We get really excited about that bit in Mark 11:22-25 which talks about having faith to move mountains. How many times have you heard it referenced in songs, prayers and sermons? We’ve seen that in context, those words relate to Jesus having just cursed the fig tree. Mark 11 is all about the authority that… Continue reading Don’t miss it
Tag: faith
Cursed
The cursing of the fig tree seems like one of the most peculiar events in the Gospels. What was going on there? Did Jesus just lose it with an inanimate object in the same way that I get frustrated when the internet plays up or the TV refuses to respond to the instructions I send… Continue reading Cursed
I want to see (Mark 10:46-52)
Jesus is passing through Jericho with his disciples and there’s a blind man begging. It seems that his status is so lowly that he doesn’t even have a first name that he is known by. He is referred to by his surname “Bartimaeus” (Timaeus’ son). Although his physical eyes are blind, he shows signs of… Continue reading I want to see (Mark 10:46-52)
How do we make sure that we are not spreading ourselves too thinly?
The morning, I preached on the feeding of the Five Thousand and I asked two questions. One important, practical question that came out of the sermon application was “How do we know when to keep going with things and/or to take new things on and when to say no? Can we end up spreading ourselves… Continue reading How do we make sure that we are not spreading ourselves too thinly?
Between belief and unbelief
I want to come back to the father of the demon possessed man in Mark 9 and his statement. I believe… Help my unbelief” This has been prompted by two things Jesus has said. Most immediately, he has responded to the man’s partial expression of trust. The man asks Jesus to heal his son “if… Continue reading Between belief and unbelief
In his name (Mark 9:38-41)
The disciples see someone who has been out and about working miracles, specifically they are casting out demons and it seems with good results. It seems that this guy had at some point heard about Jesus, maybe witnessed him in action and maybe he had even encountered Christ’s healing power himself. Whatever had happened, it… Continue reading In his name (Mark 9:38-41)
I believe, help my unbelief (Mark 9:14-29)
As Jesus and the small group of disciples are coming down from the mountain after the transfiguration, they meet quite the scene. A man has brought his son to Jesus who is oppressed by a demon that frequently throws him into convulsions. Fascinatingly, I’ve always pictured the son as a young lad but the man’s… Continue reading I believe, help my unbelief (Mark 9:14-29)
What do you need to see? (Mark 8:8-12)
Yesterday we saw Jesus willingness to repeat a sign to help his disciples get the point. Today, we find him refusing to play the Pharisee’s game and meet their demands for a sign. Are those two things in tension? Do they contradict each other? On the one hand, we’ve just said that Christ is more… Continue reading What do you need to see? (Mark 8:8-12)
“He meant to pass by them” (Mark 6:45-51)
I just want to pick up two specific phrase in the account of Jesus walking on water. The disciples have set off back across the lake from the site of the miraculous feeding. Jesus stays behind to talk to his Father but he can see that they are struggling against the wind. He walks out… Continue reading “He meant to pass by them” (Mark 6:45-51)
Travelling Light (Mark 6:6-13)
Jesus has called twelve followers to specifically be with him as disciples. The number twelve was symbolic. If he was the new king of Israel, then they represented the beginning of new Israel, twelve apostles for twelve tribes. Now, he sends them out. They become involved in his mission, apostles are those who are commissioned… Continue reading Travelling Light (Mark 6:6-13)
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