Sermon Central
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Gospel Of Mark - Learning To Follow Jesus Our Servant King
Contributed by David Owens on Mar 6, 2023 (message contributor)
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1. An Unlikely Author Of A Gospel
Contributed on Mar 6, 2023
In this first sermon in the series on the Gospel of Mark, we want to answer the questions: who was Mark and why is he an unlikely author of a Gospel.
A. One day a woman was cleaning her house and singing Gospel songs as she worked. 1. She began singing, “Soon and very soon, we are going to see the king...” 2. A few minutes later, she heard her young son in the next room and he was singing the same song, but something a little off. 3. Listen to ...read more
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2. The Beginning Of The Gospel
Contributed on Mar 13, 2023
As is characteristic of Mark's Gospel, he quickly identifies that his subject is "the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God," and then immediately introduces John the Baptizer, the forerunner of Jesus, and then immediately tells about Jesus' baptism and temptation.
A. When you are writing a story, you want to catch your reader’s attention from the very start, right? 1. Here are some opening lines from actual books – some are famous, some not so famous. 2. “If you're going to read this, don't bother.” Choke 3. “I come from Des Moines. Somebody had ...read more
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3. When The Master Calls
Contributed on Mar 20, 2023
In today's section, Mark begins with the first words of Jesus as He proclaimed the Gospel in Galilee. Then Mark moved quickly into the calling of the first four disciples. There is much for us to learn about how to respond to the Master's call to be fishers of people.
A. The kingdom of God is like a man who wanted to build a carousel and began to build a team and find the supplies he needed. 1. In 2008, a man named Gale Joh wanted to do something special for Kingsport, Tennesse, the place that had become his home. 2. He had grown up in Binghamton, NY, the ...read more
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4. Sermon 4 - Jesus Causes Wonder And Amazement
Contributed on Mar 27, 2023
In this section of Mark's Gospel, Mark draws our attention to the wonder and amazement of the people as they see the authority with which Jesus taught, and as they witness Jesus' power over demons and disease. As we put our faith in Christ and walk with Him, He continues to amaze us.
A. Let’s start with a little humor about magic. 1. Did you hear about the magician who did magic with chocolate? I heard he had loads of Twix up his sleeve. 2. Once there was a magician doing a magic show in Mexico. As he was doing a trick he said, “Uno, dos,” and then disappeared without a ...read more
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5. Jesus, The Man Of Surprises
Contributed on Apr 3, 2023
As we move through Mark's Gospel, Jesus continues to amaze and surprise the people as everyone tries to figure out who Jesus really is. In this sermon, Jesus really surprises everyone by touching the leper and forgiving the sins of the paralytic.
A. Have you ever thought you knew someone, but then you were surprised by something interesting that you learned about them? 1. What’s true about our friends is also true about celebrities. B. Let me share some of the surprising hobbies that some famous celebrities have that you probably were ...read more
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6. Jesus The Controversialist
Contributed on Apr 17, 2023
Mark portrays Jesus as strong and bold as He dealt with spiritual controversies "head on." In this section of Mark, he grouped together four incidents that showed how Jesus faced the controversies and taught the truth. We need to ask ourselves if we are more like Jesus or the Pharisees.
A. Let me begin with a question: when you try to picture Jesus in your mind, how do you picture Him? 1. Do you picture Him being gentle, meek and loving? Certainly, He was all those things. 2. But Jesus also had other characteristics and other sides to Him. 3. When we read the Gospel accounts, ...read more
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7. Jesus Stayed The Course
Contributed on Apr 24, 2023
In today's segment from the Gospel of Mark, we witness how Jesus handled the popularity of the crowd and how He moved away from the crowd in order to appoint the twelve apostles. As we watch Jesus stay the course, we learn how to focus on the mission of making disciples.
