Sermons on “Mark”
We Are…Prayer Dependent
We believe that prayer is essential to following after God. Like Jesus, we need frequent times when we are seeking God for a reaffirmation of our identity as God’s people and a reminder of our mission. Like Scripture, prayer is a major discipline for our corporate body (Matthew 6:9–13; Mark 1:35; Acts 4:23–31).
Am I seeking God for direction in the life of our church?
We Are…Community Oriented
We believe the community called church is a new family. This means we intentionally invite people to become a part of our life together. As well, we foster an environment in which we openly share what is happening in our lives with each other and seek to respond to each other with love and concern. We also seek to be a place of healing for all people (Mark 3:34–35; Acts 2:44–45; James 2:15–17, 5:13–16).
Am I fully participating in this new community called the church?
Healing the Whole Person
God is not a service provider. As a result he is not interested in only healing a foot, curing cancer, or any other one-off act. God is about restoring all things. That means he is only interested in healing all of us. Not just who we are today, but our entire past, present, and future. God doesn’t undo what has happened to us, what is happening to us, or what will happen to us. Instead, if we will give it to him, he will redeem it and heal it. As C. S. Lewis notes, heaven works backwards in us.
View SermonThings that Prevent Healing
Divine healing isn’t magic. We do not wield Jesus’s name like an incantation, guaranteeing a prescribed result. Healing is a part of our relationship, rooted in the grand story of God. As a result there are things in our lives that will block healing. In fact, God may be using our suffering to get our attention. The believer must examine themselves in the areas of unbelief, disobedience, unforgiveness, and sin not to make God heal, but to be in right relationship with the healer.
View SermonTheology of Divine Healing
There are two extremes to avoid in this topic: that God always heals and that God never heals. However, we cannot look at healing in and of itself. The act of divine healing must be put into the larger context of what God has done, is doing, and will do for the whole world through Christ. Only then will we rightly pursue God for his gift without abandoning the giver.
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