Destination Church Spokane Podcast

What should leadership truly look like? In a world of completion, self ambition, and desire for power, Jesus teaches us something very different: that to be great in His kingdom we must become servants. 

How do you feel about Jesus wrapping you up like a child in his arms and blessing you? Now, how do you feel about him challenging you to give everything away and follow him? Whoah! Each of these represent a deep element of trust, and more than anything we can do for him, Jesus wants to be able to trust him. Are there benefits to trusting Jesus? Absolutely! 

What happens when the "twitterpated" emotions of romance fade? What is God's heart for you when your marriage seems ready to crumble? Jesus words, "What God has joined, let man not separate," may seem hard for our 21st century ears to hear. They were no less difficult to hear when Jesus said them, and God's grace is needed -and available- for us all! Whether you are single or married, Jesus' teaching from the beginning of Mark 10 applies to us all. 

Do you think of yourself as an influencer? Jesus does. Your words and actions are shaping the faith of others, and Jesus has something to say about this! Mark 9:42-50 includes some of the most challenging words in all of Mark's gospel, as Jesus talks about shaping the faith of little children, the eternal consequences of continuing in sin, and the call to live at peace with one another.  This peace is actually possible by the grace of God.

You aren't  the only one who sometimes feels insecure! The good news for all of us is that Jesus brings a security unimaginable anywhere else. Jesus himself is a secure leader, less concerned with how things appear than how the purpose of God is being advanced. He can turn our insecure preoccupation with power and position into a freedom to serve and to release others. It's a whole new way to live, and a healthy way to build a welcoming, serving, and releasing culture. The way Jesus serves us is the way he calls us to serve - and to lead - others!

You've prayed. You didn't get what you prayed for. Does that mean God doesn't care? He isn't big enough to handle it? That you're out of His will? Or maybe, could it be that He is drawing you near to Him? It's in active relationship with God that our faith grows, our confidence grows, and we grow in spiritual authority as well. In Mark 9, we see the effects of this as Jesus frees a boy from spiritual oppression.

The view from the top of the mountain must have been fantastic, but that wasn't why Jesus had brought Peter, James, and John there. What they were about to see was far better, and hearing the voice of the Father speaking over Jesus was stunning too. Jesus was transformed before their very eyes, the radiance of heaven shining through his humanity. Once again, they have underestimated Jesus, though they didn't realize it. His transformation points to the promise of our transformation in Christ as well.

It's good to have someone who loves us enough to tell us the hard words we may not really want to hear, isn't it! Jesus isn't afraid to say hard things. In Mark 8, Peter may not want to hear what Jesus has to say to him, but Jesus loves him - and us - enough to say it anyway! Bringing the kingdom of God required Jesus to go to the cross then, and it will mean following Jesus on the way of the cross today. Can we do that and still be a people of joy and freedom? Absolutely.

Who is Jesus? Our answer to that question may just draw us into the biggest adventure of our lives. Our world is overflowing with competing cultures, ideas, and traditions. Big Tech, Big Medicine, Big Politics, Big Money, Big Goals, Big Dreams, Big Promises, and Big Failures are everywhere. Where does Jesus fit? Jesus himself asked the question: "Who do people say that I am?" He followed it up with a more pointed question that we all must answer for ourselves: "Who do you say that I am?"

God is often surprising, isn't He! The birth of Jesus is no exception. The promise that God is with us, and will be with us means we can fully expect Him to continue doing great and surprising things today. We may not know exactly what 2021 will bring but as Christians we can say, "Be it unto us according to Your word." (We pick up today in the middle of Rich Ghrist's message from John 1.)

Sometimes good people get terrible news. Joseph is a good man, a hard-working man, a normal guy engaged to a local girl. And then he finds out she is pregnant. He is not the father. God turns this terrible news into wonderful news, and includes Joseph in His marvelous plan of salvation. The way God does it with Joseph is still the way He encourages us today - through the good news of Jesus. Words like betrayal, broken trust, and broken dreams are replaced with the blessing of sonship, security, and salvation found only in Him.