A. You all are very familiar with the Beatles. Right? 1. By 1966, the Beatles had become international stars and had achieved unprecedented levels of critical and commercial success. 2. Their popularity caused John Lennon, the 26 year-old member of the Beatles to tell a London reporter: ...read more
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8. Labeling Jesus
Contributed on May 1, 2023
In this section, Mark sandwiched an incident with Jesus' family and an incident with the Jewish religious leaders to show the judgments people were making about Jesus. In the end, Jesus can only be one of three possibilities: Lord, liar or lunatic.
A. You’ve heard the old joke: “You can call me anything you want, just don’t call me late for dinner.” 1. Have you ever had someone call you a name that hurt you? We all have, right? 2. Some people call us names to deliberately hurt us, but others sometimes call us names in jest, and yet those ...read more
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9. You Gotta Have Heart
Contributed on May 8, 2023
In Mark 4, Jesus taught the parable of the sower, and then explained it. The parable challenges us to sow the word of God and to cultivate our hearts so that we can be the good soil that produces a great harvest.
A. Once there was a man who was having serious heart trouble, so he went to the doctor to see what his options were. 1. His doctor recommended that he have a heart transplant. 2. The patient asked if there were any hearts immediately available and told the doctor that he could pay whatever amount ...read more
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10. Miracle Grow For The Kingdom
Contributed on May 15, 2023
In Mark 4, Mark continues to record Jesus' short parables about the growth of God's kingdom. In this sermon, we learn four "miracle grow" principles for kingdom growth.
Introduction: A. Let’s begin with a question: How many of you like to garden? 1. Let’s ask a follow-up question: How many of you consider yourselves good gardeners? 2. There is a difference between liking to garden and being good at it, right? 3. I don’t consider myself a gardener, but let me ...read more
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11. Fear-Full Or Faith-Full
Contributed on May 22, 2023
In the incident of the furious storm on the Sea of Galilee, the disciples learn something about dealing with fear through faith. Who is Jesus? He is God and is Lord of the storm.
Introduction: A. Let’s begin with two questions: Have you ever been really afraid of something? What is the scariest situation you have ever experienced? B. Let me share a terrifying experience that took place when I was very young, probably 14 or 15. 1. It wasn’t funny at the time, but our ...read more
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12. God In The Graveyard
Contributed on Jun 5, 2023
In the first miracle in Mark 5, we see Jesus set free the man who was possessed by many demons. We see the sad reaction of the people of that region and learn the sad truth that some people choose the swine over the Savior. We also learn that everyone has a testimony.
Introduction: A. Let’s start with a question: Are there certain places you don’t like to go when it’s dark? 1. How about down in the basement? Out in the woods? Down a dark road? Or into a cemetery? 2. During my elementary school years, we lived on the northeast side of Syracuse and around the ...read more
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13. Desperate Faith
Contributed on Jun 12, 2023
In today's section of Mark, we see the desperation of two individuals who believed that Jesus could help them. Their faith in Jesus led them to humbly come to Him for help. Their faith was rewarded and our faith in Jesus will be rewarded as well.
Introduction: A. I read a story about a little girl named Tess went to her bedroom one day and pulled her glass jelly jar bank from its hiding place in the closet. 1, She poured all the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. a. After placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on ...read more
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14. The Success Of Failure
Contributed on Jun 19, 2023
Failure is a common experience and with God's help we can keep failure from being final. Jesus left a great example of how to handle failure when He was rejected in His own hometown.
Introduction: A. How many of you have ever failed at something? We all have experienced failure, right? 1. Bob Hope, when asked about his early failures in stand-up comedy, said, “I would not have had anything to eat if it wasn’t for the stuff the audience threw at me.” 2. Do you consider Abraham ...read more
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15. Truth And Consequences
Contributed on Jun 26, 2023
John the Baptizer experienced severe consequences for standing for God's truth. In this interlude in Mark's Gospel we learn the lesson that discipleship is costly and we learn about people's different reactions to the truth.
