Northwest Gospel Church - Eastside

Does your Bible have red letters? These red letters indicate that Jesus Himself is speaking, and nowhere in the Gospel of Mark are more red letters found than in Mark 13. Tune in as Pastor Andrew tells us to "Stay Awake! Jesus is coming again."

"Beware of the scribes and follow the widow." Mark 12:38-44 are a warning to us, and an example of how to live. First, Jesus teaches us to avoid arrogance and entitlement, and then follows it with an example of how to live... like the widow.

What is the greatest commandment? After chapters of questioning by and arguing with the pharisees, scribes, and religious leaders, they finally agree with Jesus on something. "And you shall love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." After they agree on the greates...

This time it's the Sadducees who question Jesus, and their question comes from a heart of mockery. You see, the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, so their question is about something they don't even believe in. Jesus' response cuts right to the point: "Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?" Using Mark 12: 18-27, Pastor Andr...

In another attempt to trap Jesus, the Herodians and the Pharisees came together with this question: "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" Jesus' answer is not what they expect. After asking him whose image is on the denarius, he tells them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." Knowing that we are made in God's image, this passage calls us t...

Don't you love a good story? When you were younger, you may have seen a story as simply that, a tale. But as you mature, you begin to see the agendas behind the stories that you hear. Today, Pastor Sam tells us the story of the tenants from Mark 12, helping us see Jesus' point in this parable.

There is no middle ground with Jesus. He drew a proverbial line in the sand, and essentially said "get off the line." When questioned by the scribes and elders in Mark 11:27-33, Jesus turned around and asked them a question. When they waffled in their answer, Jesus made it clear that His kingdom cannot be dealt with lightly.

Have you ever wondered why Jesus cursed the fig tree in Mark 11? Using this week's text (Mark 11:12-26), Pastor Andrew talks about Jesus pronouncing judgment, but doing so because he was preparing to take that judgment himself.

"Jesus! Son of David! Have mercy on me!" The call came from Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus, who was sitting by the roadside outside of Jericho. While Jesus could've kept walking, he stopped, called for Bartimaeus, healed him, and gave him this charge: "Follow Me."

"Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" This question seemed an easy one for the disciples, but they did not understand the depth or magnitude of Jesus' words. While Jesus knew he was on His way to the cross, the disciples were busy playing King of the Hill. As Pastor Andrew works through Mark 10:32-45, we see the hill change, and...

In Mark 10, a man comes to Jesus with a question. "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" It's a loaded question, and Jesus responds with a loaded answer. Pastor Andrew outlines Jesus response, which can be summed up in two words: "Follow Me." Though this man's Fire Sale should've included his possessions, we've been urged to find what in our lives need to be sold.

This week we see the Pharisees come to Jesus to trap him by asking if it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife. Jesus diffuses their trap by outlining marriage as designed by God. We come to Mark 10:1-12 and Pastor Andrew shows us that God does not change and that His design of marriage is not in question. In our society, man may try to alter his view of marriage, yet the design of marriage ref...

As Jesus continues his discussion with his disciples about humility. He brings in the topic of new believers and how to not be ruled by the power of sin. As we finish Mark 9:38-50, Pastor Andrew challenges us to work with Christ to mortify, or kill the indwelling power of sin in our lives. We find following Jesus leads us away from ourselves.

In Track & Field, the team relay race takes speed to run the race and skill to hold and pass the baton. If the baton is dropped, the race is over for that team. As we come to Mark 9:30-37, we see Jesus being alone with the disciples and "passing the baton" to them. Even though Jesus discusses his coming death and resurrection, they do not understand him and are afraid to ask what he means. Today P...

Faith and Impossible - two words that do not work together, yet can Faith overcome Impossible? As we come to Mark 9:14-29, Pastor Andrew shows us that the amount or quality of faith is not the key. It is the WHO we have faith in. Faith in Jesus is the only place where nothing is impossible.

As we come to Mark 9, Jesus informs his disciples that some will get a glimpse of the kingdom of God. Six days later Peter, James, and John get to see Jesus in His transfigured state and hear the voice of God. These three disciples were granted a backstage pass to see God highlight Jesus as the centerpiece of His plan to redeem mankind here on earth. Pastor Andrew takes us to Mark 9:13 and shows u...

Last week Jesus first mentioned to his disciples about his suffering, rejection, and death that was to come. Now Jesus talks to his followers about Dying to Live. The week we start a new topic set within Mark entitled "Jesus [Uncensored]". As we see in Mark 8:33-38, Jesus starts to emphasize topics that are not so popular to his disciples. Disciples that are expecting Jesus to overthrow Rome and b...

As a society or an individual, we long for freedom and look for a hero. As we see Mark 8:27-33, Israel was also looking for a hero to overthrow the rule of Rome and bring freedom. Jesus' disciples saw who he was in title as The Christ, yet his mission was not what they expected. Here Jesus first tells his disciples of the suffering, rejection, and death that was to come. As we celebrate Easter tod...

How we see something is at times a matter of our vantage point. This is how optical illusions work. This week Pastor Andrew takes us to Mark 8:22-26 as we see Jesus continue to change lives from three different perspectives, from the blind man to the disciples to us today. Because Jesus came, we can see clearly.

Compassion: a feeling of deep sympathy for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering. Jesus has been teaching a large group of people for three days having nothing to eat. He has compassion to not send them away without feeding them. The disciples seem to have forgotten how Jesus fed an even larger group not long before. This week Pastor Andre...

Through these first seven chapters of Mark, we continue to see Mark emphasize with each miracle who Jesus is. The healing, the casting out of demons, the feeding multitudes, and even raising the dead show the people who Jesus is. As if to say "Can You Hear Me Now?". Today Pastor Sam Cassese takes us to Mark 7:31-37 and shows us Jesus speaks so loudly that even the deaf hear him. For us today, in J...

When something is strained, it does not take much for something to come apart or fall down. This is the basis for the phrase "The straw that broke the camel's back". This week we see Jesus moving along, trying to be unnoticed. Yet, a Gentile woman recognizes him and begs Jesus to deliver her young daughter from a demon. This woman crossed all sorts of cultural and religious barriers to seek Jesus....

Rules, how many of you grew up learning church rules? "Don't run in the church." "Heads bowed, eyes closed." This week we see the Pharisees travel from Jerusalem to see what Jesus was doing. They see Jesus and his disciples were not following the rules. As we come to Mark 7:1-23 we see how Jesus questions the rules that the Pharisees were making. Pastor Andrew shows us that unrighteousness works f...

Lunchable - we know this as a small amount of pre-packaged food sent with a young child as a lunch. This is virtually what Jesus used to feed as many as fifteen thousand individuals. As we come to Mark 6:30-52, Pastor Andrew unfolds the story of how Jesus broke five loaves of bread and two fish to feed the multitude of people that were following him and his disciples. Jesus was teaching his discip...

As Jesus' fame increases, he is noticed by King Herod. And yet King Herod does not recognize Jesus. As we come to Mark 6:14-29, Mark shows us a flashback of what previously happened to John the Baptist. King Herod had John the Baptist beheaded at an earlier time. Others believed Jesus was Elijah or a prophet of old. Yet, King Herod was convinced this was "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised. Ki...