More Than Bread

Send me a Text Message! How am I doing at keeping my wedding vows? Maybe you don't think that question applies to you but in so many different ways, we are all impacted by how well people are keeping their wedding vows AND for those who are not married, Mark 10:1-16 is still a good reminder of the importance of having a good heart!

Send me a Text Message! Do kids matter to you? That's a good question to set the scene for our dive into this part of Mark 9. There are a number of different places we could dive into deeper, but for this podcast, it's all about the kids. When we welcome a child into our life, we welcome Jesus and when we welcome Jesus, we welcome God. If kids don't matter to us, how will we ever ca...

Send me a Text Message! Are you seeking a mountain-top experience? That almost seems like a rhetorical question. Of course, don't all of us want a mountain-top experience. As we listen to the story, that is often called, "The Transfiguration" we will understand a bit more the potential components of a mountain-top experience. More importantly, I will suggest that Jesus is inviting y...

Send me a Text Message! What is your identity? That's a vitally important question that today has surprisingly uncertain answers. We will read the whole chapter of Mark 8 but focus in on the last few verses where Jesus calls his followers to deny themselves, take up their cross and follow him. I will suggest that Jesus is dealing here with the important question of our identity. Finding our i...

Send me a Text Message! What is true worship? That's the question before us as we look at Mark 7:24-37. Actually, worship is occurring all around us. Every time we worship, we are stumbling into moments of worship that are already happening. And that worship doesn't just happen in a church on a Sunday morning as we sing a song. It's initiated by God at the intersections of real life...

Send me a Text Message! What's the point? That's the question we are pondering as we listen to Mark 7:1-23. What's the point of the Bible? What's the point of church? What's the point of Christianity? What's the point? Mark 7:1-23 is a moment in a day when it becomes obvious that the religious leaders of Jesus day were missing the point. If the point is all about reli...

Send me a Text Message! Will I run to the storm? That's an odd question, isn't it? That's the question that won't let me go from this story in Mark 6. It's a storm story. If there is anything I know, when I enter a storm, it's my desire and hope to get out as quickly as possible. But what if Jesus is in the midst of the storm. What if hearing his voice in the storm is...

Send me a Text Message! Do we have enough to share? That's the question Jesus is asking us in Mark 6:30-44. Will I have a scarcity mentality that tries to hold on to all I have with all my strength, or will I give all I have so that I can see Jesus do more than I can imagine. This story is one of great miracles of scripture. The only miracle shared in all four gospels. And there is an importa...

Send me a Text Message! Jesus are you the one? That's the question that John the Baptist asked before he died. It's the question that each one of us should bring to the gospels. Jesus are you the one you say you are? Jesus are you the one who is King of the World? Jesus are you the one who loves me, the one I can trust? Jesus are you the one sent from God to save us? If the answer to the...

Send me a Text Message! Does Jesus amaze you? That's the convicting question at the heart of this scripture passage. Jesus shows up to his hometown and they were not impressed. They had grown up with Jesus. They didn't worship Jesus. He was just Jesus. Has Jesus become ho-hum to you? If so, how do we regain our wonder? We creep with awe to edge. We take a risk. We go on mission!

Send me a Text Message! What do you fear and who do you trust? Those are the questions we are pondering as we listen to the end of the fifth chapter of Mark's gospel. In the last two chapters we have listened to multiples stories all connected by the theme of fear.  So let the scripture and the devotional thoughts cause you to ponder fear and what will ultimately drive fear out of our lives.

Send me a Text Message! How can I find meaningful connections in life? That's the vital question that Mark 5:21-34 asks and begins to answer.  I believe we were created with a connection requirement. Whether we are introverts or extraverts, it may look different but we all need connections for life. In the story we find in this portion of Mark's gospel, we will ponder the disconnections...

Send me a Text Message! Have you ever experienced the power of God? That's the question this episode dives into with two stories from the life of Jesus. If all we have are these two stories, the qualifying question to "Have you ever experienced the power of God?" would probably be, "Have you ever been afraid of the power of God?" When we experience the power of God, we rea...

Send me a Text Message! How can I become a good listener? That's the question this episode ponders as we do a bit deeper dive into Jesus' main seed-story. This is some of Jesus' most foundational teaching and he gives us a foundational quality of those who thrive and leave a legacy. They are listeners. Listening requires ears, but it actually begins with the heart.

Send me a Text Message! How can I make a difference with my life? That's the question this episode answers as we look at Mark chapter 4. Jesus shares a series of stories (parables) about seeds and listening. And it's all in the context of living our lives in such a way that we make a difference. That our lives produces a 100-fold return! 

Send me a Text Message! How do I become part of the family of God? That's the question this episode ponders. Mark 2 gives us an opportunity to consider the characteristics of foes (enemies) of Jesus, fans of Jesus and family of Jesus. And here's the good news, being part of the family of God, having Jesus as our big brother, that's available for each and every one of us. You have a...

Send me a Text Message! If we want to thrive in our living and make a difference in the lives of others, we need to get the "I" out of the middle of our heart. We need to make the journey from foe (an enemy of Christ) to fan (a consumer of Christ) to family (a surrendered follower of Christ). Mark 3 lays out the journey from foe to family.  This episode will look at foes and fans.

Send me a Text Message! Most of the religious leaders of Jesus' day didn't think that Jesus was a good religious leader. He was a little bit twisted in how he led his team, the example he set, especially the rules that he followed. To be honest, if Jesus were doing his thing today, I'm not so sure that most pastors also wouldn't think that he (Jesus) was a bit twisted. But for...

Send me a Text Message! The first four disciples whom Jesus called were fishermen, good blue-collar, well-respected workers. The fifth person was a tax-collector, Levi. I guess you would say that he was a businessman, but the people in Jesus' day would have been more inclined to call him a traitor. He collected taxes for Rome, the occupying force in their country...and he collected on commiss...

Send me a Text Message! This episode dives into one my favorite gospel stories. I call it "The Fellowship of the Mat." It's all about four people doing everything they can to bring their friend to Jesus. And in the end, it's their faith, not their friend's faith, but their faith, that grabs Jesus' attention and leads to a great miracle. Who are you bringing to Jesus?...

Send me a Text Message! Matthew's gospel opens with Christmas and moves quickly into the Sermon on the Moun. Luke's gospel from the very beginning seeks to show that Jesus has come for all people. He goes to the margins of life. John starts with a miracle at a wedding because he's all about the love and delight of Jesus. Mark begins with battle...spiritual battle. We see hints of it...

Send me a Text Message! Why in the world did people, after a brief challenge from Jesus, leave everything and follow him? It's hard to imagine today, but it has something to do with the Kingdom of God. In Mark 1:14-20, we begin to see the Kingdom of God, front and center.

Send me a Text Message! There is this curious short narrative in Mark 1 of what takes place after Jesus' baptism. Jesus is baptized. He hears the voice of God saying, "This is my son. I love him. He brings me great joy. And then...the Spirit of God drove Jesus into the wilderness. Amazing moment with God, experiencing God's delight and then wilderness. Dry. Hard. Battle-filled. Wild...

Send me a Text Message! In this episode we are finally diving into the first chapter of Mark. The question we are going to answer is "Who gets my ears?" It's all about listening to the voice of God. It's all about recognizing the voice of Jesus. Who gets my ears?

Send me a Text Message! Our intro (part 2) focuses a bit on the "gospel." The word "gospel" comes from the Greek word eunangelion which literally means "good news." In this episode we will briefly uncover the heart of the gospel. What is the gospel? That's the question we will answer.