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Here, Jesus is saying to us, 'There is a way that leads to fruitfulness' - and he's also saying, "There's a way that will not lead to fruitfulness.' Jesus speaks about the sower, the seed and the soils/He's speaking about God's Word. He's inviting us to think about our response to God's Word: What is my response to God's Word? This is the question Jesus calls us to ask ourselves honestly. There are four types of soil  - "some seed fell along the path" (4)  - "other seed fell on rocky ground" (5)  - "other seed fell among thorns" (7)  - "other seed fell into good soil" (8). There are three poor soils.By speaking of these poor soils, Jesus is saying to us, 'Make sure that, in your heart, there is good soil in which the Word of God can take root, grow and bear fruit.' Jesus does not only give us the parable. He also gives us the explanation of the parable. He tells us what the par...

“Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant … For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” ( Mark 10:43 , 45 ). Do you want to be the Lord’s servant? Remember that He is your Saviour. Do you want to serve the Lord? – You must be saved by Him before you can even begin to serve Him. When we think of Jesus as God’s servant and say, “I will serve God the way Jesus served Him”, we have missed the point of Jesus’ words: “the Son of Man” came ”to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Jesus’ service is defined by the giving of His life as a ransom for many. We can never give our life as a ransom for many. Only Jesus can do that for us. Where does our life of service begin? – It begins at the Cross of Christ. It begins when we say, “I cannot serve You. I can only be saved by You.” That’s where the life of service begins. It begins with being saved by the Lor...

Mark 4:33-5:20 Parables and miracles: In Jesus' miracles, there's a message for us. We must ask, 'What does this mean for us?' In the miracles - calming the storm (Mark 4:35-41) and driving out demons (Mark 5:1-20), there is the message: "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46;10). We look beyond the storm of wind and waves. We see the storms of life - and we hear Jesus, saying to us, "Be still" (Mark 4:39). He challenges our fears, and He calls us to have faith in Him (Mark 4:40). Where do the storms come from? - Satan. He's a determined enemy: "No one was strong enough to subdue him" (Mark 5:4). We need more than positive thinking. We need Jesus - the Saviour. He is strong enough to subdue Satan. Satan is a defeated enemy. We don't put ourselves together again. Jesus does this for us. Don't keep the Good News to yourself. Tell people "what the Lord has done for you and how He has had mercy on you...

“Good News” - “the forgiveness of sins” and “baptism with the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1:1,4,8). This Good News is centred on Jesus Christ, God’s beloved Son (Mark 1:11). Jesus was empowered by “the Spirit” (Mark 1:12). He comes to us with “the Good news of God” (Mark 1:(14). He calls for our  response - “Change the way you think and act, and believe the Good News” (Mark 1:15). Where does this change come from? It comes from the Good News. This is what changes us. By becoming Christ-centred (following Jesus), we become less self-centred and more other-centred. Jesus teaches us “how to catch people instead of fish” (Mark 1:17). “He taught them with authority” (Mark 1:22). We need both - the teaching and the authority. It is the teaching that gives the authority. We are taught by the Lord. We speak with the authority that comes from this: God’s Word is truth. When we know that the revelation has come to us from the Lord, we are able to understand and communicate God’s Word of truth. ...

“Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!” (Mark 11:9). Blessing is in Jesus. Blessing comes to us through Him. There's no direct route to God's blessing without going by way of Jesus. He is "the Way, the Truth and the Life." We come to God the Father through Him (John 14:6). When we are deeply aware of our sin, we rejoice in this: There is one God and one Mediator between God and us, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for us all" (1 Timothy 2:5-6). 

Mark 2:1-17 "He was speaking the message to them" (Mark 2:3) - and there were "signs following" (Mark 16:17). Preaching and miracles: we see this pattern in Mark 1 - preaching (Mark 1:14-20), miracles (Mark 1:21-34,40-45). In Mark 1:39, we see both - preaching and miracles. Along with preaching and miracles, there is prayer (Mark 1:35). In Mark 2, there is forgiveness of sins (Mark 2:5) and healing for the paralyzed man (Mark 2:11-12). Notice which comes first - forgiveness. Jesus is saying, 'This is about more than the legs.' What is He saying to us? We need more than physical health. "So long as you have your health" - This isn't the full story. We need to have our sins forgiven. Only Jesus can do this for us. When we read about the call of Matthew, known before his conversion as Levi (Mark 2:13-14), we learn about how life can be turned around by Jesus. Levi, Evil, Live The story of Levi is to become our story. Like Lev...

