I recently preached on Mark 5 for a local church. Here’s a dry run of the sermon that I recorded as one of my “walk and talk” videos.
Tag: Mark
Who are the unclean today?
The other day, I wrote about Mark 5 and the unifying response being Jesus’ response to uncleanness. Now, most of us don’t live in a society that makes such ceremonial distinctions though some of you will live in communities where halal or kosher laws matter. However, I think that the idea of uncleanness has power… Continue reading Who are the unclean today?
Demons, disease and death
What ties together the three events in Mark 5? We have the casting out of a demon, a woman who is healed and a dead girl who is raised. The answer is “uncleanness.” The Klaw distinguished two categories. First there was the category of holy and profane or ordinary. Secondly, there was the category of… Continue reading Demons, disease and death
Resources for Bible study
The other day I wrote about how the main book you need to be reading if you want to be involved in urban ministry is the Bible. In fact this is true of all believers and anyone who wants to be involved in any form of Christian service. I’ve been gradually putting together some Bible… Continue reading Resources for Bible study
The right ending of Mark?
When you get to Mark 16:8, you see a couple of little notes which indicate that most of the earliest manuscripts we have of the Gospel finish about here, however, some, including those that were relied upon for much of the time when the Bible was first being translated into English offer either a shorter… Continue reading The right ending of Mark?
… and Peter
Did you notice that little detail in Mark 16:7: “Go and tell his disciples and Peter.” Wasn’t Peter one of the disciples? Why is he singled out? We could read it to mean that he is being excluded. He is no longer one of the disciples because of his failure. But why then would Jesus… Continue reading … and Peter
Do you know where you are going? Does everyone else know where you are going?
Back when mum and dad were living in Shenzhen, I went out to visit them a few times. On one occasion we went up to Beijing. We got a taxi from the airport to our hotel. After a little while we began to think that the journey was taking far longer than it should. Then… Continue reading Do you know where you are going? Does everyone else know where you are going?
He is going ahead of you
When the women are looking for Jesus at the empty tomb, the angels reassure them that Jesus is not in the tomb, not because the body has been stolen but because Christ is risen and he has gone ahead of them. In that immediate context, it meant that Jesus had gone ahead back to Galilee… Continue reading He is going ahead of you
He is not here
It’s funny isn’t it, the things we say when someone dies. We say that our loved one “didn’t make it.” But friends, they did make it, they got to exactly the place where they were meant to be and the place we are hoping to reach one day. We talk about “losing a loved one.”… Continue reading He is not here
Risen (Mark 16:1-8)
Mark gives the briefest of details as we come to the empty tomb. All of the other Gospel writers provide more detail which fleshes out our understanding of Resurrection Sunday. The crucial facts are given though. It’s the women who are first to the tomb. They find it empty and are greeted by a man… Continue reading Risen (Mark 16:1-8)
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