Sermon Central
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Gospel Of Mark Series
Contributed by Christian Cheong on Jan 24, 2005 (message contributor)
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1. Authority & Power Of His Voice
Contributed on Jan 24, 2005
When Jesus enters the ministry, we see the authority and power of His words. We knows that when He calls, He enables. And when He says it, we can count on it happening.
Mark 1:14-28 The Authority and Power of His Voice Indiana Jones movie The Last Crusade: It’s the story of Indiana Jones and his father’s quest for the Holy Grail, the legendary chalice that Jesus used in his Last Supper with his disciples. In one of the final scenes, the ancient temple ...read more
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2. How To Stay Focused In Life
Contributed on Jan 24, 2005
To stay focused in life and do the work God has entrusted us, we must constantly pose the questions of purpose and priority. We must do what is needful, and make time for God in solitude.
Mark 1:35-39 How to STAY FOCUSED in Life What prevents us from living our life to the fullest? Distractions. 1. We lost sense of our purpose in what we are doing - gotten into a rut and not fully aware of what we are really trying to achieve. 2. We lost touch with our priorities - not clear ...read more
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3. Encounter With Jesus
Contributed on Feb 28, 2005
Every encounter with Jesus is potentially a life-changing one, therefore let us (1)seize every opportunity we have to COME to Jesus; and (2) develop a faith that would never be discouraged by the difficult.
These 2 stories put side-by-side reveals one thing – Jesus cares. He cares enough to do something. One of the most beautiful hymns in our hymnbook is "No One Ever Cared for Me like Jesus." The first stanza goes: I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus Since I found in Him a friend ...read more
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4. Clashes Of Power
Contributed on Feb 28, 2005
The series of clashes with the Pharisees reveal their blindness - blinded to (1) the true identity of Jesus and (2) the needs of man. Learn therefore that the power of life is in Jesus, and the focus of life ought to be the needs of others.
The 5 clashes Jesus had with the Pharisees: Mark 2:7 "Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone? - Jesus has authority on earth to forgive sins! Mark 2:17 "Why does he eat with tax collectors and ’sinners’?" - Jesus has come to save ...read more
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5. Pursue The Good Of Others
Contributed on Mar 5, 2005
Jesus wants us to "do good" and "save lives", to show concern for the physical and spiritual needs of people. Let us pursue the good of others, and seize every opportunity to do so.
Jesus pursued the good of other people. • He did it in his healings; he did it in his teachings. • In fact, Jesus lived his entire life for the good of other people. • We are all beneficiaries of that life - He died ultimately for our good. Today, we are called to live such a life. • As ...read more
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6. Called To Be Disciples
Contributed on Apr 10, 2005
Jesus called the Twelve so that (1) they might be with Him, (2) they are to be send out to preach, and (3) to have authority to drive out demons. We are to do the same today.
You and I can make a significant contribution to this world today • If not, Jesus would not have called us to be His disciples or given us the great commission 12 men took on the challenge - to follow Christ and serve Him - and they transformed the world • It is not about you, but what God ...read more
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7. Are You Listening Well?
Contributed on Apr 23, 2005
We need to develop the virtue of listening to God by making time for the Word, and tilling the ground of our heart, so that we stay receptive.
In our Christian walk with God, one important virtue we need to cultivate is LISTENING. We must be serious about listening to God and what He is saying to us. HEARING PROBLEM A middle-aged man was distraught over his wife’s stubborn refusal to admit she had a hearing problem. One day he ...read more
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8. Start Planting
Contributed on May 13, 2005
The Kingdom of God grows by the power of God, unseen and unknown by man. But we have to plant the seeds, sow His Word. Start planting.
Our God is at work today, and His is a 24-hour a day, 7-day a week. Jesus ushered in the Kingdom of God and ever since then, nothing has been the same. He set in motion a spiritual force - the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of man - by His power people are brought back home to be with ...read more
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9. Do You Still Have No Faith?
Contributed on May 25, 2005
Faith needs to be exercised. We can have faith in the Lord because His authority is absolute. Our faith in God is expressed through prayer and action.
