Oakhaven Church Podcast Larry Mudd

In this week's sermon we look at Mark 2:23-3:6. We see a convergence of meaning in what seems to be a simple act on the part of Jesus’ disciples: grabbing a grainy snack from a nearby field. That this happens on a Sabbath puts the Pharisees on high alert, but the exceptional precedent Jesus names as an equivalent special circumstance points to David and the beginning of his journey to kingship. Jesus claims the mantle of kingship, invokes the Son of Man from Daniel 7, and makes clear that one of the signature hallmarks of Israel’s identity - the keeping of the Sabbath - is something He is Lord over. The healing of a man’s withered hand at church further enflames the leaders and starkly reminds us that PEOPLE are more important than protocol.
To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

In Mark 2:13-22, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day had trouble with His fraternizing with “tax collectors and sinners,” people far from the acceptable life of rigid obedience fostered by the scribes. Instead of judging these outcasts, Jesus welcomes them and joins them at the table. Food is the center of lots of religious law at the time, and Jesus' dining with the riff raff is a huge affront to the religious. When Jesus spreads the table, though, everyone is welcome. The sinners are known from then on as followers of Jesus, not the labels of their pasts.
To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

As we continue our journey into the Gospel of Mark, we come upon the memorable story of a lame man lowered through the ceiling in order to be healed by Jesus. The doorway was too crowded to get through, and the man’s friends had faith that Jesus would heal their friend; and so they did what had to be done in order to get Him to Jesus. This story functions on so many levels when applied to our lives. We too face barriers to Jesus, whether put there by circumstance or actively erected by the enemy. Like the paralyzed man, we often need the influence and effort of others (buddies), and in turn can be of assistance to others in their journeys. A strong theme in Mark’s gospel is the link between belief and healing, and Jesus announces that the man’s (and his friends’) faith have brought both healing and forgiveness. Having been healed and forgiven, Jesus sends the man home, and the man obeys. Once home we can be certain the man will be as chatty as the healed leper at the end of Mark 1, and there will not be a soul in his town that doesn’t know what Jesus has done for him. We are called to do the same on every level!
To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

In our survey of the Gospel of Mark, we are still in Chapter 1, but Jesus has already had several opportunities in which to be identified as God's Son, the Holy One who heals diseases, teaches with authority, casts out demons...  and spends time by Himself with the Father in order to refresh and reset His Spirit.  Duey Unbehaun shares a lesson based on Mark 1:29-39. 
To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

In his Gospel, Mark is careful to lead us to the deep meaning of Jesus’ first spoken words in Mark: "The time is fulfilled. The Kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news." If all time has been working towards Jesus’ arrival, Jesus’ mortal life has been working towards the climax of His story and ours: the climax of His resurrection from the dead. We are in danger of treating as commonplace the most extraordinary truth of our existence, but instead Jesus calls us to revisit the empty tomb and then examine the tombs of our lives that we have not given over to His resurrection power. The enemy would have us all crawl back in the graves of anxiety and shame, and live defeated, silent lives. The Spirit that raises Jesus from the dead is poised to do the same with us and pull us up out of our graves day after day.
To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

As we gather together on Palm Sunday, we skip ahead in our young study of the Gospel of Mark to his account of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Mark’s account in chapter 11 is spare in comparison to its parallels, but there is still a clear purpose in Jesus’ decisions and the reactions that flow from them. His courage, power, authority, humility, and love shine through it all. In the end, we are asked whether He is the king in our life - if He is the one holding the reins, because something is, whether its Jesus or something far lesser. We stand beside the crowd that day and have the same choice of whether to lay things down before the King and whether to raise them up before Him in thanksgiving and praise.
To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.