Mark 9:30-41 - Lessons Along the Way

From the introduction to this sermon:

"We're now on a journey with Jesus and the disciples. For the next couple of chapters they will be on their way to Jerusalem. In fact, this journey to Jerusalem occupies the entirety of the second section of Mark’s Gospel. If we were to view Mark as a play in three acts, as some have done, this would be Act 2. Act 3 will cover the final week in Jerusalem--and the last five chapters of the book.

The focus of Jesus’ ministry now is the disciples. He must prepare them for what’s ahead--not just his passion, but for their responsibilities after. They are the foundation of the Church, Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone. They must be ready to carry on his ministry after he is gone.

Much of what Jesus will be doing is a re-education process. They must unlearn as many things as they must learn. 

You and I are not much different from them. We, too, often find ourselves unlearning many things as our growth in grace goes forward. Remember, we are being unconformed to this world as we are being transformed into the image of Christ through the renewal of our minds.

And as we begin this journey with Jesus and the disciples we need to be reminded of the words of the Father from the Shekinah cloud on the Mount of Transfiguration to Peter, James, and John. Remember what he said? “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”

So you and I are going to do the same thing this morning. We are going to listen to Christ as he reeducates us and prepares us for the kingdom in its fullness."

Below you will find the link to the audio recording of this entire sermon. I hope you will take the time to listen and allow God's word to work God's grace in you. Here is a wonderful gospel message and I pray it will be a blessing to you as you follow Jesus along the way.


Click here: Mark 9:30-41 - Lessons Along the Way


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1 John 1:8-10 - Faithful and Just

True Christian fellowship begins in fellowship with God, but includes fellowship with other believers within the Church. John expresses it this way: "If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another." This walking in the light does not mean sinless perfection, for John goes on to say, "and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin." What it does mean is that our fellowship is tied to the gospel of what Jesus has done for us and it is recognizable as a life lived in repentance and faith--in community.

Church is for sinners. But it is for repentant sinners who by God’s grace are now believers. We welcome sinners. But we must never excuse, ignore, or dismiss anything the Bible names as sin. When it is encountered it must be declared as such and repented of. We must not fall prey to the temptation to ignore, dismiss, or redefine sin to fit our culture.

(8) If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 

He is saying something more than “we are lying to ourselves,” though it includes that. He is saying that if we deny our sin we are not in Christ at all--or Christ is not in us, because Jesus is the personification of the truth.

1 John 1:8 destroys the idea of attaining sinless perfection in this life, for what John’s opponents are most likely asserting is not that they've never sinned, but that they've reached a place where they no longer do.

Now, do you see the paradox in the verse? If we claim perfect holiness Christ is obviously not in us and we do not know him. If we admit our sin, Christ is in us. And the Holy Spirit is in us. Because the truth is in us. In the face of holiness our sin becomes more clear and evident. The fact is we are sinful. The closer we are in fellowship with Father and Son and Holy Spirit the more obvious to us that becomes--the more we feel it.

What did John say in verse 6?

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

Faith and repentance in community. These are what epitomize the life of the genuine believer. Not denial of sin but confession of it.

(9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

This is the alternative to denying our sin. To confess means more than just admitting that we have sinned. It means agreeing with God about our sin. It means laying it before him and seeking forgiveness.

And we will find forgiveness when we do so. That forgiveness is grounded in his eternal, unchanging character. He is faithful and just . . .

What does it mean, though, that he is faithful and just (righteous) to forgive our sins? You'll have to listen to the audio to get the rest. Just click the link below and a new window will open up in your browser where you can stream the audio recording or download it for later listening. It looks like not all of it recorded, but hopefully what's available will be a blessing to you.

Click here: 1 John 1:8-10 - Faithful and Just


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Mark 9:14-29 - Jesus Rebukes Unbelief

We come down from the mountain where we have seen the vision of Jesus in his glorified state and we are confronted with the evil, wreck, and ruin of a fallen world. Having seen rapture, Peter, James, and John are now confronted with present reality. There is a dispute with the scribes. There is a man with a demon-possessed son. There is failure. There is unbelief. And Jesus in this story confronts it all.

There are lessons to be learned here. The Father must be made to put his faith in Christ completely. The disciples must learn their need to depend upon Christ fully. You and I must be made to see our need for Jesus. This world must learn that Jesus is it's only hope.

And at the bottom of it all we get to the source of all human misery. We point it out, describe it, and demonstrate its nefarious effects. Then Jesus will rebuke it.



This sermon takes us from the bottom of the mountain and when it is done it leads us in the road to Jerusalem where Jesus is going to die. I hope you will click the link below and stream it or download it so that you can listen and be blessed by the clear exposition of God's word.


Click here: Mark 9:14-29 - Jesus Rebukes Unbelief


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1 John 1:5-7 - Walking In The Light

“Religion, as the Apostle John conceived it, consists of two things: true knowledge of God, and fellowship with God and with each other in that knowledge. To fellowship with God in His Son Jesus Christ, the writer has summoned his readers (vers. 3, 4). For such communion the facts of the Gospel have laid the foundation. To establish and perfect His communion with men is the end of all the disclosures which the Father has made of Himself to us “from the beginning”; to realize this communion is “eternal life.”--George G. Findlay

That was George Findlay's introductory paragraph to this passage and it is fitting. Jesus has come, in part at least, to restore fellowship between us and God. He has come to bring us back into the fellowship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And John is calling us to 'walk in the light as he is in the light.' But what does that mean?



Christians do not walk in darkness. We walk in the light. And we have fellowship with one another in that light. But what does it all mean? What does this 'light' metaphor signify? What does it imply? All of these and more we discussed in this Bible study (our second in this letter) and I hope you will take a few minutes and listen. Just click the link below and may God bless you.


Click here: 1 John 1:5-7 - Walking In The Light


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Mark 9:2-13 - The Transfiguration

In Mark chapter nine is recorded one of the seminal events (for the disciples) in the life of Jesus--the Transfiguration. Matthew and Mark also record this event. Peter, for his part, refers to it in his second general Epistle. Clearly it was an event of great magnitude for these men.



But what really happened there? What was Jesus doing? Was he showing his disciples something important? And what does the placement of this event within the gospel of Mark have to say about its relevance? How does it fit into the narrative? And why Peter, James, and John? Why were they chosen as the three witnesses? Why were Moses and Elijah there?

What does transfiguration even mean? All of this and more I tackle in the sermon I preached from this text just a couple of weeks ago. I even look at how Mark's recording differs from the others. I've linked the sermon below and I hope you will take the time to listen. Be blessed.

Click here: Mark 9:2-13 - The Transfiguration


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