CONNECT Worship Gathering: Mark 3:20-33 Jesus' Teachings on a House Divided, The Unpardonable Sin, and Defeating Satan

Jesus' family thinks he is out of his mind - he won't eat, he won't rest, there's always crowds around him! They didn't understand that the kind of ministry Jesus was doing takes sacrifice and self-denial. How often do we deny ourselves time, material, or rest in order to do ministry? Some of you may do this a lot, and this attitude is prevalent among the workers in any church. Are you also following Jesus' example of getting away to recharge your batteries? Workers in the church also have to be careful, however, to understand that our service is not the root of our devotion. Our ministry can become self-serving and this will easily lead to burnout. Our service must spring, rather, from our devotion and love for Jesus Christ. Jesus always did the work the Father called him to do - no more and no less. If it has been a while since you sacrificed for ministry to others, (exempting mere church attendance) consider where your priorities are - from where are your roots drinking - from the world or from a life planted firmly in Jesus? Or as a worker in the church, do you need to refresh in solitude and God's presence?


The Pharisees have been trumped by Jesus' authority, power, and miracles - so they go down a dangerous road and accuse Jesus of casting out demons by Satan's power. Jesus replies with a very logical statement, a house divided against itself cannot stand. This is true of so many things on so many levels. a person who is double minded, with divided loyalties to the world and to Jesus, will be unstable in everything he does (James 1:8). Likewise, a church divided by loyalties to any other than Jesus will not be healthy or effective. The danger for the teachers of religious law here is attributing to Satan what really are works of the Holy Spirit. Since Jesus works through the power of the Holy Spirit, to slander the Spirit is to cut oneself off from the very means of grace whereby they can be saved. Tthe unpardonable sin is when one attributes to Satan the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says this is unforgivable. It is unforgivable because by doing so one severs the only means of grace by which they may be saved.

Jesus' teaching on the strong man is his commentary on how the devil was defeated. Satan is, no doubt, a strong man, for Jesus calls him such. Satan's house is this world's system of power (Ephesians 2:2). But Jesus is the stronger man, who comes into the world world, ties up the strong man, and plunders his goods. The goods, the spoils of this spiritual war, are human souls who were otherwise bound by Satan. Satan's only power is convincing man to trespass God's law and sin against God - this is how Satan binds us. But the one who knew no sin, Jesus Christ, was able to bind Satan by dying in our place and offering forgiveness through his shed blood. Jesus will bind Satan eternally at the end of the age (Revelation 20:1-2). We are set free to love and serve God, and we are free indeed in Christ (John 8:36). Let us learn to live and serve in the rhythm of God's grace and freedom!

CONNECT Worship Gathering: Mark 3:7-19 The Healing Savior and the Calling of the Disciples

In Mark 3:7 We find Jesus healing the multitudes with news about his miracles spreading far and wide. Jesus' healing miracles were all about His identity as the Son of God and his authority as the Son of Man from Daniel 7:14. When Lazarus had died he told His disciples that He was glad that they had not been with Lazarus, because now they would have an opportunity to further clarify their understanding of who Jesus was and believe in Him more deeply. If Jesus had been in Bethany at the time Lazarus was still sick, he would have been obligated to heal him of his illness. The fact that Lazarus was four days dead gave Jesus the opportunity to show his disciples, and everyone else there, that he was not only the light of the world, but truly the "resurrection and the life" (John 11:25, 26) Sickness is an opportunity to look to Jesus, and also an opportunity for ministry. Never will there be a more poignant time to minister to someone than when either they or their loved one is going through crisis or illness. We should be ready at all times with a mission of healing for people, through our prayers and through our presence to show them we care.

All the more profound is the healing of the sinner whose life is in shambles, who is discouraged, who has thrown in the towel - the church should be a place of healing and restoration for those at the end of themselves. Just as people flocked to Jesus for healing, people cannot help but be drawn to a church where members are loving one another and serving the world in love. The challenge we face is raising our level of awareness so as not to let those opportunities slip by. Pray with people immediately if they ask for prayer. Try not to worry about your agenda if you run into someone who needs your listening ear, your prayer, and to know that someone cares.

