CONNECT Worship Gathering: Mark 6: 6-13 Returning to the Simplicity of the Gospel

Jesus sending out the disciples is a great reminder of the simplicity of the Gospel message. Their orders were simple: dress modestly, be gracious, preach repentance from sin and turn to God, bring healing to people who are sick and harassed by the evil one. Our churches and our lives are filled with stuff. For many of us it is "ministry" stuff. But we don't need most of it - the stuff can easily get in the way. People need a visceral connection with Christ followers who bring healing and truth in their lives through the Holy Spirit. Sharing our faith, acts of kindness and generosity, sitting with the sick or aged - these and many other simple ways are the things Jesus calls us to do. Jesus sent them out in pairs - and we need one another in ministry for accountability but also for the employment of our many varied gifts. Jesus wants us to rely on God for provisions - our daily bread - not on media, technology, or a new small group "how to" book. Christ followers, return to the simplicity of the Gospel - take an opportunity to share Jesus' love with someone.

CONNECT Worship Gathering: Mark 6:1-6 Cooperating with Grace

Amazement is a common theme in the Gospel of Mark. The people of Capernaum were amazed that Jesus spoke with authority (Mark 1:27) and healed many of their sick. Amazement gripped the crowd as Jesus healed the paralytic (Mark 2:12), and raised Jairus' daughter from death (Mark 5:32). In Nazareth the people were astonished at Jesus' teaching, but even so they rejected Jesus (Mark 6:1-3). When Andrew came running with excitement to tell his friend Nathaniel that they had found the Messiah, Nathaniel had replied, "can anything good come from Nazareth?" (John 1:46). The prophets had alluded to it as they wrote about the "Branch" (Hebrew 'natzer') which is where Nazareth derived its name (Zechariah 3:8-9, Isaiah 11:1-2). The people missed Messiah right in their midst. What's worse is that they assumed they knew Jesus, but sadly, they missed all the blessings that Jesus wanted to do there. Because we are free moral agents, we can resist God's gifts as a patient might reject their doctor's care. God will respond to our resistance by removing Himself. We are limited to God's gifts by our human will. In Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis write, "There are two kinds of people in this world, those who say 'God's will be done' and those to whom God says, 'fine, have it your way.' Healing requires not only the power of the healer, but faith and cooperation on the part of the patient. Sadly, here it is Jesus who is amazed at their unbelief in Nazareth (Mark 6:6). I pray Jesus never says this of me. Let us not assume we know Jesus, but to strive to imitate Jesus and learn about Jesus. Let us be good disciples. Let us always cooperate with grace, inviting Jesus to teach, heal, and restore our lives and those around us.

CONNECT Worship Gathering: Mark 5:21-43 Offering Up Our Wounds to Jesus



The Synagogue at Capernaum



         In this text Jesus is on his way to heal Jairus' daughter. He was the leader of the synagogue at Capernaum and was responsible for the upkeep and scheduling of the synagogue. The Pharisees would have watched him closely. In spite of the scrutiny surrounding Jesus, he goes to Jesus to ask him to heal his little daughter. While on the way to perform this miracle the crowd pressed around Jesus. A woman who also needed healing reached out to touch him. She knew Jesus was passing by and this may be her only opportunity to touch the prophet. She had suffered 12 years from constant bleeding, and according to Leviticus 15:25-27, she had suffered much more than physical pain. Her condition made her ceremonially unclean: she couldn't go to worship, she couldn't entertain guests, she couldn't visit any one's home. Anything she touched or furniture upon which she sat were made unclean. In addition to her physical pain, she suffered isolation from family, community, and worship. She was not greeted with smiles by her neighbor's or in the marketplace, for she was unclean. Jesus stopped and turned so she would be restored. How often is our daily agenda interrupted by a "needy" person? By someone we don't want to see coming? We need to imitate Jesus, and allow the upsetting of our agenda to be an opportunity for ministry. Much like the woman's physical affliction, sin separates us from God and from one another, isolating people in hopelessness and despair. We are in the crowd, and we have the answer.