A. How many of you remember the show “Truth or Consequences”? 1. Anyone who remembers the show is either old or is a radio and TV history buff. 2. “Truth or Consequences” was a long-running wild and wacky game show. 3. It was on the radio from 1940 to 1957 and was on TV from 1950 to ...read more
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16. Things Only God Can Do
Contributed on Jul 3, 2023
In this section of the Gospel of Mark, Mark continues to help us see who Jesus is and why we can trust Him. In this section we see that Jesus is the Good Shepherd who feeds His sheep and rescues His sheep.
Introduction: A. How many of you have ever fed 5000 men, plus women and children with only five loaves and two fish? Anyone? 1. Well, our Camp Hunt cooking staffs have come pretty close, especially in those early years when we had a shoe-string budget and got by on government surplus commodities, ...read more
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17. Critically Important Contrasts
Contributed on Jul 17, 2023
In this section of the Gospel of Mark, Mark presents some critically important contrasts between Jesus and the Scribes and Pharisees as Jesus clarifies the difference between truth and tradition, and between inward and outward righteousness.
Introduction: A. Many years ago, the Washington Post carried a story about a man who was working on his farm in Wisconsin, when suddenly something dropped out of the sky into a field near him. 1. The object was blue, frozen, and mysterious. 2. Excitedly, the man chopped off a huge chunk, put it in ...read more
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18. Jesus Does All Things Well
Contributed on Jul 24, 2023
In this section of the Gospel of Mark, Mark shares two stories about Jesus ministering to two Gentiles. As Jesus ministered to them in unique and marvelous ways, we see how it is true that He does all things well. We can trust that Jesus will continue to do all things well in our lives.
Introduction: A. I’m sure you have heard of the saying, “Jack of all trades and master of none.” 1. I wasn’t familiar with this version that says: “A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.” I can see how that could be true. 2. I thought you would get a ...read more
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19. Can't You Read The Sign?
Contributed on Jul 31, 2023
In Mark 8:1-26, Mark directs our attention to the people around Jesus who are struggling with spiritual blindness in spite of the signs that they should clearly see and understand.
Introduction: A. Have you ever noticed how we sometimes experience involuntary blindness? 1. Something might be sitting right in front of us, and yet we don’t see it; like, “where are my keys?” or “I can’t find my cell phone” or “where’s the pepper?” They are right in front of us! B. Sometimes ...read more
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20. Answering Life's Most Important Question
Contributed on Aug 8, 2023
This sermon marks a critical point in the ministry of Jesus. It is time for Jesus' disciples to know that He is the Messiah and to know what kind of Messiah He will be. They are shocked to discover there is a cross in store for Jesus and for all of Jesus' followers.
Introduction: A. One day, two men with the same qualifications interviewed for the same job and both did equally well in the interview. 1. The hiring manager decided to have them both take an exam with 10 questions to help him make a decision about who to hire. 2. As it turned out, both men only ...read more
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21. A Glimpse Of Glory
Contributed on Aug 21, 2023
The transfiguration of Jesus looks backwards to Moses and Elijah, and looks forward to Jesus' passion, ascension and return. The transfiguration is significant for Jesus, His apostles, and all of us.
Introduction: A. What are the most glorious things you have ever seen? 1. The birth of a baby? A breathtaking sunset? The pounding ocean surf or the shear force of the water going over Niagara Falls? 2. As glorious as those things are, none of those things can even come close to the glorious ...read more
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22. Jesus Teaches His Disciples (Part 1)
Contributed on Aug 28, 2023
Mark begins a long teaching section in Mark 9, where Jesus focused on teaching His disciples. In this first segment of that section, Jesus taught them about prayer and about His passion. They needed to learn these lessons and so do we.
Introduction: A. One day, Charlie Brown was complaining because his team lost another baseball game. 1. He said, “I get tired of losing…everything I do, I lose!” 2. Lucy attempted to console him with these words: “Look at it this way, Charlie Brown…we learn more from losing than we do from ...read more
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23. Jesus Teaches His Disciples (Part 2)
Contributed on Sep 4, 2023
As Jesus continued to privately teach His disciples in Mark chapter 9, we see that He focused on teaching them about pride and prejudice. It was important for them and for us to learn about humility and tolerance.
