May 10, 2020
The Secret to Eternal Life (Mark 10:13-31)
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  • May 10, 2020The Secret to Eternal Life (Mark 10:13-31)
    May 10, 2020
    The Secret to Eternal Life (Mark 10:13-31)
  • May 3, 2020Does God Allow Divorce? Part 2 (Mark 10:1-12)
    May 3, 2020
    Does God Allow Divorce? Part 2 (Mark 10:1-12)
    Thursday, the Wall Street Journal published an article which revealed that the marriage rate has plunged to its lowest point since the government started tracking it in the 1860’s. This cannot be explained away as an economic issue, this is at its core a moral issue. We live in a society that no longer sees the purpose of marriage. When people “love” each other, they simply live with one another. There is seen no need for a piece of paper stating that it is legal. This rate comes with devastating consequences and stems from an unbiblical view of marriage. Further, This period of quarantine has forced families to spend significant time with one another. No longer can we escape to our jobs or our hobbies. We must actually spend time with our families. I fear that this will lead to a surge in divorce due to the poor views of marriage today. Last week we began the next section of Mark in which the Pharisees asked Jesus a question that we need to ask today as well, “Does God allow divorce?”
     
    As we work through this text, we will cover the issue by asking and answering 4 questions: What does the Bible say? What is God’s plan? Does God really mean this? And where do we go from here? Through these questions we will see that God's plan from creation was life-long, flourishing marriage. As a result, we will call each other to commit to and be content with where God has you. Last week we covered the first question. The goal today will be to cover the last three.
  • Apr 26, 2020Does God Allow Divorce? (Mark 10:1-12)
    Apr 26, 2020
    Does God Allow Divorce? (Mark 10:1-12)
    Recently we celebrated two monumentous anniversaries. At the end of December, we celebrated Harold and Geneva’s 70th wedding anniversary. And just a couple of weeks ago, we congratulated as best we could during this time, Chuck and Barb’s 64th wedding anniversary. That means that for the majority of most of the lives of the members of this congregation, these two couples have been married. These are monumentous anniversaries, in large part, due to the high divorce rates we have seen over the past few decades. Last year, the divorce rate stood at 40%. 4 of every 10 marriages ended in divorce. The average length of first marriages is currently 8 years. 60% of second marriages ended in divorce, and 73% of third marriages ended in divorce. We have a marriage problem in our society. What is this problem owing to? There are several factors, but the chief of all factors is the cheapening of marriage. The idea that marriage is simply a social construct that is created by the government. It is simply a piece of paper. If you want to trace the moral decay in the country, a major milestone you must mark is that, in 1977, 8 states adopted no fault divorce. By 1983, 48 states had adopted the practice. This led to split families and latch key children. I know that some are now very uncomfortable. So why are we talking about this today? This is not in order to condemn or pour guilt on those who have been divorced. One advantage of systematically working through a book of the Bible together is that it provides very readily for us the next topic. Whatever is next in the book is what we cover next. This also provides the opportunity to discuss hard topics without someone thinking they are being singled out. Why are we discussing this today? For two reasons: (1) It is the topic of the next section in Mark. (2) It is a very important topic that is vital for all to understand today. We live in a society that thinks nothing of marriage and divorce. When you fall in love with someone, you might get married to them. And when you fall out of love with them, then you simply end it and divorce them. But as people of the Book, we must always ask the question: Does God allow this? Does God allow divorce? In God’s providence, He provides for us the answer in this text, as the Pharisees ask that very question. Mark 10:1-12 – And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them. And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,[a] and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 10 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11 And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” As we work through this text, we will cover the issue by asking and answering 4 questions: What does the Bible say? What is God’s plan? Does God really mean this? And where do we go from here? Through these questions we will see that God's plan from creation was life-long, flourishing marriage. As a result, we will call each other to commit to and be content with where God has you. This text will take us a couple of weeks to get through as this is a dense and important topic.
  • Apr 19, 2020Be Great: Serve! (Mark 9:30-50)
    Apr 19, 2020
    Be Great: Serve! (Mark 9:30-50)
  • Apr 12, 2020An Empty Grave and A Risen Savior! (Matthew 28:1-15)
    Apr 12, 2020
    An Empty Grave and A Risen Savior! (Matthew 28:1-15)
    Series: Misc Sermons
  • Apr 5, 2020Help Our Unbelief (Mark 9:14-29)
    Apr 5, 2020
    Help Our Unbelief (Mark 9:14-29)
  • Mar 29, 2020Finding Peace When the World is Falling Apart (Matthew 6:25-34)
    Mar 29, 2020
    Finding Peace When the World is Falling Apart (Matthew 6:25-34)
    Series: Misc Sermons
    As the realities of the current situation continue to set in, many of us have begun to feel the impacts. Some of you have lost jobs. Some of you are facing deep loneliness. Now all of us are stuck at home. For many, this is just another challenge on top of deep life challenges you are already facing. Congress can’t seem to make up their mind. The press conferences from our leaders many times feel unhelpful. For many, we cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. Where does this end? When does this end? How does this end? Social media and the news are filled with dire predictions. But we are not prognosticators. We are not experts. We really don’t know. This can lead to deep concern. Even anxiety or worry. How is a believer to respond in the midst of these deep trials? How can we find peace when the world falls apart?   In the middle of his sermon on the mount, Jesus answers these questions. Even when the world is falling apart, the believer can live a life marked by peace. Even when illness, economic depression, or relational struggle strike, we can have a deep abiding peace. Even when you don’t really have any answers and your life seems like one big question mark, you can have peace.
  • Mar 22, 2020The Sovereign God Reigns (Mark 9:2-13)
    Mar 22, 2020
    The Sovereign God Reigns (Mark 9:2-13)
  • Mar 15, 2020What is a Christian? (Mark 8:34-9:1)
    Mar 15, 2020
    What is a Christian? (Mark 8:34-9:1)
  • Mar 8, 2020Who is Jesus? (Mark 8:27-33)
    Mar 8, 2020
    Who is Jesus? (Mark 8:27-33)