We skip ahead to Mark 7 this week, with Pastor Jon Herr's sermon on the healing of a deaf man by Christ. We learn about how Jesus' gospel applies in our challenges and hardships, bringing light and hope.

Pastor Jon Herr preached from Matthew 6 in this Lenten sermon: "Turning from Hypocrisy."

As we turn this week to Mark 4, we come to what is probably the most famous parable of the Gospels. The Parable of the Sower is found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke—each Gospel writer tells essentially the same story. Each also reiterates what Mark says in 4:13, that in order to understand any of Jesus’ parables we must understand this parable. Because the parable is so well known, you may already assume that you know it and you may already assume it is about the “soils,” which represent the kinds of people who respond to the gospel message. But what if it’s about more than that? What if instead of focusing on the soil, Jesus actually wants us to focus on the promise of the spectacular harvest? Join us this week as we take a new look at an old parable so we can understand the mystery of the Kingdom of God.

Did you know there is a world-wide war going on right now that affects every person on the globe? Cyberwarfare threatens to disrupt governments, overthrow economies, and send our power grids back to the dark ages. But we seldom think about the battle going on around us and in that way cyberwarfare is a lot like spiritual warfare. But at the heart of Jesus’ mission was the defeat of Satan. This week, we conclude our study of Mark 3 with a study of the spiritual warfare going on around us, the state of the battle, and our responsibility to join in the fight.

This week we welcomed to our pulpit Rev. Adam Radcliff, who is leading a church plant from All Saints PCA, Resurrection Presbyterian Church. His sermon on Matthew 13:44-46 was titled "Encountering and Embracing Christ."

Growing up, I wasn’t much into video games. But I can remember one early game that could keep me fascinated for hours. It was an early version of “Sim City,” a game where you got to build a new community from the ground up: putting in roads, housing, industrial space, government offices, and parkland. It was up to you—the creator of this new world—to determine how money would be raised, how the quality of life for the citizens could be improved, and how land was to be used. As Jesus begins to build his kingdom in Mark 3, he chooses its first citizens: twelve disciples who will eventually become his ambassadors to Israel and his witnesses around the world. What does it mean to be a citizen of this new kingdom, a citizen of the new creation that is already dawning in our midst?

We resume our sermon series Seeing Jesus: Gospel of Mark, with Pastor Danny Morgan's sermon, Lord of the Sabbath 2.0.

The story of the Magi is like an old western. Strangers come to town asking honest questions, uncovering local corruption, and strive to find peace for the citizens of the town. Along the way, the Magi demonstrate remarkable wisdom. They seek Christ above all else in reliance upon the scriptures. They overcome Herod's attempts to manipulate and exploit them. They prove themselves better students of scripture than the chief priests by seeking the Messiah. They see God working around them and follow his guidance to Christ despite their discouragement. In so doing, they complete their journey by beholding the True King of the Jews, by rightly honoring him, and by protecting him in returning home, and not to Herod. Come worship with us on Sunday and discover the hidden wisdom of God revealed in the lives of the Magi as we discern the calling of Christ's wisdom upon us this year.

Judgment and joy seem like a paradox, particularly for modern readers. When was the last time you saw a toddler clap for joy when they were being disciplined? Or someone breaking out in song after they’ve been pulled over for speeding? Probably never. The Bible, however, shows us joy and judgment are inseparable. We cannot become all we are meant to be without the wisdom of judgment, and we cannot hold hope for a world cleansed of evil without singing for joy. In other words, we cannot have one without the other. This Sunday, we’ll see in Psalm 98 how the Bible both presents and solves this seeming paradox as the whole of creation sings for joy at the coming of the Lord and praises him for his judgment upon the earth, ushering in the golden age where the whole earth becomes all that it is meant to be.

Go nearly anywhere this Christmas season and you’ll hear the world singing praises to God. Christmas carols are everywhere! But among the verses about babes and mangers, angels and wise men, are also verses about God’s rule and reign, his justice and judgment. How can the news of the Lord’s return to judge the Earth be a reason to sing and rejoice? This week, before we turn our attention fully to the birth of Jesus Christ, we’ll look at Psalm 96, and the exhortation to the entire created order to sing because God is coming again in judgment.