A great quote by Henri Nouwen, he is so right!!! More and more, the desire grows in me simply to walk around, greet people, enter their homes, sit on their doorsteps, play ball, throw water and be known as someone who wants to live with them. It is a privilege to have the time to…
Author: Norm
getting it!
SCRIPTURE: Mark 3 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. [Mark 3:5] Jesus must have often felt anger and deep distress about the stubborn hearts of the people He came to…
new wine
SCRIPTURE: Mark 2 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.” [Matthew 2:22] Jesus did not come to start a new religion; Jesus came to replace religion (what…
four perspectives on Jesus
When reading the Gospels, think of four different news providers. Matthew, Mark and Luke are like daily newspapers, they tell mostly the same stories with a play by play account of what happened, from slightly different perspectives. But John, which seems to be very different in content from the other gospels, is more like the…
Mark’s take on Jesus
I believe that God speaks through the whole bible – even the hard books like Leviticus and Judges – but I also believe that He speaks MOST CLEARLY through the gospels because He speaks most clearly through Jesus. The four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) are four angles on Jesus – one would not…
a power-full message
SCRIPTURE: Mark 1 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” [Mark 1:8] First of all, I need to say that there were a number of verses I could have picked to focus on, there is so much I this chapter. I picked this verse because it describes the key…
what is this cartoon suggesting?
Interesting cartoon, what do you think it is suggesting?
finally done with Judges
I have to admit, I am glad we are finishing the book of Judges, and eager to dive into the book of Mark. If it wasn’t for the message about Jesus, I could not survive Judges – or many other books in the bible. As I read Judges 21, I imagine myself sitting with Jesus, and…
surrender to the King!
SCRIPTURE: Judges 21 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: WARNING – DISTURBING CONTENT!!! In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit. [Judges 21:25] This is in a nutshell what is wrong with our world. We’ve rejected God as King of this world, and we now do as we see fit. And the world as we see it…
oh my…
I don’t think I’ve heard this one used in worship yet… Just what is the message in this song?