The Disciple’s Love

Disciple Series - Part 12

“And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. 33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.”

- Mark 12:28-34

The God Who Raises the Dead

Easter Service

“The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.  7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.'  12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel.  13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD."

- Ezekiel 37:1-14

The Sin-Killing Cross

Good Friday Service

Disciples and the Habit of Fellowship

Disciple Series - Part 11

“And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray."  33 And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled.  34 And he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch."  35 And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.  36 And he said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will."  37 And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour?  38 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  39 And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words.  40 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him.  41 And he came the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.”

- Mark 14:32-41

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is thehabit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

- Hebrews 10:24-25

Disciples and the Word - Part II

Disciple Series - Part 10

“And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, 12 so that "they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven."  13 And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?  14 The sower sows the word.  15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.  16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy.  17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.  18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.  20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."

- Mark 4:11-20

Disciples and the Word - Part I

Disciple Series - Part 9

“And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, 12 so that "they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven."  13 And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?  14 The sower sows the word.  15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.  16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy.  17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.  18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.  20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."

- Mark 4:11-20

The Disciple’s Prayer Habit

Disciple Series - Part 8

“On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 And he said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard it.... 20 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. 21 And Peter remembered and said to him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered." 22 And Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God. 23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received1 it, and it will be yours.”

- Mark 11:12-14, 20-24

Where God Has Commanded the Blessing

Stand Alone Message

“A SONG OF ASCENTS. OF DAVID.  Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!  2It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes!  3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.”

- Psalm 133:1-3