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Showing posts from April, 2017

Learning from Christ's Ministry | Mark 3:7–12

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Learning from Christ's Ministry | Mark 3:7–12 Shaun Marksbury | Morning Service | 22 April, 2017 This passage gives us a review of all that we’ve seen in the ministry of Christ until this point.  It will serve as a launching point for the disciples in the next passage, for Christ is about to send them out in His Name.  Just as they still had to learn from His ministry, so do we, if we are His disciples.  We will see the wisdom of our Lord, the wonders of our Lord, and the warfare of our Lord. Video: https://youtu.be/ZGhyQaeYjuM Audio: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=426171114484 Notes PDF: http://playpdf.sa-media.com/media/426171114484/426171114484.pdf Sermon Notes Learning from Christ's Ministry | Mark 3:7–12 Shaun Marksbury | Morning Service | 22 April, 2017 I.                Introduction Steve Lawson, preaching on this text, notes that this is the midst of the year of popularity.  1:1–1:15 covers His first year, which was sp

The Work of His Hands | Lunch Session | Jeff Williams | 2017 Shepherds' Conference

The Work of His Hands: A View from Space | Lunch Session | NASA Astronaut Jeff Williams | 2017 Shepherds' Conference MEDIA LINKS:   MP3  (No Video) A couple of videos from space: Sunrise time-lapse video: Aurora yields to the stars in this time-lapse video:

That Which Defiles, Part 2| Mark 7:17–23

And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18  And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19  since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20  And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21  For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22  coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23  All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” A sign in front of a small church here in Georgia made the bold proclamation—“Alcohol is a demon.”  There’s no doubt that alcohol has been instrumental in the destruction of many families and lives, used for demonic purposes in other words, but it’s not an actual demon!  There’s nothing intrinsic in the fermentation

That Which Defiles, Part 1 | Mark 7:14–16

And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15  There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.  [ 16  If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.] Sometimes, Christians develop odd notions about diet.  Once, I saw granola bars that were supposed to taste like manna.  People argue that God wants us to be vegetarians because of Adam and Eve, while others sell books promising detox and weight-loss based on how Daniel ate.  Some eat kosher because they believe there’s an intrinsic holiness that comes from keeping the dietary law of Moses.  Jesus addresses these notions while confronting the false traditions of the Pharisees. Consider first His commands.   As the multitude of people considered the controversy between Jesus and the Pharisees (vv. 1–13), Jesus regathers them for further exposition.  Perhaps He now turns to those who’ll be more recept

Christ Alone: The Legacy of Reformation Truth in Puritan Preaching | General Session 6 | Iain Murray | 2017 Shepherds' Conference

Christ Alone: The Legacy of Reformation Truth in Puritan Preaching General Session 6 by Iain Murray 2017 Shepherds' Conference General Session 6 - Iain Murray - Shepherds’ Conference 2017 from Grace Community Church on Vimeo .  MEDIA LINKS:   MP3  /  VIMEO  /  ARABIC MP3  /  KOREAN MP3  /  RUSSIAN MP3  /  SPANISH MP3

Nullifying Scripture | Mark 7:9–13

And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10  For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11  But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban” ’ (that is, given to God)— 12  then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13  thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.” Sometimes one group of Christians will charge a second group of following “the traditions of men” if that second group believes a theological point that the first rejects.  It may be that the charge is valid.  Too often, however, that first group misapplies what Jesus actually addressed. Until this point in the chapter, we’ve seen that Jesus and the disciples didn’t follow the Pharisaic custom of ritualistic handwashing, and Jesus hi

Appointed to Suffer, Resolved to Obey: Christ's Submission to His Father | General Session 5 | Mark Jones | 2017 Shepherds' Conference

Appointed to Suffer, Resolved to Obey: Christ's Submission to His Father General Session 5 by Mark Jones 2017 Shepherds' Conference Posted at:  https://www.gracechurch.org/sermons/12940 General Session 5 - Mark Jones - Shepherds’ Conference 2017 from Grace Community Church on Vimeo . MEDIA LINKS:   MP3  /  VIMEO  /  ARABIC MP3  /  KOREAN MP3  /  RUSSIAN MP3  /  SPANISH MP3

