In Mark 10:17-27 we have the story of a man who walked away from Jesus because the cost of following Him seemed too high. The call of Jesus is the same for every person: we are called to give our lives to Him fully and completely. For this man, however, the cost seemed too high and he walked away. The reality is that call of Jesus is a high calling and for many the choice to follow will require sacrifice. The disciples had given up much to follow Jesus. And yet after the rich young ruler walks away Jesus assures them that all who suffer loss in following Him will receive back far more than they lose.

Have you ever been frustrated by something you read in the Bible? Maybe you’ve had this experience, where what you read in the Bible stands over against what you want to be true. This is far too common. We can be tempted to come to the Bible in order to find affirmation for our way of living or our way of thinking. And then if the two don’t match up we realize we have a decision to make: Will we believe and submit to the Word of God? Or will we reject it and choose to live by our own standards? In Mark 10 we have a story of a man who has to make this kind of decision. He asks a question of Jesus and he receives an answer He doesn’t like, and he has to make a choice. He asks the right question, but sadly He chooses the wrong response to the answer he receives.

Matthew, Mark and Luke each share this simple story of Jesus welcoming and blessing children after the disciples had tried to send them away. Mark’s account is the longest, four verses in total. It’s a simple story but it conveys at least two messages that are vitally important. As Jesus welcomes the children He offers an important example for a culture that didn’t place much value on children. And then He uses the opportunity to convey a significant truth about the way of salvation.

What does the Bible say about marriage, divorce and remarriage? In a world where marriage is often avoided or minimized and divorce is often normalized and even praised it is important that we consider how God would have us think about these significant matters. In Mark 10 we come to a passage where Jesus speaks both to the issue of divorce and also of God’s good design and plan for marriage. As we come to this passage we must acknowledge that for many people this topic is very personal. Almost everyone has been impacted in some way, directly or indirectly by divorce. For some the topic elicits reminders of the some of the hardest moments of life. Thankfully, as Christians we know that Jesus came to bring grace and forgiveness for all who have sinned and hope and restoration for all who have been sinned against.

If you grew up in a Christian home then one of the first songs you ever learned was probably Jesus Loves Me. The love of God is something that is referenced a lot. We sing about it. We read about it in the Scriptures. But even though we refer to the love of God a lot, it’s still something that many Christians misunderstand, or even doubt. For some, there is a struggle to believe that God does in fact really love them personally. Sure, God is love, but we know our weaknesses and deep down there may be doubts about the fullness of God’s love for us. It’s from this that we can be tempted to try and earn God’s love or to think that we may somehow lose it. On the other hand there are those who herald God’s love all the while believing that somehow they’ve earned it. That God continues to love us because of our faithfulness or good works. Both of these errors lead to the belief that the love of God isn’t certain

Once a month we take time as a church to share of the Lord’s Supper. We pray, we read Scripture, we eat of the bread and we drink of the cup. This is an important practice, and we believe that our regular sharing of the Table honors God. But we must also be on guard. Anytime we do something over and over there is the potential of simply following a routine and forgetting the significance of what we are doing. Perhaps this temptation to go through the motions is something you are unfamiliar with (praise God!), but even still it’s important for us to take time periodically to consider the reason for this gift. What does God want for us as we share the Lord’s Supper? What should we be thinking about and what benefits should we expect to receive? In 1 Corinthians 10 and 11 Paul devotes time to helping the Corinthian church think righty about the Lord’s Supper. While there is much to be learned from these chapters, this sermon will focus in on five things that we should keep in mind as we observe the Lord’s Supper.

As the time of His crucifixion draws closer Jesus invests more and more time in helping His disciples know what it means to be true followers of His. In particular He helps them to understand the high cost and call of discipleship. In the preceding paragraphs we have seen once again the shortcomings of the disciples, especially their pride. And while they are slow to learn Jesus continues to teach them. As we come to Mark 9:42-50 we come to a section marked by warning. Jesus is offering warnings that drive home what is really at stake when it comes to sin and the consequences of sin. To follow Jesus is a high calling and a costly calling, but for those who reject Him and remain in their sin the cost is much higher.

In the church it’s not uncommon to find two kinds of people: those who are passionate about unity and those who are passionate about truth. To be clear, these do not have to be mutually exclusive. In fact, the call of the Scriptures is to love and pursue both unity and the truth. But often we tend to be pulled to one side or the other. We may love and value unity and pursue it as the highest good. Or we may love and value truth in a way that impacts our ability to live in unity with other followers of Jesus. As we come to Mark 9:38-41 we find Jesus helping His disciples recognize the danger of exclusivity over unity. No doubt driven in part by pride, the disciples are quick to protect the name of Jesus and to stand against anyone who they perceive as an unqualified disciple. Yet in their zeal they admonish man who is a sincere believer in Jesus and who is doing good works in His name. In this passage we find a warning for those are zealous about truth and yet whose zeal may lead to unnecessary separation.

It has been said that Jesus came proclaiming an upside-down kingdom. It’s a catchy way of saying that so much of what Jesus said and taught turns our way of thinking on its’ head. He said things like, if you want to live, you must die; and if you want to save your life, you must lose it. Our natural way of thinking is to hate our enemies and to look for opportunities for revenge, but Jesus said Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. The ways of Jesus are counter-intuitive and counter-cultural. As we come to Mark 9 we find Jesus expressing yet another paradoxical way of thinking. He says that the way to greatness is the way of service. And if we want to be great, we need to be the greatest servants. And of course this isn’t simply something Jesus says, this is the way He lived. The life and the death of Jesus are the ultimate demonstrations of the greatness of humility.

We probably all know what it feels like to experience a time of spiritual renewal. There are times and seasons when we seem to see God more clearly and sense His presence more fully. While those times and seasons are sweet, it’s also true that there are times for most of us when we struggle to take God at His Word and to trust His plan for our lives. As we return to Mark 9 we see two passages that seem to mirror these divergent experiences. In vv. 2-13 Jesus and three of His disciples are on a mountain where Jesus is transfigured and God speaks from Heaven. It’s an incredible scene that reminds us of who Jesus is and that He can be trusted. But as we pick up in verse 14 the setting changes and we are reminded of how fragile our faith can be. As Jesus, Peter, James and John return to the rest of the disciples they come face to face with the realities of life in a fallen world and with the often-imperfect faith of followers of Jesus. As we consider this account of a demon possessed boy, a desperate father and imperfect disciples we are reminded of four important truths about the life of faith.