MARK 12, PT 1 | HIERARCHY IN GOD’S ECONOMY

MARK 12, PT 1 | HIERARCHY IN GOD’S ECONOMY

This is part 12 of a multi-part series on the book of Mark. Today, we’re in Mark 12:13-17. The Pharisees are desperate. Religiously pure people, their goal was to obey – and get all God’s people to obey – all 613 OT laws so that they could avoid...
FAITH & WORK IS ONE

FAITH & WORK IS ONE

James 2:18 in The Message reads “Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.” If you read James 2, the emphasis is “doing good works, especially to the needy” AND integrating that with our faith in Jesus. You cannot have one without the other. The...
AN ISSUE OF DEPENDENCY

AN ISSUE OF DEPENDENCY

The leaders of OPEN have been discussing building a culture of prayer throughout the network. So, what is a “Culture of Prayer”? I would define culture as a community that embraces the same values and practices. What does that look like? Some see a...
WHAT ARE YOU MADE FOR?

WHAT ARE YOU MADE FOR?

In Mark 2:27, Jesus says, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” The principle from Jesus is brilliant and applies to so many other things where we miss the point of something entirely and reverse the focus. We are religious about obsessing over the...
ON PAIN & SUFFERING

ON PAIN & SUFFERING

The Truth of Life Suffering, loss, affliction, pain. Job is a man who as much as any experienced the depths of loss and pain. Though a man of God, Job, experienced many losses, including the death of his 7 sons and 3 daughters, a large number of his slaves, the death...
DO YOU EAT WITH SCUM?

DO YOU EAT WITH SCUM?

But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?” Mark 2:16 (LB) I once remarked mostly to myself, “Why would Jesus eat with scum?” My friend who...