September 27, 2020 Series
Good Good News!A Farmer goes out Mark 4
Mark 4:1–20 (ESV)
The Parable of the Sower
4 Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 2 And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” 9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
10 And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, 12 so that
“ ‘they may indeed see but not perceive,
and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they should turn and be forgiven.’ ”
13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?
14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
1. The Seed is the Word. Incorruptible seed.
1 Peter 1:23 (NIV) For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
- A seed is potential….the fruit is the product.
2. Jesus is the word!
John 1:14 (NIV) The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
3 conditions that keep us from being fruitful:
#1. Hardness of heart.
Satan steals it.
#2. The shallow emotional hearer
Quick fruit is not always lasting fruit.
Trials are mandatory for your development.
No Root, No, Fruit!
#3. A focus on worldy things
The Process of fruitfulness
1. Conception
2. Cultivation
3. Fruition
- Healthy things don’t just grow. They multiply.
Additional reading:
- Parable of the sower: Mt 13:1–23 Lk 8:4–15, Isa 6:9,10
- Mustard Seed: Mt 13:31,32; Lk 13:18,19
- Jesus Calms the Storm: Mt 8:18,23–27; Lk 8:22–25
September 13, 2020 Series
Good Good News!JESUS BUILDS A FAMILY- MARK 3
Mark 3:7–15 (ESV)
7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea 8 and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. 9 And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, 10 for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. 11 And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” 12 And he strictly ordered them not to make him known.
13 And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons. …
1. Jesus had circles.
-Community: Knew Jesus publicly.
-Crowd: Knew Jesus socially.
-Committed: Knew Jesus privately.
-Core: Knew Jesus intimately
2. Intimacy is his highest value.
“He is a relational creator.”
John 15:15–16 (NIV)15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.
3. Relationship > Assignment
Mark 3:15 (ESV) 14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach...
“Working FOR God typically involves working apart from God.”
John 6:28–29 (NIV) 28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” 29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
“In the Kingdom, relationship is the greatest accomplishment.”
4. Some won't stick
Mark 3:20-22 (ESV) 20 Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. 21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”
John 6:66–68 (ESV) 66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life…”
Are you with him?
You are as close to him as you want to be.
“Following Jesus closely is costly.”
Mark 3:25 (ESV) If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.
Jesus desires undivided devotion.
Mark 3:31–35 (ESV)
31 His mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” 33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”
———————
Additional reading:
- Crowds Follow Jesus: Mt 12:15,16; Lk 6:17–19
- Jesus Appoints the Twelve: Mt 10:2–4; Lk 6:14–16; Ac 1:13
- Jesus Accused by His Family and by Teachers of the Law: Mt 12:25–29; Lk 11:17–22, Mt 12:46–50; Lk 8:19–21
September 13, 2020 Series
Good Good News!JESUS MAKES A STATEMENT- MARK 2
Mark 2:1–11 (ESV)
2 And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. 3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5 And when Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” 12 And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
“Jesus was doing more than performing a miracle, he was making a statement.”
“Jesus is always making a statement.”
Jesus is revealing his identity.
1. The discerner of hearts
2. The forgiver of sins
“Jesus turns sinners into sons.”
3. The Son of Man
Daniel 7:13–14 (NLT) 13 I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.
“Only 1/3 of those that identify as Christians affirm that Jesus is God.” - Lifeway research March 2020
“If you don’t believe Jesus is God, then you are serving a different Jesus, one that is unable to save you.”
Jesus is one who with two whats.
A Human Nature & A Divine Nature
4. The great physician
Sickness is not always the cause of personal sin but is a result of original sin.
John 9:2–3 (NIV) 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
5. The rewarder of faith
Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Mark 2:27–3:6 (ESV)
27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” 3 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2 And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 4 And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
Jesus heals and forgives a friend: Mt 9:2–8; Lk 5:18–26
Jesus on fasting: Mt 9:14–17; Lk 5:33–38
Calling of Levi, a friend of sinners: Mt 9:9–13; Lk 5:27–32
Lord of the Sabbath: Mt 12:1–9; Lk 6:1–11
September 06, 2020 Series
Good Good News!THE KING IS HERE-MARK 1
Mark 1:1–11 (ESV)
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, 3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’ ”
4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
The Baptism of Jesus
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
"Before Jesus preached a message, produced a following, or performed a miracle, He was affirmed and approved by his father!”
Mark 1:14–15 (ESV)
Jesus Begins His Ministry
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Jesus comes preaching
“Before he brought a work or a wonder, He brought a word.”
1. The time is fulfilled
Mark 1:14–15 "The time promised by God has come at last!”
2. The Kingdom of God is at hand
“The Kingdom is here because the KING IS HERE!”
Matthew 20:28 (NIV) The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
How do we respond to it? How do we receive it?
3. Repent
Matthew 4:17 (NLT) Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
A Deep and a fundamental shift in thinking.
“Change your mind, change your life.”
Matthew 3:8 (NLT) Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.
4. Believe
Put faith in: Entrust.
John 3:15 (ESV) Whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
5. The Gospel.
“Evangélion”
“Jesus didn’t just preach the gospel He is the Gospel!”
Mark 1:35–42 (ESV)
35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” 39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.
40 And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.
www.overflowdfw.com/goodgoodnews
Additional reading:
- John The Baptist: Mt 3:1–11; Lk 3:2–16, Isa 40:3
- Jesus Baptism: Mt 3:13–17; Lk 3:21-22
- Temptation of Jesus: Mt 4:1–11; Lk 4:1–13
- Jesus Calls the Disciples: Mt 4:18–22; Lk 5:2–11; Jn 1:35–42
- Jesus drives out an unclean spirit: Lk 4:31–37
- Jesus heals a man with leprosy: Mt 8:2–4; Lk 5:12–14
