Sermons on Mark

Sermons on Mark

The Cup

The CupMark 14:32-38; Hebrews 5:7-10Mark 14:36“And He said, ‘Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will but what You will.’”Sunday, September 29, 2024 at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa • Introduction: cup as destinyA week from now we will have the Sacrament of Holy Communion, and with that in mind, I wanted to share with you some thoughts I found on the internet regarding the symbolism of…

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

The Parable of the Mustard SeedMark 4:30-32Sunday, September 15, 2024 at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa 1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” The words above are what it says at the end of the great chapter on the Resurrection, but what if you feel like serving Christ and praying and doing good is like…

Treasure in Heaven

Treasure in HeavenExodus 20:12-16; Mark 10:17-22Sunday, September 8, 2024, the 16th Sunday after Pentecost at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa • IntroductionOur consideration today is the idea of treasures in heaven and how to respond to them (found also in Matthew 6:19-21 and Luke 12:31-34) . I admit that I find the idea of treasures to be strange. Why would I need treasures in heaven if I have heaven? What more could I possibly need. I felt the…

The Lord of the Sabbath

The Lord of the Sabbath Mark 2:26Sunday, September 1, 2024 at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, IowaMark 2:26 “…how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests and also s gave some to those who were with him. • IntroductionLast June we visited this passage in which Jesus showed that the keepers of the Law were more legalistic…

Provision

Provision Mark 6:30-44; Ephesians 2:11-22 Sunday, July 28, 2024   10th Sunday after Pentecost First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa Introduction Awhile ago I read an article in which a student asked a college professor what was the earliest sign of civilization?  Instead of pointing to an archeological discovery, the professor pointed to a picture of an ancient human leg bone.  She said that this is the earliest known example of a broken bone that was set and had healed properly. …

Victory

Victory Mark 16:14-20;  Ephesians 1:3-14 Sunday, July 21, 2024 at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa   Introduction: The Remains of the Day There’s a movie, set in the 1930’s, starring Anthony Hopkins as the very professional and completely devoted butler to a Lord Darlington.  Convinced that service to a great man is a route to greatness for himself, the butler, named James, ignores the Lord’s Nazi sympathies and the needs of his family and friends to be the…

Lord of the Sabbath

Lord of the Sabbath Mark 2:23-28 Sunday, June 2, 2024  at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa   Introduction: pleasing God or pleasing people.  Which is harder? The passage this morning asks the question, is it easier to please God or to please people?  I suppose it depends on the person, and someone considering the holiness of God might answer that pleasing God is harder, but this passage implies that it is people that can be harder to please. …

A Chariot of Fire

A Chariot of Fire Mark 9:1-9; 2 Kings 2:1-12 Transfiguration Sunday February 11, 2024   Introduction: Something rare Certain things are rare in Scripture and that makes it hard to see how it relates to following Christ today.  For example, the experience of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is an experience that applies only  to her.  We can learn from her experience, but there will never be another Mary, the mother of Jesus.  I read this about rare things in…

Purpose

Purpose Sunday, February 4, 2024, at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa Mark 1:38But He said to them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.” Opening Remarks: A Joke about purpose I’d like to begin my remarks by mentioning a philosophical conversation between an employee of a company and his supervisor in which the employee waxes eloquently about the nature and purpose of time.  He…

Authority in the Spiritual Realm

Mark 1:21-28; Deuteronomy 18:15-20 Sunday, January 28, 2024 at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa 4th Sunday after Epiphany Authority-who belongs on the church board “There will be a meeting of the Church Board immediately after the service,” announced the pastor.  After the close of the service, the Church Board gathered at the back of the sanctuary for the announced meeting. But there was a stranger in their midst — a visitor who had never attended their church before. …

The Beginning of the Gospel

Mark 1:1-8; (Isaiah 40:1-11) Sunday, December 10, 2023 at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa Mark is the Gospel that “gets right to the point.”  Believed to be heavily influenced by the preaching of Peter, Mark spends no time on the birth of Jesus and gets to action right away.  The words “baptize” or “baptism” show up more than once in the passage, so baptism, for Peter, is right at the beginning of the Gospel, the story of redemption…

The Christ

The ChristMark 8:27-30 2 Timothy 1:10Sunday, September 12, 2021 at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa• Introduction: your goal in life is a person, not an accomplishmentIn ancient times the empire of Rome considered Christianity an illegal religion, so it was dangerous to be public about your faith. From what we understand of those times, if you were in a public place and you suspected that the person next to you was a Christian, you could use your big…
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