Sunday, 20 April 2014
Duration: 23 mins 51 secs
The 3 women go to the tomb with spices to anoint Jesus' body. They discover the tomb is empty and are told by a young man that Jesus is risen and to go and tell Peter and the other disciples the news. The women fled from the tomb trembling and bewildered and told no one what they saw because they were afraid. The angel had told the women what to do but not when to do it. God does the same with us. We know what we need to do to meet the resurrected Jesus but He will not impose Himself on us - we have a choice of whether to accept Him or not into our lives. This passage shows that Jesus has finished His work on earth. As Christians, we are the continuation of the story. We are to tell others about the risen Saviour through our words and actions. Do you believe that Jesus is the resurrected Saviour and the way to eternal life?
Sunday, 13 April 2014
Duration: 34 mins 23 secs
What is the most important thing in your life? When something is important to us in our lives, it becomes valuable. How valuable is Jesus in your life? The women who poured perfume over Jesus' head greatly valued Him. The chief priests totally de-valued Jesus. Judas Iscariot, who had spent 3 years so close to Jesus, in the end only valued Him to the amount of 30 pieces of silver. The women showed that Jesus was more valuable to her than what she owned - she gave Him everything. There is no greater thing we can do than pour our life over to Jesus. Are we prepared to give Jesus everything we have?
Sunday, 06 April 2014
Duration: 24 mins 36 secs
After being impressed by the magnificance of the temple structure, Jesus tells His disciples that the massive stones of the temple will be all thrown down with none left on another. When the disciples ask Jesus when will this all happen, He explains to them that there will be signs of the end times to watch for, including wars and earthquakes. Jesus also said that for those who love Him they will be hated but to stand firm in Him. Jesus tells us to be aware of false messiahs and prophets claiming to be Him, who will deceive many - we need to be on our guard. Jesus also makes it clear in this passage, that even though we will see the signs of the end times, no one will know the day or hour. We therefore need to be ready and waiting for when this day comes by keeping our eyes and focus on Him.
Sunday, 30 March 2014
Duration: 34 mins 34 secs
As Jesus approaches Jerusalem He knows that things are about to intensify for Him. Jesus knows that the people of Israel have become like the fig tree that looks good on the outside but bears no fruit. Jesus shows His authority by turning over tables and driving out those who were buying and selling in the temple courts. Does Jesus have authority to change over tables in your life? The religious leaders of Jesus' day where very proud and afraid of what the people thought of them. All they were concerned about was their own status in the community and use their power to lord it over the people. We need to remember in our own lives not to be proud but to humble ourselves before God and be a servant to others. What are you proud of that keeps you independent of God? What do you need to hand over to Him?
Sunday, 23 March 2014
Duration: 33 mins 13 secs
The rich young ruler went away sad after Jesus told him the truth about what he must do to enter the Kingdom of God. The man did not value the importance of having God in his life. What do we value - the things of this world or is our primary focus on the things of God? When James and John asked to be seated on either of Jesus in glory, their focus and attitude was on themselves. Jesus reminds them, and the other disciples, that He had come to this earth to serve others and not be served. We need to do the same and be seeking the needs of others before ourselves. When we do serve others, what is our attitude - is it with a servant heart or self seeking heart? As Christians, don't serve God because you want to be accepted by Him, but serve because we are already accepted with joy and gladness by Him.
Sunday, 16 March 2014
Duration: 29 mins 29 secs
Who do people say Jesus is? The world view would say a mere man, a myth or is part of the Christmas story. In this passage the people saw Jesus who had authority to forgive sins and perform miracles, but did not understand who He was. At the same time, the disciples understood Jesus to be the Messiah, but did not understand what this was to mean. They saw the Messiah as someone who would retore the kingdom on earth, not lay down His life for the us to be given the opportunity to be a part of the Heavenly Kingdom. If we claim to have Jesus Christ in our lives, we need to live our life properly by denying ourself, taking up our cross daily and following Jesus. What is the greater worth for you - what the world has to offer or what Jesus has to offer?
Sunday, 09 March 2014
Duration: 34 mins 22 secs
When driving a car we are aware there are blind spots. The Christian life can also have blind spots that we need to be careful of, namely (1) hard hearts where we are not open to hear what God has to say, or (2) a worldly heart where our thinking is the way the world thinks and we miss what God has to say to us, or (3) no spiritual growth because we don't spend enough time with God. The Pharisees had hard hearts and no faith because they wanted Jesus to show them a sign from heaven, even though Jesus had already performed many miracles. Faith is about being sure of the things we don't see and we need to live each day with this faith in Jesus. If we focus our minds on worldly things, we do not allow God to work in our lives. We need Jesus to take control of our lives and then we will see clearly what He wants us to do.
Sunday, 02 March 2014
The Christian life is a journey, travelling to a known destination. The journey is not always smooth but it is made easier by having faith in Jesus. In this passage from Mark, the disciples, at this stage of their ministry, were seeing things through their own eyes, but they needed to see things through Jesus' eyes. In our Christian faith journey we need to let Jesus drive, but we also need to let Him show us the sites on the way so that we see through His eyes and not through our own eyes. We need to look to Jesus and allow Him to take the control and direction of our lives.
Sunday, 23 February 2014
Duration: 36 mins 49 secs
Throughout Jesus' ministry on earth, He healed and forgave sins of individual people, including in this passage, bringing a girl back from the dead. These acts are a foretaste of what Jesus will ultimately do - give His life so that all of us can be saved and enter into the Kingdom of God if we believe and accept Him as our Saviour. Jesus shows His power over nature in being able to calm the storm. It showed, at this stage, that His own disciples did not have faith and trust in Him. When things get tough for us, do we have faith and trust in Jesus to see us through? Jarius' faith was tested when he found out that his daughter had died. Jesus showed that He had power and authority even over death. As Christians, we know that we are not immune to disease, difficult times and ultimately death. Committing our lives to God means that we will conquer all of these things after our time on earth and will spend an eternity with Him.
Sunday, 16 February 2014
There are two groups when it come to Jesus - those who are on the inside and those who are on the outside. What does it mean to be on the outside of Jesus? It is not understanding and accepting what Jesus is on about. This passage highlights that at this stage, even His own family are not on board with Him. You can grow up in a Christian home and go to church, but you are still on the outside of Jesus if you have not committed and handed over your life to Him. As an outsider you can be sincerely or deliberately wrong. Either way, Jesus is rejected and there is no future in God's Kingdom. To be on the inside with Jesus you need to accept and respond to the call of God. You need to spend time with Jesus and live your lives that become an extension of His ministry in this world. There is no middle ground when it come to Jesus - you are either in or out. Which side of Jesus are you on?
