Week 8: “Come With Me by Yourselves to a Quiet Place and Get Some Rest.”

As we wrap up our sermon series on powerful statements from Jesus, Jesus invites his disciples—both then and now—to come away with him to a quiet place and get some rest. Of course, rest is something that we all need in life. But it’s not just rest for our bodies that we need, but rest for our souls as well. So today, we look at the way that God uses those quiet times that we spend with him, not only to care for us, but also to help us care for those around us.

Week 7: “Take Nothing for the Journey Except a Staff.”

Jesus said these words as he was sending his disciples out on a mission trip of their own. He told them to leave everything behind except their shoes and their walking staff … and it might seem like they wouldn’t be very well equipped for the work that God was giving them to do. Maybe we feel that way sometimes too—in our personal lives or in our congregation, do we have what we need to carry out the task that God has given us? Today we’ll see that between the Lord’s care and the Lord’s Word, we have everything we need to do the work he has in mind for us.

Week 6: “A Prophet Is Not Without Honor Except in His Own Town.”

Today we hear a statement that Jesus made when he was back in his hometown of Nazareth, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town.” This statement not only gives us an opportunity to consider how we honor Jesus when he comes to us through his Word. It also shows us some of the obstacles we may face as we seek to share his Word—when we stand in that place as prophet and speak God’s Word to those who need to hear it.

Week 5: “The Child Is Not Dead but Asleep.”

As we continue our series, we look at another powerful statement of Jesus from the gospel of Mark, this time set in the context of Jesus raising Jairus’s daughter from the dead. Jesus comes to the crowded house, full of people mourning the death of this little girl, and he says, “The child is not dead, but asleep.” And in making this statement, Jesus shows us that he has power over death—power that he exercised not just on one occasion for one individual, but power that he promises to all of his people.

Week 4: “Why Are You So Afraid?”

Today’s words of the Savior for our consideration are set in the context of Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee. In this account, Jesus looks at his disciples and asks them, “Why are you so afraid?” If we thought about it for a minute, we could come up with a lot of different ways that we could answer that question. But what we want to consider today is another question—is this a fear problem, or is it a faith problem?

Week 3: “The Kingdom of God Is Like a Mustard Seed.”

Continuing our series on the words of our Savior, today we focus on the words of Jesus that the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. God’s kingdom starts with what may seem like small, even unimportant, things. But as God grows his kingdom, those seemingly small things grow into something huge.

Week 2: “Whoever Does God’s Will Is My Brother and Sister and Mother.”

Today the statement of Jesus we’ll focus on is this: “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” So we will consider what it means to be accepted into God’s family and what the blessings of that really are.

Week 1: “The Sabbath Was Made for Man, Not Man for the Sabbath.”

As we begin a new sermon series, we will be looking at a single, powerful statement by our Savior Jesus that speaks to our lives of following him. Today, we focus on the Third Commandment, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy,” as we consider this powerful statement from Jesus: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”