Jesus brings us salvation - “Friend, your sins are forgiven” (Mark 2:5) - and He calls us to discipleship - “Follow Me” (Mark 2:14). We cannot be His disciples without, first, coming to Him for salvation. We must emphasize that salvation leads to discipleship. Our discipleship demonstrates the reality of our salvation. We must hear the words, “I’ve come to call sinners” (Mark 2:17) before we can respond to the call to live as “saints” (God’s people). By nature, we are not God’s people. Through His redemption, we become His people. We are redeemed through the precious blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19). We are called to live in the strength of the Lord, walking with Him in the pathway of victory, “more than conquerors” through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

“He taught them with authority” (Mark 1:22). We need both - the teaching and the authority. It is the teaching that gives the authority. We are taught by the Lord. We speak with the authority that comes from this: God’s Word is truth. When we know that the revelation has come to us from the Lord, we are able to understand and communicate God’s Word of truth. This is not about our level of understanding or our ability to communicate. It’s about the Lord, making Himself known to us and enabling us to share His Word with others. What do we have to share with others? We have “Good News” (Mark 1:38-39). “People kept coming to Him from everywhere” (Mark 1:45). Lord, give us such blessing in our day.

What a difference there is between Jesus' enemies and His friends. "The scribes" wanted "to kill" Jesus (Mark 14:1). The woman worshipped Him. There is also the sadness of Judas. He began as a friend, and, then, he became an enemy. Even in the Passover / Lord's Supper, Jesus showed love for Judas. Sadly, it was love from which Judas "turned away." Whatever our past has been, Jesus offers a way forward, into a better future, with Him.

In Mark 13:1-2, Jesus speaks about the destruction of the Temple. In Mark 13:7, He speaks about "the end." There are events which point us to the end. These events make us think about the end. There's another "end" that we must think about - "the person who endures to the end will be saved" (Mark 13:13). This is our own personal end. Beyond our personal end, there is the end which comes with the Return of our Lord Jesus Christ (Mark 13:26-27). When will He come? - "No one knows when that day or hour will come" (Mark 13:32). What the Lord does tell us is this: Make sure that you're ready - "I'm telling everyone what I'm telling you. Be alert!"

In Mark 12, we see that much of Jesus' ministry must be understood within the context of conflict. The religious leaders were out to get Jesus, and Jesus didn't miss them when He spoke of their hypocritical religion. Mark 12 ends with a deeply moving picture of true devotion. It's a call to love the Lord with more than our words.

"Their unbelief amazed Him" (Mark 6:6). The Lord has done so much for us. Why do we persist in unbelief? There is no real answer to this question, other than this: "The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. Who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9). Our unbelief may be amazing. His grace is so much more amazing. It is also amazing that the Lord should choose sinners like us to carry forward His work (Mark 6:12-13).

"Jesus was going to Jerusalem"  - to be "betrayed", "condemned to death" and to "come back to life" (Mark 10:32-34). Hallelujah! What a Saviour! "Teacher, we want you to do us a favour" (Mark 10:35) - This sounds so self-centred. What does Jesus say about this? - "Whoever wants to be great among you will be your servant. Whoever wants to be most important among you will be a slave for everyone" (Mark 10:43-44). How do we learn to live this kind of life? We learn it from Jesus - "The Son of Man ... came to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many people" (Mark 10:45). "What do you want Me to do for you?" (Mark 10:51). Jesus asked this question in Mark 10:36. This time, the answer is for the glory of God - not the glory of man. Look at what follows this question - "Teacher, I want to see again ... Go, your faith has made you well. At once, he could see again, and he  followed Jesus ... " (M...

The power of the Lord Jesus is seen in His miracles. It is the power of His love. His power is sen in His resurrection. This power is the power of life. Life triumphs over death. When we seek power for ourselves, we do not glorify the Lord. There is power in humility. We recognize that we are without power. We acknowledge that real power comes from the Lord. This power reaches out, though us, to others, when our actions show the love of Christ to them. We are to pray for the power of the Lord  to be at work in us, keeping us close to the Lord. The way in which the Lord changes us:it starts from the inside, and works its way out, to shape our way of life.

