On Your Mark
Mark 1:1
For the past couple of years, in the month of April, Heralds of Hope has sponsored a 5-kilometer race as a fundraiser for the ministry. My wife and I aren’t runners,...
The Gospel Paradigm
Mark 2:18-22
Recently, I came across the story of a famous Japanese criminal. Toc Kichi Ishii was born in the 1870s and executed in 1918. He was cruel beyond measure, like a wild...
Lord of the Sabbath : Part 1
Mark 2:23-28
Lord Shaftesbury was a member of Parliament in London in the late 1700s. He was a devout Christ follower and a tireless advocate...
Going to the Dark Side: Part 2
Mark 5:1-20
At the insistence of the demons, Jesus permitted them. By His power, Jesus could have sent them anywhere, even back to the abyss. That fact that He didn’t...
Mark 6:7-13
One significant difference between the setting in Luke 9 and today is hospitality. In biblical culture, hospitality was a requirement! The widow in Zarephath took her last food...
Mark 6:14-29
As a young person, I was an avid reader. Because of that, I enjoyed the literature classes I had in school. Back then, we were assigned to read different types of classic literature....
Mark 6:30-44
Reverend Frank Graeff was a pastor in Philadelphia in the late 1800s. He had a radiant personality and an ever-present smile. Because of his cheerful outlook on life and simple faith, he...
Mark 6:45-56
Early in human history, people learned that sailing the oceans and seas of planet Earth was costly and dangerous. Countless lives were lost as storms, hidden shoals, and other catastrophes...
Mark 7:1-13
Fiddler on the Roof, a timeless classic first released in 1964, held the record for the longest-running Broadway musical for almost a decade. The story centers on the...
Mark 7:14-23
You have probably heard the saying, “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” Some people think it’s a quotation from the Bible! You know that God gave specific commands for hygiene in the Old...
Mark 7:24-30
Thomas Edison was an amazing person. It is said that “[He] was more responsible than anyone else for creating the modern world. Specifically, no one did more to shape the physical/cultural...
Mark 7:31-37
Have you heard the saying, “He has the Midas touch?” The saying refers to the mythical King of Phrygia, an ancient kingdom in Asia Minor, now modern-day Türkiye.
One...
Mark 8:11-26
Many of us played “Blind Man’s Bluff ” as children. It works like this if you have never played it: One group member is blindfolded, and the other players disperse. Then, the blindfolded...
Mark 8:27-33
Throughout history, a diverse array of perceptions about Jesus has emerged. From His birth to the present, people have attempted to shape a Jesus that resonates with them. A blog post by...
Mark 8:34-38
When I shop for an item I need, one of the first things I do is look at the price. I have an idea of how much I’m prepared to spend. I sometimes think about how long it took me to...
Mark 8:34-38
This is the second part of my teaching on this text. In the previous episode, I stated that you and I must take several ACTIONS to accept the costs associated with discipleship.
The first...
Mark 9:1-8
On February 12, 2018, the officially commissioned portraits of former President Obama and First Lady Michele were unveiled at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. The portraits now hang...
Mark 9:9-13
Do you remember the biblical account of Elijah confronting the children of Israel on Mount Carmel? It’s recorded in First Kings chapters 18 and 19. He asked them, “How long will you waver...
Mark 9:14-29
Robert and Mary Moffat were missionaries in Bechuanland (Bek-u-An-aland), now Botswana, in the early 1800s. They demonstrated unwavering faith and perseverance. Despite not a single soul...
Mark 9:30-41
“Core values” have become somewhat of a buzzword in business. Core values include a commitment to a quality product or service and creating value for the customer in the interaction. Integrity,...
Mark 9:42-50
“You’re a radical!” No one wants to be called that. It’s a word that makes us uncomfortable. It suggests extremes in viewpoints, habits, beliefs, lifestyles, or institutions....
Mark 10:1-12
Do you know the secret to a lasting marriage? I’m sure there are as many answers as opinions, and some will be right. Some would say that love is the most critical component. Do you agree?...
Mark 10:1-12
Last time, we began studying Mark 10:1 to 12 under the title “Maybe I Do.” This text describes Jesus’ interaction with the Pharisees regarding divorce.
In this dialogue with the Pharisees...
Mark 10:13-16
Many of us have heard stories about someone buying something for a few dollars at a yard sale or flea market and then learning that what they purchased was worth much more than what they...
Mark 10:17-31
An interviewer once asked Donald Trump, “What do you think about death? Do you worry about dying?” Trump said, “No. I’m fatalistic; I protect myself as well as anybody...
Mark 10:32-45
You’re probably familiar with the musical The Sound of Music. If not, it is the story of the von Trapp family, who fled Austria in 1938 to escape the Nazi regime. When they arrived in the...
Mark 10:46-52
Sight is one of the fantastic five senses God has given us. Some people consider it to be the greatest of the five. For those who can see, we too often take this blessing for granted.