As we've discussed previously, Jesus chose His disciples strategically through the fishing business, through familial relationships, and through friendships.  Even before calling Peter & Andrew he was preaching from their boats on the shore of Galilee, developing those friendships with them. James and John also threw their fishing nets alongside Peter and Andrew. They all lived in Capernaum. Andrew had a friend named Phillip from their hometown of Bethsaida and Phillip brought his friend Nathaniel into the group. The disciples had to learn humility and forgiveness as the Lord called Matthew the tax collector to follow. Matthew's little brother, James, also became a follower of Jesus. We need to learn to network relationships like Jesus did to make disciples, and then learn to forgive and love the former "tax collectors" among us and work together for the kingdom.

We made note last Saturday that these were ordinary men from ordinary backgrounds. What made them different was that they were willing to follow Jesus to the end. And indeed they did - only John died a natural death of old age after his imprisonment on Patmos. The other disciples followed Jesus to their martyrdom, most in horrific ways. It is encouraging to know, then, that the power is in the message, not in the messenger. We are right to admire the disciples, certainly, but it is the power of the Gospel and Jesus' living presence with us today that will empower us to change the lives of people and impact our world. We are thankful that Jesus saw the disciples as what they could be rather than what they were - he saw their potential.

We also mentioned that Jesus raised the status of women in His ministry, having many women followers among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the less, Joanna, Salome the mother of James and John, and Mary and Martha of Bethany. These courageous women followed Jesus and helped to support his ministry. Along with John, they were the only disciples of Jesus to remain at the cross until Jesus' death. They were the first evangelists to tell the good news that Jesus had been raised from the dead, that they had seen Him, and Jesus would meet them in Galilee.

Brother Arthur Kinyunjui

It was a blessing to meet brother Arthur and hear him speak several times. Every listener could feel his gentle spirituality and love, yet be moved by the weight of his messages and his challenge to us. Of all the things he said that moved me most were these: America is flooded with the Gospel, but Christians in America are withered. Zacchaeus climbed the sycamore tree to see the Lord. But he got far more than he could have ever imagined that day, for Jesus had dinner at the home of this tax collector. Zacchaeus amended his ways, paying back what he had stolen. He not only let Jesus into his home - he let Jesus into his heart to transform him. In America, we have a bible on every table, we have invited Jesus into our homes. We Christians in the West must now invite him into our hearts to change our lives and make us children of God as we minister to people out of our love for Jesus. God bless brother Arthur and his ministry in Kenya.

CONNECT: Loving One Another

We have had six worship gatherings of CONNECT folks and I enjoy our time together immensely. It seems to me that it gets more rich every time. As I was reflecting on this I thought about the reasons for it. I think part of the reason is that I enjoy hearing other people's stories, because when they share their struggles, hurts, victories, and God-moments, I feel personally involved in their journey. I love people more when I know their stories because I feel engaged and have empathy for them, and know how to pray for them. When we share our stories we know that we are not alone in our struggles, that there are others who have been down that road and understand our needs. This also nurtures real friendship between people who are sharing on the level of the soul. As we get to know one another better, we love one another more, and the more difficult it is to criticize someone whom you have identified with in life. I am thankful for the new friends we have made through Grand Cane Baptist Church and the CONNECT Worship Gathering.  I look forward to growing in those friendships further as we share our stories and insights from the Holy Spirit along our journey. This is community. - Jamison

CONNECT Worship Gathering: Mark 2:18-3:5 New Wine, New Garments, New Life

Mark 2:18-3:5 Fasting involves emptying ourselves of worldy substance so that we may focus on being filled with spiritual food and the Holy Spirit. The disciples were truly fasting in the sense that they left their old lives and jobs to follow Jesus in new life. The Pharisees fasted two days a week, but failed to understand other areas of sacrifice in their lives, most importantly, failing to show mercy. Matthew reports in this story that Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6 for the second time following the calling of Matthew - "God wants us to show mercy, not offer sacrifices."  We need to make sure that we are feasting on Jesus, the bread of life, doing good works, and fasting from the world.