"She said yes!" But the event leading to her 'yes' was radically different than anything a girl would expect. Into the life of Mary, a common young woman with a common name in a common town, God spoke significance. We too are significant to God. Our 'yes' has a powerful place in God's significant plan. We are given the amazing dignity of being included in the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Imagine seeing again for the first time after having lived with extended blindness. Imagine Jesus taking you by the hand, leading you out of town, healing your eyes, and then sending you on your way toward home, able to see and walk with clear vision. For the blind man in Bethsaida, this is what really happened. What a day! His steps toward home didn't begin with his healing though; they began earlier when Jesus took him by the hand. When Jesus reaches for your hand, what will your response be? God's invitation is to trust Jesus with permission to lead you, permission to access your inability, and to trust him with his process of restoration in our lives. Jesus may just open your eyes in ways you didn't even realize you were blind!

What would make Jesus groan deeply today? Maybe the way we often misunderstand him, getting stuck in legalism, sensationalism, nationalism, or other -isms? A confrontation with religious leaders of his day reveals how Jesus counters the deep insecurity, demanding unbelief, and dull understanding with which we can be all too familiar! Like Jesus' first disciples, we too are still in the process of "getting it," and Jesus is with us in this process!

How does Jesus respond to a spiritually hungry people? Will he send us away to find food elsewhere, or will he satisfy our hunger himself? Maybe a more dangerous question is this:  Are we receiving and obeying Jesus' instruction, partnering with his plan, so that he can satisfy our hunger and the hunger of those around us? In Christ, our hunger can be truly satisfied, and we can then be sent as a satisfied people, living our lives out of the fullness of Christ. (This message was recorded the Sunday before Thanksgiving 2020.)

When Jesus is bringing healing to your life, don't be surprised if he does things that seem out of the norm. The Decapolis crowd wants Jesus to lay his hands on the man who is deaf and who has a speech impediment, and as we might expect, healing follows. It's how Jesus does it that is so striking. The way he cares, the way he communicates, and the way he looses his creation: truly, he does all things well!

Have you ever feel like an outsider living in a desperate world? As the Syrophoenician woman in Mark 7 discovers, the good news of Jesus Christ crosses borders and boundaries, bringing hope to many "outsiders."  Awakening hope in us, this good news also activates that hope, stirring us into action, even infusing our hearts with an unoffendable determination! Most importantly, the gospel gives us a sure foundation on which our hope can stand: Christ himself. Come to him.

Do we really believe Jesus when he says, "It's not what you put in your body that is the problem; it's what comes from your heart that is the real issue"? "What do you mean?" we may ask. His answer is culture-shaping and heart-shaking: human lives (thoughts, words, and actions) are constantly being shaped - and defiled - by the state of our badly damaged hearts. In trying to address the symptoms of a defiled heart, it may seem hopeless, like mowing down weeds only to have them come back over and over again. The good news is that in Christ Jesus we have the promise of new hearts, total forgiveness, and culture-shaping hope for every hurting family, every broken neighborhood, and every nation.

Traditions can be fantastic! And they can be dangerous, when they don't line up with God's Word and God's kingdom. When Jesus tells a group of religious conservatives that many of their traditions are contrary to God's actual commands, we are wise to evaluate where we may be doing the same thing, and to re-align our hearts, lives, and traditions with Christ. As God's people, we can cultivate healthy traditions that foster faith and bless the world around us! And we can have fun doing it!

It's great to have alone time with God isn't it? "Me-and-Jesus" or even "We-and-Jesus" Christianity can become very isolated from the world around us, and we are meant to be a blessing to our world! There is a time to get out of our "boats" and to engage with the culture around us. When Jesus and his disciples do this (Mark 6:54), the people immediately recognize Jesus: 'The healer is here!'  What follows is a pattern of miracles in marketplaces (on the streets) all around the region. Just what miracles does Jesus have in store for our marketplaces and our streets today? And how will we respond when he goes outside of our boxes of tradition?