Restoration Church Toowoomba Sermon Podcast

Jesus lines up the Pharisees and exposes the hypocrisy in their traditions and customs. His assessment of their approach helps us to see how we utilise many of the same techniques.

In Mark 6 we see that rejection is part of the cost of discipleship - it is part and parcel of following Jesus. If we are to follow Jesus we will need to face up to the reality of it.

God's timing is completely different to ours. In Mark 5 Jesus delays attending to a critically ill child in order to deal with a chronically ill woman, and ends up healing both. His timing is always sublime, even when it doesn't suit ours.

Satan is the evil imposter king of the universe whose main strategy is to enslave people. In Mark 5 Jesus engages with a man that was a slave to demons and gains his freedom. It is the classic movie plot - an imposter tries to rule, oppresses his people and is vanquished by the authoritative true king.

Jesus takes his disciples out for a late night sail through a storm so that he can teach his disciples a lesson about trusting Him. In this lesson we learn about the purpose of troubles, the effect of troubles and the master of troubles.

Jesus is a talker and self-revealer who loves to reveal secrets to those who trust him and love him. One of the ways that he does this is by telling parables or riddles. Peter looks at the parable of the sower and what it teaches us about God and ourselves.

Jesus has another confrontation with the Scribes in Mark 3 where they accuse him of being in cahoots with the Devil. With characteristic directness Jesus shows how they are wrong and how their maligning of the Holy Spirit prevents them from being saved by Him.

Everyone has an agenda almost all of the time. When people's agendas clash it makes for some pretty interesting relational moments. Yet it is when we are in relationship with Jesus and others that our agendas are exposed and reshaped into God's agenda.

The Pharisees have another run in with Jesus over the Sabbath in Mark 3. This time they are cheesed off because he heals a man's hand on the Sabbath - something their rules said he wasn't allowed to do. It was this type of legalism that threatened and still continues to threaten the sweet work that God is up to in our lives.

All humans hunger and thirst, and all humans work toward the satisfaction of this hunger and thirst. The tragedy of humanity is that we seek the satisfaction of our hunger and thirst in places that only exacerbate it. True satisfaction can only be found in Jesus and fasting is an effective way of breaking ties with false hopes.

Peter talks about how humanity both needs and seeks after rest. Whilst the shadow of this rest can be seen in the Old Testament Sabbath, the fullness of the rest is found in Jesus.

Jesus made a habit of hanging out with the 'bad' people who knew that they needed him. He inaugurated a Christian culture, that by default, was subversively countercultural. Christians must guard against Christianity becoming it's own subculture and make sure that it retains the transformative effect that Jesus intended it to have.

In Mark chapter 2 a paralytic is carried to Jesus for healing. Jesus prioritises his spiritual condition over his physical condition by forgiving his sin before dealing with his physical impairment. His deepest need was not physical healing but spiritual restoration.

Jesus, whilst meeting the needs of many people, is very reluctant to be seen as a miracle worker or need meeter. He is a person and He calls you to respond to him in a personal way and not just come to him so that your life will work well.

The beginning of the ministry of Jesus marks a significant expansion in the rule of God's kingdom over his rebellious creation. Mark shows how Jesus' brings an intrusive rule that has magnificent effects.

The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit are the community that drives the universe. They conspired together in the creation of the world and come together again at the beginning of Jesus' ministry - at his baptism. This selfless community is the hope of the world.

Nathan shares about John the Baptist - the herald of Jesus.

Mark opens his eyewitness account with the remarkable claim that an event has occurred that has change human history forever - God himself has come near in the person of Jesus.

Peter shares about two aspects of parenting - proactive and reactive moments. Proactive moments occur when parents provide a context of instruction for their children and reactive moments occur when parents are faced with the need to discipline and shape their children. 

Peter shares about how parenting must aim at heart change in children if it is to be ultimately effective; this is especially true when considering the challenges that anger presents in children.

Nathan preaches from Matthew 6:5-13 on the difference between hypocritical prayer and sincere prayer.

Fear and anxiety are part of the human existence. We live in a dangerous world where there are so many opportunities for harm, yet there is no need to despair because there is a God that is greater than the greatest danger ... and He is good. Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, teaches us how to pray to this God in the midst of fear.

Jude closes his book of warnings about false teachers and judgement with a hope filled doxology. It is a doxology of worship and praise to God who preserves the souls of his children, and works to keep them from stumbling.

Peter looks at Paul's prayer for strength in Ephesians 3 and highlights the ground of that strength - the work of the Holy Spirit and the knowledge of the love of God.

This prayer of Daniel is particularly instructive. It teaches us how to pray to God whilst in a place where we have nothing to offer Him - which, in reality, is all the time. It is a prayer without bargaining power. It is a prayer that banks on the character of God rather than on human performance.