Pastor Mike : THE FINAL COUNTDOWN : A Ministry of CHRIST-LIVES.ORG

The Lord’s disciples were already reeling from the His revelation that He would be put to death and rise again, 8:31 . On the heels of that stunning statement, Jesus called His followers to a life of total commitment and absolute separation. His words must have come as a shock to their system. They had left every aspect of life as they knew it to go with Jesus. They did so, expecting Jesus to dest...

His miracles, His teachings, His compassion and His power were all clear evidence that the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament had appeared. Yet, when Israel saw Jesus, they refused to accept Him as their Messiah, their Lord or their Savior. Jesus was rejected by the religious leaders in Israel, Mark 8:11 . He was rejected by the nation as a whole, Mark 6:3 . He was even judged to be a mad man...

Mark 10:35-45 THE HIGH COST OF BEING NUMBER ONE Intro : Mark 10:35-45 King James Version 35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. 36 And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? 37 They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left...

Mark 7:31-37 WELL DONE! Intro : The passage opens with Jesus leaving the Gentile cities of Tyre and Sidon headed back to Galilee. But, Jesus and His men do not go straight back to Jewish country. Verse 31 tells us that they went to “ Decapolis ”. Mark 7:31-37 King James Version 31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coas...

It was a Jewish tradition to bring small children to a great rabbi so that he could bless them and pray for them. It was also common for parents to take their children to the synagogue, where each of the elders would take the child in his hands and pray for the life of the child. This is much the same thing that we still do today when we dedicate a child and parents to the Lord. These parents are...

This sermon, which was delivered by Jesus, is also recorded in Matt. 24-25 and in Luke 21 . In this sermon Jesus talks about the end of time and the events which surround the end of the world. This passage is one of the most difficult to interpret in the New Testament. Because of this fact, various false teachings about the end times, the Second Coming of Christ, and even about salvation have aris...

Too often what we claim to be and what we really are is miles apart. We call this condition “ hypocrisy ”. This word comes to us from the ancient Greek language. It was used to describe actors in a play. Ancient actors would carry different masks in their hands as they acted. The masks were attached to sticks and could be held before the face as needed. A smiling mask suggested humor, a frowning m...

Mark 6:14-29 THE DEATH OF A CONSCIENCE Intro : This passage is one of the saddest in the entire Bible. It records the events surrounding the death of John the Baptist. He was a special man, chosen for a special mission. He was the “ forerunner ” of the Messiah. He was the fulfillment of several Old Testament prophecies. He was the last of the Old Testament prophets. He was the last martyr of the O...

Our text finds Jesus returning to Nazareth. He is going home again. Our Lord’s return to His hometown does not go the way one might expect it to. After all, Jesus is something of a celebrity at this time. He has been going around the countryside preaching, teaching, healing the sick, casting out demons, raising the dead, and controlling the forces of nature. He has proven something extraordinary a...

THE AMAZING POWER OF FAITH This section of Mark’s Gospel is filled with impossible cases. The disciples thought they w ould die in the storm,  Mark 4:38 , but Jesus could calm the storm with a simple command. No one could tame the demoniac, but Jesus set him free from his bondage with a simple command. As we move through the rest of the events in this chapter, we will soon discover that Jesus...

THE MASTER OF THE STORM It had been a long and challenging day for the Lord Jesus. The events of this day began in  Mark 3:20 . He had a confrontation with the Pharisees,  v. 22-30 . His friends and family thought He had gone crazy and tried to kidnap Him,  v. 21; 31-35 . Jesus also taught the people in parables, and He had spent time explaining His parable to His disciples. Today,...

As we learned in  Mark chapter 1 , Jesus began His very public ministry in Capernaum. He entered the town and began preaching about the Kingdom of God. In that chapter, Jesus also demonstrated His great power. He cast out demons and healed diseases of every sort. From  Mark 1:32 , we learn that Jesus must have healed nearly every sick person in that town!      &n...

THE CHOOSING OF THE TWELVE T he ministry of Jesus is in full swing. The common people of the area follow Jesus because He preaches the Word of God in power and works miracles for God's glory. The religious leaders hate Jesus because He refuses to play by their rules and because He exposes them for the hypocrites they are. Our Lord’s days are filled with ministry and things are happening at a hecti...

THE PREACHING POWER, AND PASSION OF THE AMAZING SERVANT LET’S START OUR LESSON BY READING FROM GODS WORD Mark 1:21-39 King James Version 21 And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught. 22 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And there was in their synagogue a...

As we continue to move through the Gospel of Mark, we are observing Jesus as He begins His earthly ministry. His coming was announced by John the Baptist, v. 7-8 . Then Jesus appeared and submitted to baptism, v. 9-11 . Jesus was baptized, not to cleanse Him of any sin, for He had no sin to be cleansed of. Jesus was baptized to publicly accept His Father's mission to be the Savior of the world. As...

Of all the personal encounters of the Lord Jesus, I think this is my personal favorite. In this passage, Jesus displays His love for the lost sinner and He shows would be witnesses how to go about the business of sharing the faith. One sure way to learn how to tell others about Jesus is to watch the way the Master Himself did it. Lets read from Gods word! 5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, whi...

Based on a sermon by one of my professors, Dr. John Piper, II Corinthians 4:16-18 DO NOT LOSE HEART Intro: Did anyone come here today hoping, praying, longing, for someone to sing something, pray something, or preach something that would strip all your hope away? • Did anyone come here hoping to be discouraged? • Did anyone come to the show today hoping that someone would knock all the wind out of...

WHO WE LEAVE OUT OF THE NATIVITY Intro : To understand this message, let us first read from God’s Word. 2 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out...

Mark 1:9-11 THE BAPTISM OF THE SERVANT This passage records the first appearance of the Lord Jesus in the Word of God since He was seen in the Temple at the age of twelve. All we know of the next eighteen years of His life are summed up by Luke like this: “ And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man, ” Luke 2:52 . Those silent years of the life of Jesus were years of...

As you know, when you open your New Testament, the first four books you encounter are the Gospels. The word “ Gospel ” means “ Good Tidings ” or “ Good News ” and these four books are designed to give mankind the heavenly good news concerning Jesus and Who He is. These four books paint for us a clear portrait of the Lord Jesus Christ. Each of the Gospel writers approaches Jesus from a different pe...

The Rich Man and Lazarus 19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and...

There is a common element that unites all peoples of the world. There is one thing that every person in the sound of my voice has in common: we all have needs! There will be times in every one of our lives when we will experience a need of some type. Perhaps that need will be material in nature, that seems to be where we focus much our own attention in this life. There will certainly be times when...

2 Tim. 1:12 CAN GOD REALLY KEEP ME SAVED? This morning, I will preach about an aspect of salvation that divides many Christians. This is the aspect known as “Once in Grace, Always in Grace.”Let’s read from God’s Word.2 Timothy 1:12King James Version 12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to...

Welcome to our second lesson is the series called “Can God Really Do It?” Let’s read from God’s word. John 3:16-17King James Version 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Psalm 78:12-20New International Version 12 He did miracles in the sight of their ancestors in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan. 13 He divided the sea and led them through; he made the water stand up like a wall. 14 He guided them with the cloud by day and with light from the fire all night. 15 He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them water as abundant as the seas; 16 he brought s...