Exercise is important. To stay fit and healthy, to stay strong, we’re told to exercise regularly. You go to the gym and you’ll see all kinds of equipment to tone your body muscle and help you stay strong and healthy. In the spiritual realm, we need that too. We say we have faith in God. ...read more
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10. Three Significant Things About Jesus
Contributed on Jun 15, 2005
From this encounter with Jairus and the sick woman, we learn three things about Jesus: (1) No one who comes seek Jesus will be ignored; (2) No situation in your life will ever be a problem to Jesus, and (2) He always respond to your faith.
Look at how Jesus treats people. Here we have a miracle inside of a miracle! Again we see two apparently hopeless situations. • Again Mark highlights to us Jesus as the Hope of the Hopeless; the Help of the Helpless. • The problem is not the ‘problem’ (sickness, difficulty…). Jesus can ...read more
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11. The Widow's Gift
Contributed on Jun 15, 2005
It’s not the size of your gift that matters, but the size of your heart. Believe every cent counts in the Kingdom of God. Learn to be totally dependent upon God.
Why would Jesus be so impressed with a widow who gave only two mites, which is less than a cent? He was so impressed that He called His disciples together and singled her out of the crowd. Why did He honour her minute gift so proudly and publicly? The woman is nameless. We have no record of ...read more
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12. Don't Limit God
Contributed on Jun 18, 2005
Don’t limit God by unbelief, which can be caused by limited viewpoint and a doubting heart, and thus hindering the flow of God’s power and blessings. Have faith in Him.
How can I be sure not to miss out on God’s best for my life? • How •can I avoid missing that door of opportunity which has been placed before me for me to walk through? • How can I avoid limiting what God can do in my life, and thereby limiting what I can do through Christ? None of us want to ...read more
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13. Standing Firm On What Is Right
Contributed on Jun 28, 2005
Make up your mind to stand firm on what is right and resist the pressures to be popular or to conform. Pray and draw strength from God to resist pressure to compromise God’s truth.
(Taken some pointers from David Hoke’s sermon “Herod’s Folly”) We face pressures in life – different pressures, different degrees, at different stages of life. • From school projects, workload, meeting datelines, and others. • You faith in God – no matter how strong it is – will not take away ...read more
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14. The Impossible Really Isn't
Contributed on Jul 10, 2005
We need to look to the One who is in control, and put our trust in the miracle-working God.
In life, there are many things beyond our control. • The terrorists’ attacks in London tell us we live in a very unpredictable, incontrollable world. • If we can control everything, there is nothing for us to fear - We can’t, therefore we will be afraid. We need to look to One who can… ...read more
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15. The Heart Of The Matter
Contributed on Jul 17, 2005
Learn from the mistakes of the Pharisees: (1) Don’t be too caught up by the outward, it’s the heart that counts; (2) Don’t be too caught up by what man thinks; it’s what God thinks that counts.
We are all creatures of habit. We do many things over and over again. • There is nothing wrong with that. There will surely be routines in life. • But the danger comes when we get so accustomed to them, that we no longer understand the reason why we are doing them. • If fact, we may have lost ...read more
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16. Persevering Prayer
Contributed on Jul 30, 2005
Learn to persevere in prayer - "pull" by the hope we have in Christ, and keep up the "push" in faith.
How do you normally approach God? Do we come to Him with determination and passion? Or as someone whom we turn to only when it’s convenient? To drop Him a line only when we can? The way we approach Him reveals a lot about ourselves – do I really need Him? How much do I really depend on Him? ...read more
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17. The Danger Of Little Things
Contributed on Aug 21, 2005
Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees- build your faith upon the Word of God, not signs. Pay attention to the works of God in our lives.
On Colorado’s Long Peak lie the remains of a giant 400-year-old tree. Age, storms, and avalanches couldn’t bring it down. What did? A tiny beetle you could crush under your foot. It ate right through the bark and devoured its heart. Be careful of little things. • Little attitudes; but if ...read more
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18. Take Up Your Cross
Contributed on Aug 21, 2005
Be willing to make sacrifices so that the will of God can be accomplished through your life. We are called to carry our own cross and to renew such a commitment every day.