The...
Mark 11:1-11
What would you give to know the future? If we could see the future, we could prepare accordingly. We’d know which roads are accident-free or how to invest for maximum gains. We might know...
Mark 11:12-21
What’s your first response when you hear the word religion? Do your ears automatically close? Do you groan inwardly or announce the end of the conversation? If so, why? Do you think of...
Mark 11:22-26
Have you ever heard of the Haystack Prayer Meeting? In 1806, Samuel Mills, a college student from Williamstown, Massachusetts, felt a burden to pray for foreign missions. Until then, mission...
Mark 11:27-33
I was born in 1958. Growing up in the 1960s and 1970s was a time of significant change. The generation born after World War II rapidly rejected earlier generations’ social mores....
Mark 12:1-12
“Check your privilege.” What comes to mind when you hear that phrase? It has its origins in the modern social justice movement. The co-founder of Black Lives Matter defined privilege as...
Mark 12:13-17
My wife and I have had the privilege of traveling to various countries. No matter how well you prepare, there are always surprises whenever you do something for the first time. One of those...
Mark 12:18-27
In 1993, professional golfer Paul Azinger was diagnosed with cancer. He was 33. He had just won a PGA championship and had ten tournament victories to his credit.
After receiving the...
Mark 12:28-34
Viktor Frankl was a Jewish psychiatrist in Austria during World War II. He was arrested by the Nazis and put in Auschwitz, the infamous death camp. There, he was stripped of everything:...
Mark 12:35-37
I read the account of a man who was a brilliant Christian apologist. When he engaged in debate, he would not only win but often annihilate his opponent’s position. Then, in a graphic...
Mark 12:38-44
I once read the story of Osceola McCarty, an 87-year-old woman who worked 12-hour days doing other people’s laundry for a livelihood. People were amazed when she generously donated...
Mark 13:1-13
“To Catch an Angel” is a book by the late Robert Russell. It’s the autobiography of a young blind man who lived alone on an island in the middle of a river. Despite his blindness, he went...
Mark 13:14-27
Throughout history, people have desired to know the future. Human beings want to have a sense of control over their destiny. For those who don’t know God or reject His existence, they resort...
Mark 13:28-37
Our culture has a love-hate relationship with future things. On the one hand, the popularity of horoscopes, astrology, and other ways of foretelling the future is very high. People have...
Mark 14:1-16
Human desire is a powerful, motivating force for good or evil. I recall my Dad saying something like this: “Everything in life has its price.” If you want something strongly enough, you’ll...
Mark 14:17-26
Do you have memorials in your life? What are they? Why do you have them? How important are they? What is their purpose?
Memorials are designed to preserve the memory of a person, event,...
Mark 14:27-42
“Not my will, but thine.” Five simple words so easily spoken, but so challenging to live. Have those words ever crossed your mind, your lips? If so, how have they affected your choices?...
Mark 14:43-52
There are numerous expressions we use in the English language that, unbeknownst to many, come from the pages of Scripture. Some are quotes like, he’s a “salt of the earth” kind of guy,...
Mark 14:53-65
C.S. Lewis is well-known in the Christian world. He lived during the latter half of the 19th century and the early 20th century. His journey from Christianity to atheism and back again...
Mark 14:66-72
Have you ever had someone you considered a friend deny knowing you? I can’t say I’ve had that experience. Years ago, I met a man in another state. He looked familiar, but I had never met...
Mark 15:1-15
Thank you, Tony, for reading this sad and painful portion of Scripture. Yes, we know Jesus needed to suffer and die, but to see the callous disregard for truth and the lack of respect for...
Mark 15:16-32
Do you know how many Messianic prophecies Jesus fulfilled during His earthly ministry? Mathematician Peter Stoner counted the probability of one person fulfilling “just” 48 of the...
Mark 15:33-41
Have you ever considered the remarkable gift bestowed upon us by God in our human voice? It is one of the likenesses of being made in His image. We use our voices to speak or to sing....
Mark 15:42-47
When you die, where do you want to be buried? In Brunswick, New Jersey, in the 1790s, Mary Ellis fell in love with a sea captain. As he was leaving on a voyage, he left his favorite horse...
Mark 16:1-8
For Christ-followers, the resurrection of Jesus is not a debatable issue. By faith, we accept the Bible record as accurate and authoritative. We have embraced Romans 10:9, “If you confess...
If you have been with us for this series of study, you know our title was “Jesus, the Suffering Servant.” From our perspective, suffering doesn’t appear to be the pathway to victory. In Mark, we can see...
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Heralds of Hope offers two distinctive teaching programs: The Voice of Hope and Hope for Today, each centered on expository Bible teaching. The Voice of Hope is a weekly, thirty-minute program in English, while Hope for Today is a fifteen-minute international program offered in 26 languages. Both are available through radio and social media platforms.
