Bethany Church Fresno

A rich, religious man learned from Jesus that salvation means total surrender to Jesus, and chose to walk away. The challenge is great, but the reward is greater.

When asked about divorce, Jesus acknowledged it, but called his listeners back to God's original plan, that marriage is for one man and one woman, joined by God for life.

Jesus elevated children and taught servanthood, and rebuked those who grasped at prominence. It’s ok to pursue significance, but that’s not the same as prominence. What would our posture look like as servants and people of childlike faith? Jesus’ kingdom values inspire us to follow him wholeheartedly, finding our significance in Him.

After the other-worldly experience of the Transfiguration, Jesus and his disciples encountered a boy's desperate need for deliverance. They learned that faith grows where prayer flows

Jesus put down a remarkable challenge to the disciples - take up your cross and follow him, even knowing it could mean suffering. But it's the only way to save your soul.

A blind man receives site, but not right away, and the disciples break through fuzzy faith for a clear picture of Jesus.

Traditions can be wonderful but can also replace true worship. We always want to keep a heart soft to the Lord, and flexible with rituals.

Jesus invites us to follow him in a life with more: more rest, more service, more miracles, more faith. You can’t give more than you have, but God has more than you can give.

Finding ourselves in a tough spot is exactly where we can see Jesus meeting our need. Desperation is the sweet spot between self-sufficiency and hopelessness, the place where we find the Savior.

Jesus demonstrated that he can be trusted even in, and especially in, the storms of life.

Jesus meets people just where they are. He is always seeking them out. Why is it so hard to hear and respond?

Jesus defined family in a new way, excluding the critics and including all who do the will of God, as disciples in training for action.

Jesus turned the expectations of both culture and religion upside down, promoting a relationship with God rather than the emptiness of self-righteousness.

People's encounters with Jesus were life-changing because they started with him listening to them and to their real needs, made possible because he started by listening to his Father

Jesus called his disciples to follow from ordinary places, not superstars but ordinary people, formed by Jesus as they followed him. He extends the same call to us.

Following Jesus starts with the humility of confession and repentance, humility creates identity, identity creates authority, authority creates opportunity.

The Gospel of Mark is the Good News because it’s all about Jesus, and the Jesus story needs good messengers, just as John the Baptist proclaimed his coming.

The Acts 2 believers were committed to the truth and application of Scripture in their new life together, and took advantage of meeting together to learn.

The original New Testament church grew rapidly, in part because of the great corporate habits they adopted, including Audible, Bold, and Clear corporate prayer.

We are invited to consider Jesus, the one who endured the cross for us, who lives in every believer and in whom we have our life.

Following Jesus is not a "do-it-yourself" race - we are on a track marked out for us, and we run with our eyes on Jesus.

Every runner, hiker or traveler knows the secret to success is to lighten up for speed and endurance. The same is true spiritually, so we must learn to lay aside sin that trips us up and weight that slows us down.

Summary: As we begin to run the race it is encouraging to know we have home field advantage - the stands are full of witnesses the race of faith, and the Bible gives us a way to be mentored by the heroes of faith

If we're going to run the race of faith, it is necessary to know our starting point.

As we navigate the seasons of life and search for meaning, the reality and problem of injustice in this life can bring about disillusionment and frustration. As humanity comes to grips with these conclusions, God continues to draw humankind to himself. True hope, meaning and eternal life is found in Jesus Christ.