Jesus teaches how different His Kingdom is than the world. His Kingdom is slow and inevitable, but in order for us to really experience it we need to take it in, we need to let the seed grow in our lives and hearts.

Parables can be so weird and hard to understand. But that was exactly the point for Jesus. He wanted us to think about like and the world differently. He wanted to reset our perspective and to do that He used parables to challenge His listeners. The parable of the sower challenges everyone to be people with eyes to see the Kingdom and ears to hear the voice of the King.

There have been many attempts to contain or control the power of the Gospel, but there has never been one that has succeeded. In Mark 3:20-35 Jesus shows us that He has come with ultimate control to bring a kingdom that makes all things new.

Jesus makes a powerful statement by calling 12 apostles. The Jews would not miss that Jesus was saying a revolution was beginning

Joy and happiness get confused and Christians can be notorious for trying to gloss over suffering and hard things. The gives a different was of living by inviting us into grief and experiencing joy at the same time. It's a brilliant and novel concept that has an impact for all of our lives.

Hebrews tells us that 'for the joy set before Him,' Jesus endured the cross scorning it's shame and taking our shame so that we could have the joy of His presence. This Sunday we talk about the Joy experienced in the saving work of Christ.

In this second message of our Advent Series, DJ Pittman takes us into John 16 and the thing that keeps many of us from experiencing the grace of joy.

Everything is supposed to be joyful around the holidays. But it seems like anxiety and hurry are what we mostly feel. What would it look like to be a joyous people in the midst of all circumstances and what would the practice of Joy look like?

Mark now takes us to the point where the religious leaders start to realize what Jesus is claiming, He is the one who can change everything. Mark invites his readers to wrestle with the truth that Jesus claims to be the only one who can truly give us rest.

Jesus came to bring a new chapter, life, and kingdom. However, so many of us struggle with adding Jesus to a life we are comfortable with. In Mark 2:18-22, we are challenged with the truth that, with Jesus, the new and the old do not mix.