Sermons

How is God growing good things in our lives today? Today, we’re looking at the parable of the soils (Mark 4:1-20) and inviting God to help us re-discover Jesus.

This guide walks us through Mark 2:13-17. As Jesus calls Levi, a tax collector, to follow him, we consider how Jesus’s grace refuses our categories, transcends our expectations, and renews our humanity. In this message, we also reflect on the role of anger in our lives, and how God invites us to attend to our desires for justice.

When four friends lower their paralyzed friend through a roof, it catches Jesus’s attention and stirs his compassion. What does it look like for us to cultivate compassion that moves God’s heart and counteracts the cynicism of our world?

Despite moving through overflowing crowds, facing constant demands, and people pressing in from every direction, Jesus never appears overwhelmed or out of control. We see from his example a man who knows how to stay centered, who protects his time with God, and who moves through life with clarity and purpose. The unhurried life is not a luxury. It is the way of Jesus.

When Jesus steps onto the scene in Mark 1, he announces that a long-awaited change has arrived and invites ordinary people to drop everything and follow him. The question for each of us is the same one those first disciples faced: when Jesus shows up and calls us toward something new, will we stiff-arm the invitation or say yes?