[display_podcast] Palm Sunday Today is often called “Palm Sunday.”  The Sunday before Easter begins what we call “holy week,” or our remembrance of the last week of Jesus’ life on earth.  As we just heard, he entered Jerusalem with great fanfare and acclaim.  People spread their jackets on the ground.  Others laid down “leafy branches” (Mk. 11:8).  John’s account tells us that many of the people laid down palm branches, hence the name “Palm Sunday.” They said, “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” (v. 10) because they [...]

[display_podcast] Created for Community One of the shows Suzy and I like to watch is Shark Tank.  The creativity of people amazes me and reminds me that we’re made in the image of a creative God.  Suzy, I think, likes it because she’s creative and inventive.  She keeps a notebook of possible inventions.  I love her ability to envision things that (probably) no one has thought of before.  I want her to remember us little people when she invents something awesome and is a host on Shark Tank one day! [...]

[display_podcast] Jesus Confronts those Who Don’t Think They Need Help One reason Jesus is so offensive to many people is because his message says that we need help, that we need him to do something that we can’t do.  None of us like admitting that we need help.  But Jesus’ gospel says that we need to turn away from ourselves and trust in him in order to be saved (Mk. 1:15).  We don’t like to be told that we can’t do something, that we need help, or that our [...]

[display_podcast] The Last Great Hope of Earth Politicians often run for office on the theme that they’re going to bring hope to the country.  One candidate who began his presidential campaign last week went so far as to say, “(America is) truly now, more than ever, the last great hope of earth.”  This candidate didn’t just promise to bring hope to America, but actually said that America is “the last great hope of earth.” I wonder if it’s appropriate to think of America as “the last great hope of earth”?  [...]

[display_podcast] Maskepetoon Understood Forgiveness When the first missionaries arrived in Alberta, Canada, they were opposed by a young chief of the Cree Indians named Maskepetoon.  But he eventually responded to the gospel and accepted Christ.  At one point, a member of the Blackfoot tribe killed his father.  Maskepetoon rode into the village where the murderer lived and demanded that he be brought before him.  He confronted the guilty man, saying, "You have killed my father, so now you must be my father.  You shall ride my best horse and wear [...]

[display_podcast] What Has Mark Told Us About Jesus So Far? As we’ve moved through the first chapter of Mark’s Gospel, we’ve seen Mark tell us plainly who Jesus is and why he came.  He tells us in verse 1 that Jesus is the “Christ, the Son of God.”  He tells us that John the Baptist saw Jesus as one “who is mightier than I” and who was so great that he couldn’t even touch his sandals (v. 7).  Mark says that God the Father affirmed Jesus’ identity as his “beloved [...]