In Jesus' day the sabbath was reduced to a set of rules, over 600 by Jesus' day. One couldn't drag a chair across the floor for this would be "plowing the field". Candles had to be lit before sundown because they couldn't be lit after Sabbath had begun. And the disciples were "harvesting grain" by picking and eating a handful of heads of wheat.The Pharisees were about self-righteousness, trying to obey written laws to gain God's favor by their own efforts. You cannot measure your relationship with Jesus by anything but the time you spend with God, whether that is at church or not.  The sabbath was originally intended to remember the Lord and give rest to the people. The Pharisees had turned it into a mere chore. We must be careful not to be guilty of the same thing. We can do nothing to make God love us more or less, but we should do everything, even menial tasks, for the love of God. The following sums this idea up well: Brother Lawrence, a 17th century monk who worked in the kitchen and who was known for continually living in God's presence says in his book, "I would not pick up a straw from the ground unless it were for the love of God." (Practice of the Presence of God)

Jesus uses the imagery of bridegroom and celebration to connect our union with Jesus as his bride, the church. Wine as a symbol of the old testament was that of God's blessing and presence - usually found in the triad of grain, oil, and wine - symbols of the Father, Holy Spirit, and the Son. God through Jesus now poured out His love and grace on humanity and the law, the old wineskin, simply could not contain it. Grace swallows up the law. and we cannot forget Jesus changing the meaning of the passover cup to that of his blood of the new covenant - it is all about grace through Jesus' sacrifice.

This is connected to the teaching of the new patch and the new garment. The old garment is an allegory of our old lives which have been swallowed up in grace. We have a new garment of a new life, clothed in Christ (Galatians 3:27). While the new wine refreshes us from within, the new garment makes our lives new as we are the presence of Jesus to the world through our love, compassion, and generosity. The filling with the new wine should show itself outwardly in our love to the world.

The healing of the man with the withered hand is the perfect demonstration of the previous teachings and shows the contrast between the law and grace. Even though Jesus healed through the spoken word, so they could not accuse him of work on the sabbath, they were blinded to the miracle and withered in their own minds. Jesus intentionally did this on the sabbath and in their presence as a witness to their misunderstanding. May we never anger and grieve Jesus by our "stubborn and hard hearts" when Jesus is working a miracle before our eyes of changing people's lives.

Are you a new wine skin, living in God's grace? Are you allowing God to fill you? Is your motive simpy to do things for the love of God? Are you clothing yourself with Christ by being the presence of Jesus to others? This is the new garment - the love of Jesus. The law cannot contain it - we cannot "measure" it.

CONNECT Worship Gathering: Mark 2:13-17 Dining with Sinners, Following a New Life in Christ

Like many of us, Matthew had his feet in two realities. In the Roman world he was called by his Greek name, Matthias, and he had conspired with the Roman occupiers to become a tax collector, a traitor to his people. Tax collectors were local folk who conspired with the government to confiscate taxes and property from their communities, and this is why people hated them. Tax collectors often levied more than they should, keeping ill-gained profit for themselves. As we see in the story of Zacchaeus, he promised Jesus to return money to people for whom he had been a thief. Matthew's friends, the only people to associate with him, were notorious sinners. These people were considered irredeemable by the religious community - thieves, prostitutes, mercenaries who enforced the tax code and confiscation.

If Matthew's Hebrew name is indicative of the tribe from which he came, Levi, this only added insult to injury for his family and community. He should have given his life to the priestly vocation in service to the worship of God. Instead he chose to side with the violent Roman occupiers for his own personal gain. Fortunately, God doesn't waste any experience. God would use Matthew's skill and learning as a tax collector to be one of only four to write the greatest story ever told. Mathew would have known four languages: Greek, Aramaic, Latin, and Hebrew. He would have been a detailed observer and meticulous record keeper. We should never count someone out, because God can redeem and use anyone!

The calling of Matthew is a good model for how we must love one another in spite of our histories and past sins. Peter & Andrew, James & John would have to forgive this tax collector, who had taxed their families and their fishing businesses. According to Mark, Matthew's tax collecting booth was right on the shore of Galilee - most likely so he could watch the daily catch. Jesus presents Matthew with a new reality when He invited Levi to follow him. Unlike the fishermen who could always go back to fishing, Levi left everything to follow Jesus. The first thing he does is to throw a party for Jesus, and enthusiastically invites all of his friends to meet Jesus. The "sinners" receive Jesus gladly while the Pharisees scoff. Here Jesus gives the model to the church for accepting folks - in his commentary on Hosea 6:6 Jesus says that we need to seek out sinners in order that we may introduce them to Jesus. Who are you in this story? Would rather be dining with sinners and Jesus than scoffing outside with the "righteous" Pharisees? Or are we among the silent disciples?  Let us be about redeeming sinners, inviting and accepting people who've made a mess of life, introducing them to Jesus and the new reality of living in God's wonderful, amazing grace.