Introduction: A. In last week’s sermon, we started a section in the Gospel of Mark where Jesus was privately teaching His disciples some very important lessons on discipleship. 1. The two lessons we explored last week had to do with prayer and the passion of Jesus. 2. In today’s sermon, we will ...read more
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24. Jesus Answers The Divorce Question
Contributed on Sep 11, 2023
When Jesus returned to His public ministry in Mark 10, the Pharisees tried to trap Him with a question about divorce. Jesus dealt with their question by directing them back to God's original design and intent in creation.
A. In the last two sermons in our sermon series on the Gospel of Mark, we have been watching Jesus privately teaching His disciples some very important lessons on discipleship. 1. The topics He discussed with them were about prayer, the passion of Jesus, pride and prejudice. 2. I trust that we have ...read more
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25. Lessons About Little People And Big People
Contributed on Sep 18, 2023
In this section of Mark, Jesus encounters mothers and their children, and then a rich, young ruler. Both encounters give Him the opportunity to teach lessons about little people and big people.
Introduction: A. One day, a 3 year-old girl named Charlotte received a certificate of achievement following her last swimming lesson. 1. When her dad came home from work that evening, her mom handed her dad the certificate and said to the little girl, “Charlotte, would you like to tell your daddy ...read more
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26. On The Road To Jerusalem
Contributed on Sep 25, 2023
This is the last section of Mark before the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Mark gives us a picture of Jesus on the road to Jerusalem with courage and determination. Along the road to Jerusalem we learn lessons about greatness and service.
Introduction: A. If you would humor me, I’d like to start with a little bit of “road” humor. 1. Why did the chicken cross the road? I don’t know, why? I don’t know—I asked you first! 2. What do you call a chicken crossing the road? Answer: Poultry in motion. 3. Why did the bubblegum cross the ...read more
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27. Claiming His Lordship
Contributed on Oct 2, 2023
When Jesus entered Jerusalem for His final week, He fulfilled prophesy and claimed His Lordship. He is Lord of all, but we must make Him our personal Lord.
Introduction: A. I want to begin with an illustration from Bruce Larson’s book, Believe and Belong. 1. For many years, Bruce worked in NYC and when people were struggling with whether to surrender their lives to Christ, he would take them on a walk from his office to the RCA building on Fifth ...read more
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28. Finalizing His Authority
Contributed on Oct 9, 2023
In this section of Mark's Gospel, we see Jesus finalizing His authority. We see His superior wisdom, knowledge and power as He is confronted by three groups of Jewish religious leaders and rises above each confrontation.
Introduction: A. Christian Herter was governor of Massachusetts back in the 1950s and one day when he was campaigning for a second term in office, he went looking for votes at a church barbecue. 1. Herter was famished and as he moved through the serving line, he held out his plate to the woman ...read more
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29. The Cardinal Rule
Contributed on Oct 16, 2023
In this section of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus clarifies what the most important command is. It is to love God and to love others. Wholeheartedly loving God means that we love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. That kind of love is illustrated in the widow's gift.
A. Knowing what the most important rules are in any given context is very helpful. 1. What are the most important rules for the classroom? a. Listen carefully. d. Raise your hand if you have something to say. b. Keep your hands and feet to yourself. e. Show respect and kindness to your ...read more
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30. Preparing For The Future
Contributed on Oct 23, 2023
In Mark 13, Jesus prepared His disciples for two future events: the destruction of Jerusalem and His second coming. The first event would come with warnings, but the second will be a surprise. Readiness and alertness and trust in the Lord were necessary for both.
Introduction A. One day there was an airplane that was having engine trouble, so the pilot instructed the cabin crew to have the passengers take their seats and get prepared for an emergency landing. 1. A few minutes later, the pilot asked the flight attendants if everyone was buckled in and ...read more