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 follows: “Privilege isn’t about what you’ve gone through; it’s about what you haven’t had to go through.” Supposedly, privilege can be based […]
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. A slogan from that era said, “Don’t trust anyone over 30.” The focus wasn’t on what was right and what benefited society. […]
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 organizations in the United States were solely dedicated to domestic work on the Western frontier and among First Nations tribes. But Mills prayed […]
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 personal faith, a formal institution, or a set of prescribed practices or behaviors? It is a word I seldom use […]
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 how to avoid risk and pain in our choices. Sometimes, when someone predicts the future, we ask, “Are you […]
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 process of sight in human development is fascinating. Newborns can only see things within 8 to […]
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 United States, they had only $3.50. They eventually built the elegant von Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, […]
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 can. I prepare for things.” However, as Mr. Trump walked away, he hesitated momentarily. “No,” he said finally, “I don’t believe in reincarnation, heaven […]
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 had paid. The seller did not know the value of the item they were offering for sale, or […]
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 and His disciples, I mentioned that Jesus HIGHLIGHTS the insufficiency of “Maybe I do” and calls us to a radical commitment to […]
