It’s important to remember that the Gospels are both the inerrant word of God and a carefully constructed narrative full of dramatic contrasts. Nowhere is this more evident than in Mark 14 and the contrast between Judas the disciple and Mary the sister of Jesus’ friend Lazarus. They are both totally devoted to…different things! This sermon we’ll explore the differences between them, the difference it makes to their relationship with Jesus, and the example each are to us as Jesus’ disciples today.

Our text this Sunday, Mark 13 (and the parallel texts in Matthew 24 and Luke 21), is among some of the most difficult to understand in the Bible. Jesus appears to mix predictions of things that would occur during the lifetime of the disciples with things that would only occur at the very end of human history. Although we won’t have time to unravel all of the exegetical complexities of Mark 13 this week, we should be able to know and understand enough to stay awake, to be ready for our Lord’s Second Coming, and to live lives of faithful expectation.

We return to the book of Mark and conclude Mark 12- where Jesus's authority has been systematically challenged by the leaders of this day. In doing so, we will see how from v. 28-44, Jesus is shown to be the Lord of the law, the Confounder of the Wise and the Judge of True Virtue.

Message from Rev. Dr. Richard Lints on February 8, 2026

For the prominence of its place in Christian theology, heaven remains a mystery. Glimpses of it can be mined in the Scripture. Our songs are filled with longings for it. We confess our belief in it. But what it actually is and what it will be like are frustratingly elusive. It’s especially hard when death intrudes. Whether we bury a loved one too early or whether we finally succumb to the ravages of old age, we want to know what lies on the other side of the final breath. This week, Jesus takes on yet another delegation of Jewish religious leaders asking disingenuous questions designed to frustrate and humiliate him. But his answer gives us some of the clearest and most hopeful information we have about the next life and our being known in it.

“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God’s.” Many of us are familiar with these words from Mark 12. They are one of the few places in the New Testament where Jesus or the apostles directly speak to political matters. Together, these passages provide Christians with the beginning of a political theology to help guide our understanding of life between Jesus’ Resurrection and his Second Coming. But not everyone agrees about the details!

This Sunday, we’ll lay a foundation for understanding our relationship to human government, while also pointing ourselves forward to the day when King Jesus will rule and reign directly over all.

Message from Rev. Danny Morgan on January 18, 2026

This week, we return (for the final time, Lord willing) to our annual springtime study of the Gospel of Mark. Since 2023, we have spent most weeks of the Epiphany and Lenten seasons studying the person and work of Jesus Christ as reported by Mark. This year, we’ll focus on Jesus’ last week of ministry: between his Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem and his Resurrection. To start things off, we join Jesus the day after his Triumphal Entry. He is going back to the Temple to clean house but along the way he curses a fig tree. What is the connection between an out of season fig tree, a disordered Temple, and you and me?

Have you heard this joke? “My New Year’s resolution is to stop making New Year’s resolutions!” I feel that; I don’t think I’ve ever faithfully kept a New Year’s resolution. But 2026 may be different, it should be different, and it can be different if we resolve to remember what Paul tells us is true about us in Ephesians 1. Before we resolve to do anything, let’s resolve to remember what God has done for us. And may that knowledge lead to joy, comfort, and assurance that will last not just one year but for all our years.

As we begin the Christmas season and conclude 2025, we remember the way of the manger- where Christ in his glory, willingly enters into the humble form of a baby. The way of the manger reminds us that despite the successes and abilities given us by the LORD, the way of weakness is the way of strength. Paul reminds us of these truths as he boasted of his weakness, inviting both the Corinthian church and our church today to reflect upon the true nature of strength- that when we are weak, we are strong, and when we are strong in our own minds, we are actually weak. This Sunday we will explore these truths in light of Paul's words, the incarnation, and the work of Christ in us today as we consider practicing the way of the manger this coming year.