Posts with the tag “mark”

Mark 2:10 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, 11 “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”12 And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!”I love the end of this s...  Read More

Mark 2:8 Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? 9 Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? I love how Jesus knows what they are thinking and how he gets a little aggressive with them. That in itself must have been a little bit of a surprise. Whether this was div...  Read More

Mark 2:7 “What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”And there it is. The criticism, the anger, and the righteous indignation. These men were not used to someone saying the things that Jesus was saying. And truthfully, Jesus was saying things that no normal person would dare to say. He is taking the prerogative of God and wielding it as if it was his right. Which of course, w...  Read More

Mark 2:3 four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. 4 They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus.Yep, you know this story. Four men arrived carrying their friend. The fact that they are carrying their friend shows you how much they love him. They are willing t...  Read More

Mark 2:1 When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. 2 Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them,Jesus was clearly getting famous at this point. This is a particular situation is especially interesting when it comes to going bac...  Read More

INTRODUCTIONThe following is a guide to help facilitate discussion between you and the person you’re studying with or with your Connect Group. Feel free to add, subtract, or change questions to fit the conversation, and pray for the Spirit to lead in all things.OPEN QUESTIONSWhat is one of your favorite things about the Christmas season?  What’s one of your least favorite things?HEADRead Mark 5:24...  Read More

Mark 5:32 But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done.I wonder what Jesus's gaze was like. I wonder what it is like? We don’t know what color his eyes were, but judging by his ethnicity, they were probably brown or some dark col...  Read More

Mark 5:31His disciples said to him, “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’”His disciples were relatively confused by what had just happened and vocalized their surprise. They didn’t really understand how Jesus could feel someone in particular when the crowd was so close to him. it seems there must have been quite a crush of people around him.Have you ever been ...  Read More

Mark 5:30 Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?”Jesus recognized that something was happening around him. His ability to know when his power was tapped into must have been something to behold. He knew that someone had touched his robe and was healed from that slight touch. It seems that Jesus had a cogniza...  Read More

Mark 5:27-2927 She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. 28 For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately, the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition.This woman approaches Jesus from behind him. Most people approached Jesus from the front to...  Read More

Mark 5:24 Jesus went with him, and all the people followed, crowding around him. 25 A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. 26 She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse.Maybe this is a strange way to start a series about belonging. B...  Read More

Belonging is one of the three core values of Crosswalk Church. The three are experience, momentum, and belonging. But "belonging", we always say first. The reason why we do that is because it's important that Crosswalk always be a community of belonging. So what does that mean? What that means is that no matter where you're from, what you've done, no matter what you look like, you belong here. Per...  Read More

“Then He chose twelve of them to be His  apostles, so that they could be with Him.” Mark 3:14One of Jesus’ most common opening lines is,  “Follow me.” Not, “Act like me. Change your  behavior. Start by being perfect,” but, “Follow  me.” Listen to this invitation in basic terms.  He’s asking that we spend time with Him,  rearrange our lives so He fits, help Him create  a community. Jesus throws thi...  Read More

“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27Jesus was a deconstructionist. He reorganized culture, reinterpreted scripture, and broke the rules. Nowhere is this more evident than in the stories of His behavior on the Sabbath. The Hebrews of Jesus' day had built their identity around rule-following. Under the direction of the Rabbis, the ten commandments slowly grew to 613, mo...  Read More

On Tuesday morning, Jesus and his disciples returned to Jerusalem. They passed the withered fig tree on their way, and Jesus spoke to his companions about the importance of faith.Back at the Temple, religious leaders were upset at Jesus for establishing himself as a spiritual authority. They organized an ambush with the intent to place him under arrest. But Jesus evaded their traps and pronounced ...  Read More

Mark 12:4040 Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be more severely punished.”Well, this has taken a darker turn! I included this text in the week because I want to make sure we understand the importance of never allowing ourselves to forget what our job as a faith community and as a people ...  Read More

Mark 10:2121 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.End Statement #2“Crosswalk will be a community where people learn and grow in an authentic relationship with God.”Jesus made disciples. I don’t think h...  Read More