Crosses are everywhere these days. You see them on buildings, stationery, jewelry shops… • You noticed now that crosses seem to be a chief feature of punk style and the outfits of young celebrities, even rock band members. • Crosses have become a standard fashion accessory. Crosses didn’t ...read more
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19. Don't Walk By Sight
Contributed on Aug 26, 2005
Don’t let failure robs us of faith in God. Develop your faith in God through a lifestyle of prayer and communion with God.
Failure has a great impact in our lives. Once beaten, twice shy. • When we failed, we are hit by discouragement, fear and even doubts, that we can ever succeed. • That makes the second or third attempt more difficult. Put ourselves in the shoes of the father for a moment. • He was a ...read more
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20. Get Over Yourself
Contributed on Sep 18, 2005
To be effective in ministry, let us not focus too much on self but rather be concern for the welfare of others.
To be effective in ministry, we need to learn one thing – don’t take yourself too seriously. Don’t be too bothered about how people see you or treat you. Get over yourself. Don’t get stuck inside your own ego, because over time it will become your prison. It is amazing that while Jesus was ...read more
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21. Lord, I Want To See
Contributed on Sep 18, 2005
We have to (1) "see" with our heart and have faith in God, and (2) ask with all our heart, because without prayer nothing will be accomplished.
Hardships and sufferings are a real fact in life. We see one today in our passage – a blind man. In those times, blindness was far worse that it is today. The blind man was reduced to begging because there was no help or work for such people. You can imagine how difficult it must be for them, ...read more
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22. The Day Jesus Came To Church
Contributed on Sep 25, 2005
When we come to church, remember to get to the right focus - God, and get to the right agenda - prayer, communion with God.
We are looking at a rare glimpse of Jesus today – His anger over something He is passionate about. It pays for us to take note. If it can drive Him to behave in such a way, it must be something we need to take note of today. The Temple was a good thing. God commanded the people of Israel to ...read more
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23. Give To God What Is God's
Contributed on Oct 17, 2005
Jesus’ answer reveals that we have obligations both to man and God. Are we aware of our obligations toward God? What do we really owe Him? Our life - time, tithe, talents, and sharing our faith, among other things.
All of us have payments to make. All of us have obligations to meet. It is a way of life. • We owe for the car. We owe for the house. We owe for the fridge. • A bumper sticker reads, “We owe, we owe, so off to work we go.” • We’ve got to work because we’ve so much to pay up. Along with ...read more
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24. Your Love Quotient
Contributed on Nov 20, 2005
The greatest commandment is to love God, and the second is to love people. What does it mean to truly love God with all our heart?
It is not easy to sum up all the commandments that govern life in one or two sentences, but Jesus did it. It is amazing! Think about it. If you get these commands right, you’ll get the rest right. Jesus says (in Matthew’s version), “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two ...read more
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25. How Much Is Jesus Worth?
Contributed on Nov 20, 2005
In Mark 14, we see four different group/people having different views of Jesus. They attach different value to Him. Consider Jesus’ value in your life as we ponder these perspectives.
Let’s begin this morning with a multiple choice question: If you could become any one of these four people, which would you choose? (a) The richest, most successful businessman in the world; (b) The most popular, most attractive movie star in the world; (c) The president of the United ...read more
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26. Failure Is Not Fatal
Contributed on Nov 20, 2005
Failure is not fatal if we remember that (1) everybody fails, (2) God’s love is not dependent upon your success, and (3) the lessons learnt from it.
Have you ever made a mistake? Welcome to the human race. It just means you’re alive. Everyone wants to succeed. The society wants us to succeed. It puts undue pressure on us. People will do anything – lie, cheat, steal – in order to succeed. Striving for success is good. There is ...read more
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27. Take Responsibility For Your Life
Contributed on Nov 23, 2005
Look at the choices of three men with authority, who have the privilege of meeting Jesus face-to-face in His last week on earth. Learn from their mistakes, and take responsibility for our choices in life.
Mark 14:55-65, 15:1-15 Take Responsibility for Your Life God bless us with the freedom of choice. • We have in our hands the power of choosing what we want in life. Every choice has a consequence. By not choosing, that itself is a choice. • By not choosing, we are allowing life to ...read more