         The woman decided to risk it all, placing her faith in Jesus, "...if I could but touch the tassel of his robe I would be healed." In spite of the crowd, she came up from behind him and was indeed healed. So many were curious about Jesus. So many touched Jesus in this crowd, but only one touched him with faith. Faith was the catalyst that cooperated with grace to heal this woman. The story could have ended there, but Jesus wanted to heal the whole person, to restore her to community, to her family, to worship. So Jesus gave her the opportunity to come forward, and she did, telling Jesus the whole truth. Jesus made the pronouncement, "your faith has made you well." If we are to be healed and offer healing to others, we must bring our wounds to Jesus in faith and honesty. We have the living Christ within us and the power to touch and heal others, sharing Jesus' love, bringing restoration to the lost, broken, and hopeless. The next time someone upsets your daily agenda, remember it is an opportunity for ministry and Jesus wants to use you to bless someone. Become a part of someone's story of redemption by letting Jesus touch others through you.

           Jairus' prayers were answered and in a glimpse of Jesus' commentary on death, "she is just sleeping", we see the resurrection power of Jesus. He commanded them to give her something to eat, because the Jews feared ghosts, and Jesus wanted to assure them this was no ghost, but that the girl was alive and well. Jairus' could have let the Pharisees' criticism of Jesus stop him. He had much to lose by coming to Jesus: his position as leader of the synagogue, the respect of his peers, the increased scrutiny of the Pharisees. But he didn't let any of those things stand in the way of Jesus performing a miracle for his little girl. Again, faith cooperates with grace to accomplish kingdom work. It is through our wounded-ness that Jesus shines, because it is in offering our wounds that we see healing and restoration in Jesus' name!

CONNECT Worship Gathering: Mark 5:1-20 The Healing of the Demon Possessed Man

In this story we find Jesus crossing the Sea of Galilee for one purpose - to heal the demon-possessed man in the region of the Garasenes, on the South East side of the lake. People must had heard the rumor, of the crazy man living among the tombs, who broke all his shackles when people had tried to help him. The apostles must have wondered as Jesus gave the order to head to the region of the Garasenes what exaclty was in Jesus' mind, or was he out of his mind? this was no place for good Jews, for Gentile herdsmen watered their herds of swine numbering in the thousands on the freshwater shore of Galilee. Imagine the pig fodder from 2000 swine? Good Jews didn't go to this area, not to mention the rumored crazy man in the tombs. But Jesus crossed to the other side for this purpose, as he had also crossed the threshold of heaven to be born in a dirty shepherd's cave in Bethlehem - He came to save us.

There is no evidence in this text that the disciples even got out of their large commercial fishing boat. Jesus alone stands on the shore as the man comes running out of the tombs to meet Jesus. Whether it was the demon's repulsion of Jesus or something else, this man realizes only Jesus can help him, and he runs to Jesus. The disciples had just seen Jesus' power over nature in the calming of the storm, and now they would witness Jesus' authority and power over the supernatural world as he healed the man. The miracle caused the townspeople to fear, and they begged Jesus to leave. Jesus went out of his way to heal this man. What do we need to do in our lives to "cross to the other side" to bring Jesus' love to people? We can start by nurturing relationships with lost people, and venture out of our regular circle of connections. We may have to walk through "pig fodder" to help someone, it may be smelly and uncomfortable, even scary, but Jesus calls us to "cross to the other side" wherever that may be for you. I don't want to be like the disicples, still in the boat, never mentiuoned in this story.

In the area of the Decapolis (the ten towns) near the Garasenes an ancient Byzantine church has been uncovered. We know the man had wanted to go with Jesus, but Jesus told him to go home and tell what wonderful things the Lord had done for him. And the text says he preached in the ten towns. Could this have been the man that started the Jesus movement in the Decapolis? That built a church there? Lost people are living among death, as the Garasene man was, and they don't know the way. The Adversary seeks their ultimate destruction, as demonstrated in the herd of swine that met their death. People are souls bound in sin and we must be the light and presence of Christ to bring healing. Pray, think, and brainstorm about ways to nurture relatinships with the lost and "cross to the other side".

CONNECT Worship Gathering: Mark 4: 35-41 Jesus Calms the Storm

The boat in which the disciples were sailing was actually quite large compared to what most people have in mind.  I have a 14 foot aluminum fishing boat, that is my experience. Peter's commercial fishing vessel, however, was 27.5 feet long, 4.5 feet wide, and around 4.5 feet deep. We know this because a 1st century commercial fishing vessel was discovered and recovered during a 1986 drought in the mud of the Sea of Galilee. The boat was finely crafted - made without nails, but rather wooden pegs which when in water would swell perfectly to a tight fit so that the planks and boards held firmly together. We likened the boat to our lives: no matter how much money or education or things we have, the storm which causes us "poverty of spirit" will inevitably come, the storm that will cause us to put complete faith and trust in God. Five of the twelve disciples were seasoned fishermen, they had been in and experienced storms before, but none like this - they were terrified. Why did they wait until they were in true danger before they woke Jesus? Why did they wait till the last minute to call of Jesus? we do the same thing in the business of our lives, and we don't think of Jesus until the wave is already upon us. Jesus showed his power, got up and calmed the sea. Then he utters the words I hope never to hear from the Lord, "haven't you any faith?" It must have stung the disciples, but through the storm they got to see the power of God. While smooth sailing through life is nice, it is through the storms that God gets to shine, and we can experience His amazing power and presence! When you experience a storm, rouse the sleeping Christ within you to calm the raging sea!