"Don't let anyone separate what God has joined together" (Mark 10:9). "Don't stop the children from coming to Me" (Mark 10:14). In today's world, people often devalue the things that were very important to Jesus. When we speak about standing up for Jesus, we must remember that this means more than speaking His Word to others. It also means living by the values that Jesus held and taught. It will standing up for the things that matter - marriage is important, children are important. "It's impossible for people to save themselves, but it's not impossible for God to save them" (Mark 10:27). "Salvation is of the Lord" (Jonah 2:9). Salvation doesn't begin with us. It begins with God - "God so loved the world" (John 3:16). We begin with the eternal love of God. It leads to eternal life for us.

What a difference there is between Jesus giving a sign and the Pharisees demanding a sign! Miracles are given when the Lord decides - not when we demand: "If these people are given a sign, it will be far different from what they want!" (Mark 8:12). A blind man came to Jesus. His sight Was restored - "He could see everything clearly, even at a distance" (Mark 8:25). The Pharisees couldn't see - "Don't you catch on yet?" (Mark 8:21). 'Open our eyes, Lord. We want to see Jesus.'

God is calling us to move forward into His future. He's calling us to move forward with Him. He's calling us to move forward for Him. How are we to move forward with God? How are we to move forward for Him? If we are to move forward with God and for God, we must listen to those who have gone before us, and we must learn from them. Let us look back to the prophets and the apostles. Let us look back to our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us listen to them. Let us learn from them. We begin with one of the prophets - Jeremiah. After that, we will look at the apostles, at the beginning of the book of Acts. Then, we will listen to Jesus, our Saviour, and we will learn from Him. After we have learned from the apostles, the prophets and the Saviour, we will return to the question: How are we to move forward with God and for God. Jeremiah 1:4-8 Jeremiah's call to serve God seems to come as a bolt from the blue. He was completely taken aback. He was surprised. He was shock...

The storm is raging: ‘they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them’ (Mark 6:48). Jesus draws near, and there is peace: ‘the wind ceased’ (Mark 6:51). Another ‘storm’ continues to rage: ‘Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders...?’ (Mark 7:5). How did Jesus respond to this ‘storm’ of criticism? - He exposed the hypocrisy of those who made the tradition of men more important than the Word of God (Mark 7:7-9,13). He invited ‘the people’ to come ‘to Him’, to ‘hear’, to ‘understand’. His Word was addressed to ‘all’ of them (Mark 7:14). Jesus emphasizes this point: ‘man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart’ (1 Samuel 16:7). The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. Which will it be? - ‘Their hearts were hardened’ (Mark 7:52) or ‘Loving the Lord your God with all your heart’ (Mark 12:30).

“Good News” - “the forgiveness of sins” and “baptism with the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1:1,4,8). This Good News is centred on Jesus Christ, God’s beloved Son (Mark 1:11). Jesus was empowered by “the Spirit” (Mark 1:12). He comes to us with “the Good news of God” (Mark 1:(14). He calls for our response - “Change the way you think and act, and believe the Good News” (Mark 1:15). Where does this change come from? It comes from the Good News. This is what changes us. By becoming Christ-centred (following Jesus), we become less self-centred and more other-centred. Jesus teaches us “how to catch people instead of fish” (Mark 1:17).

“Truly this Man was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39). Jesus Christ was no ordinary man. He was special. He was unique. He is God’s ‘only Son’ (John 3:16). He is God’s ‘beloved Son’ (Matthew 3:17; Luke 9:35). He is not only the greatest Man who ever lived. He is ‘greater than the angels’ in heaven. ‘All God’s angels’ are called to ‘worship Him’. ‘Truly this Man was the Son of God’ – In these words of faith, we hear an echo of God’s Word concerning His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ – ‘You are My Son; today I have become Your Father…I will be His Father, and He will be My Son…Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever…Sit at my right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for your feet’ (Hebrews 1:1-14). ‘Truly this Man was the Son of God’ – Let these words be your confession of faith in Christ.