Yesterday was a wonderful morning at church in so many ways.  We continued our study of Mark and looked at the Parable of the Soils in chapter 4.  We learned the point of the parable, according to Jesus, is that the condition of ours hearts make all the difference when it comes to the word of God producing fruit in our lives.  The four soils represent four different kinds of heart.  You can listen to or download the sermon here.  I hope these questions help you apply God’s word to your life.

1.  We are meant to find ourselves in parables.  Where did you find yourself in this parable of the soils (hard heart, shallow heart, thorny heart or receptive heart)?

2.  How do you approach the word of God?  Do you read it regularly, seeking to apply it to your life? How did God use this text to convict you?

3.  How do you seek to digest and apply God’s word to your life (private reading or listening to God’s word preached)?  How do you make time to consider and process the preaching of God’s word? Why is that so important?

4.  How do think the Lord would want His word to have more of an impact on your life?

I was struck with how gracious it is of the Lord to reveal the secrets of the Kingdom to us through the gospel of His Son.  He has opened our eyes to see and softened our hearts to receive His word.  And He desires nothing more than for us to bear much fruit!  All of this happens as we takes His word seriously, receive it, consider it, digest it and apply it to our lives, seeking to live it out.

Grace to you this week,

Eric

On Sunday we looked at Mark 3:20-35 where three different responses to Jesus are on display.  Many are familiar with C.S. Lewis’ “liar, lunatic or Lord” quote and I was speculating on Sunday that he might have gotten those three options from this text.  Jesus’ family thought He was out of His mind, the scribes from Jerusalem thought He was a liar (not the Son of God but possessed by Satan) and Jesus recognizes those around Him who considered Him Lord.  In the end we learned the sanest and safest place to be is near Jesus, obeying Him.  And in between we unpacked the unforgivable sin.  You can listen to or download the message here.   I hope these questions will serve you as you apply it to your life.

1.  What do think God was speaking to you from this text?

2.  Many times people think “if I were only there when Jesus was alive and could see the miracles then I would believe….”  How do Jesus’ family and the scribes prove that wrong?

3.  Why is a hard heart toward Jesus so dangerous?

4.  Is there any sin or anything in your life that if not repented of has the potential to lead you to a hard heart?

5.  Are you near to Jesus and obeying?  Why is this the sanest and safest place to be?  What do you need to repent of or change to return to where He wants you to be?

How good it is that God sent His Son to draw near to us in our world, to live our life and die our death in our place so that we could draw near to Him, love Him, obey Him, and follow Him the rest of our lives.

I hope you have a grace-filled week,

Eric

Yesterday we explored Mark 3:7-19. In this passage we saw Jesus experience and respond to pressure in his public ministry. The main truth we discovered was, In the midst of life’s pressure, Jesus is our pattern and provision. You can download or listen to the message here.  I hope these questions will be helpful to you as you seek to apply the truths of this passage in your life.

1. As Jesus grew in popularity the crowds that followed him also grew, along with various demands for caring for these crowds. While Jesus responded to some of these demands (for example, he healed many), he didn’t allow these demands to hinder his primary mission of preaching the gospel of the kingdom. What demands in your life hinder your pursuit of sharing the gospel with unbelievers?

2.  Jesus took two very wise steps in response to the growing pressure in his public ministry, which should serve as a pattern for how we respond to pressure in our lives. First, he “got away to pray” and secondly, he shared the load of ministry with his Apostles. Are you experiencing pressure in your life? If so, what are you doing to deal with the pressure? Are you seeking the help from others?

3. When Jesus experienced pressure in his life he preserved in prayer (Luke 6:12). The great evangelist George Muller once said, “The great fault of the children of God is, they do not continue in prayer; they do not go on praying; they do not persevere”. How have you seen persistent prayer serve you in the midst of life’s pressure?

4. Jesus chose twelve very ordinary men to take the gospel to the ends of the earth and serve as the pillars of his church. All these men were beset by various weaknesses and failures, yet Jesus used them mightily in the spread of the gospel. What weaknesses and failures in your life prevent you from seeing yourself as a mighty instrument in the hands of our redeemer? How should Jesus selection of these men inform your perspective?

I pray that the Lord’s example will serve you as you seek to respond to pressure in your life. May his peace cover you!

Kirk

Yesterday we studied the final two conflicts in Mark 2 that led to this statement, “Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.”  This climax came after two Sabbath day controversies where Jesus declares Himself as lord of the Sabbath.  We looked at Jesus’ Final Claim, the Final Proof and the Final Response.  You can listen to or download the sermon here.  I hope these questions help you apply God’s word to your life.

1.  What did this text teach you about Jesus?

2.  What did you think about Jesus’ anger and grief over the Pharisees hard-hardheartedness?

3.  In what ways do you tend to make your laws which aren’t God’s laws into a law for everyone else and then condemn and punish if not obeyed?  What is so wrong with this?  What’s the difference between God’s commands and personal convictions?  How does God want to us to interact with each other when our convictions differ?

4.  In what ways do you get the little things right, but miss the most important thing (or in what ways is the “form” more important than someone’s life)?  In all of our interactions with each other, what is the most important thing?

5.  How does God grow us in Christ-like love toward each other and free us from self-righteous judgment of each other?

I pray that the Holy Spirit fills us afresh today and enlarges our hearts and gives us power to grow in love!

Have a great Thanksgiving,

Eric