CONNECT Worship Gathering: Mark 4:21-34 The Kingdom Parables

Lamps in Jesus' day were small clay pots with a reservoir for oil and a spout out of which a wick came from the reservoir to be lit. A single flame in a dark room is quite bright. We have to imagine a time with no electricity where it would be unthinkable to put a lamp under a bed. A lamp was placed high on the wall on a shelf where its light could be reflected in the whole room. Oil was the fuel of the lamp. The wick was made of fibrous material which soaked up the oil so that it could burn at the end. We likened the oil to the Holy Spirit and we must ask the question, are we filled with the Holy Spirit in a way that lets our lamp shine? John says in his Gospel that light is Jesus Christ himself. We are the clay pot, and we are privileged to have the presence of Christ, the flame, and the gift of God's Spirit, the oil. But are we filled? Are we holding up the lamp that others may see The Way?

Fruit is to be eaten - the more produced the more people can be fed. But we must also remember that plants have humble beginnings, and spring from a tiny seed. This is Jesus' teaching of the growing seed. The farmer scatters seed, but since the sower is God and we are His people, we are expected to prepare good ground in our hearts. We do this by rooting up sin, and doing those things which lead to loving God and loving our neighbor. By acts of love, prayer, and staying in God's word day and night (Psalm 1:2) we make the soil of our heart more fertile. "By night and day, while he's asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows." (Mark 4:27) describes the work of the Holy Spirit, without us being aware, ever changes us more into the image of Jesus.

The mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds, but grows into a sizable plant. The kingdom of God started in the greatest humility, in a small shepherds cave in Jerusalem as Jesus was born into this world. Now the branches of the kingdom of God, the Church, spread out through the world. The vine is Christ himself, crucified and resurrected, from which the branches spring. The mustard seed only releases its pungent flavor when crushed, as Christ was crushed. As we are tested the fragrance of Christ will come through us as well. The mustard seed teaches us that we are to be the seasoning of Christ to this world. The mustard was a tenacious plant growing wherever it landed, even breaking through stone. As a result, the Pharisees had rules where it could be planted, but Jesus' new teaching swallowed up the old rules. As mustard would crack stone, so the Kingdom of God would take root anywhere not through the law, but through love. The kingdom is a haven for sinners - the birds of the air nesting in the branches of the mustard bush - we who are wanderers find a home for our souls. As such, the Church should be the open door and home of all who are searching, thirsty, and hungry for God.

CONNECT Worship Gathering: Mark 4:1-20 Parable of the Soils and Allowing the Gardener in the Gate

The farmer throws his seed by means of telecasting - indiscriminately throwing it everywhere. Jesus is the farmer and the seed is the truth of the Gospel. The ground represents our own hearts. On some ground the seed never takes root becasue the birds, or the adversary, comes and takes it away. Some gladly recieve the word but because they have no roots (no discipleship or people to mentor them) they whither and die. Some seed germinates but grows among throns that represent the cares of this world, materialism, worry, and other vices. These are things we all must struggle with on a day to day basis. When we let go of things, and pray for our daily bread, we flourish in trusting God and learn to walk in the Spirit hand in hand with Jesus. This describes the good soil that produces fruit related to our level of devotion and love of Jesus that becomes thirty, sixty, or a hundred fold.

We mustn't make the mistake of assuming we are good soil. There are parts of our hearts where stones must be removed, where weeds and thorns must be removed, and where we must allow the Gardener to plow our hearts. Everyday He gives us the opportunity to do more work in the garden of our souls. Thistles, as we have seen many of along the road this Spring, can sprout up and grow over night. We must quickly do some pruning and allow the Gardener to remove that root of anger, greed, or discontent which drains the life out of the rest of our soul. Today, allow the Gardener to do his work in your soul, unlock all the gates of your heart. Let us be sources of fruit so that we can be food to those who are hungry and in need of healing.