difference between fans and followers. Followers are Called (7:13), Commissioned (7:14-15) and Changed (7:16-19) as walk with Jesus over a lifetime. Let's open our Bible, our hearts, and our minds and be challenged to take the next step of discipleship in our lives.

The first Iphone was released in 2007 and utterly revolutionized how we find information, travel around, take pictures, and surf the web. Revolutions transform the world and change the way we understand everything. As we open the scriptures to Mark 2:1-3:6 we'll see that Jesus is a revolutionary. Love Jesus or Hate Him, everyone took him seriously. Jesus was revolutionary by forgiving, befriending, and healing sinners like you and me. Let's learn about what made Jesus so incredible!

Making a good first impression matters, whether you are going to a job interview, out on a date or meeting a new friend, we know that first impressions shape how someone views and thinks about us. Open your Bible to Mark 1:16-45 as we see a day in the ministry of Jesus and learn that peoples constant first impression of Jesus was awe at His authority. Whether they love Jesus or hated him, everyone took Him seriously. Let's open our Bibles to the Gospel of Mark and learn about Jesus' compelling authority to make disciples, Jesus' cleanses authority to rid us of the demonic and Jesus' healing authority to restore our brokenness. The same Jesus of the Gospel of Mark is ruling and reigning from Heaven and continues to make disciples, beat back the darkness, and heal the broken. Lord Jesus, heal us, cleanse us, and make us your disciples who want to be with you, like you, and to do what you have done.

Big Idea: Following Jesus Changes Everything About Us! Jesus Reveals the Truth - We Can Follow Him (1:1) Jesus Fulfills the Scriptures - We Can Trust Him (1:2-3) Jesus Brings the Spirit -We Can Be Changed (1:4-11) Jesus Overcomes the Enemy - We Can Have Victory (1:12-13) Jesus Builds the Kingdom - We Can Have Purpose (1:14-15)