The Importance of the Resurrection | Various Texts

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The Importance of the Resurrection | Various Texts Shaun Marksbury | Morning Service | 16 April, 2017 Only the resurrection gives us gospel hope, so much so that denying the resurrection means apostasy from the Christian faith.  With that in mind, we’re going to look at the implications the resurrection has for our lives in an attempt to see why it is so important.  I’m not presenting an exhaustive list, but hopefully it proves helpful. Video: https://youtu.be/ObyGQbr-0yY Audio: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=418171340341 Notes  PDF:  http://playpdf.sa-media.com/media/418171340341/418171340341.pdf SERMON NOTES The Importance of the Resurrection | Various Texts Shaun Marksbury | Morning Service | 16 April, 2017 I.                Introduction Let’s open to and read 1 Cor 15:14–19, “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15  We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we t

The Bread of Life | General Session 4 | Ligon Duncan | 2017 Shepherds' Conference

For video and audio of this message in multiple languages:  https://www.gracechurch.org/sermons/12939

Crooked Christianity | Mark 7:6–8

6  And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,                         “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;             7            in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ 8  You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” All sinners ultimately reject the Word of God.  Romans 1:18 says that, we “suppress the truth” in our unrighteousness.  That chapter continues with exchanges taking place—trading the glory of the Creator for images of the creation, the truth of God for a lie, and those given over to all forms of debauchery.  Even so, here, religious leaders do exactly this but in the name of God! Their religion is hypocritical.  The term Jesus uses in v. 6 is from the Greek theater, referring to playacting.  In other words, the Pharisees put on the mask of religiosity, but are themselves devoid of true religion.  Jesus’s word

Wrongly Elevating Tradition | Mark 7:1–5

Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2  they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3  (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, 4  and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) 5  And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” Mark makes a point here that official representatives from Jerusalem have now come.  Perhaps Galilean scribes and Pharisees had requested them, or perhaps already investigating.  It seems unlikely that some of them were not part of the plot to murder Jesus (cf. Mark 3:6).  Whatever the case, this chapter marks a visib

The Eternal Word: God the Son in Eternity Past | General Session 3 | Michael Reeves | 2017 Shepherds' Conference

The Eternal Word: God the Son in Eternity Past General Session 3 by Michael Reeves Video: https://vimeo.com/207724664 General Session 3 - Michael Reeves - Shepherds’ Conference 2017 from Grace Community Church on Vimeo . Audio (MP3): https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.shepherdsconference.org/2017/SC17-GS-2017-02-28-1530-REEVESM.mp3

Law and Grace | Panel Discussion | 2017 Shepherds' Conference

Law and Grace: A Grace Church Elder Panel on Navigating Legal Matters by Hohn Cho & Carlos Chung & George Crawford What are churches to do in light of an increasingly litigious society, homosexuality threats of legal action, employment disputes, and the ever-present question of child safety? Audio: MP3

Gracious Healing at Gennesaret | Mark 6:53–56

53  When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. 54  And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him 55  and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. 56  And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well. Chapter 6 began with Jesus’s rejection at Nazareth.  We read in v. 3 that “they took offense at him.”  We also read that “he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them” (v. 5).  Here, however, the people rush to get to Jesus, to touch Him , and they were healed.  What do we see in the midst of this excitement? We see a picture of evangelism.  They’re rushing to bring their sick to Christ.  Isaiah 53:4 says, “Surely he has borne our grie

The Lord and His Sabbath | Mark 3:1–6

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The Lord and His Sabbath | Mark 3:1–6 Shaun Marksbury | Morning Service | 9 April, 2017 The Lord Jesus built the church and has directed it, and we call Sunday “the Lord's Day.”  So, as we think about the Lord of the Sabbath in this passage, we are thinking about how He leads, heals, and reveals on His day of worship.   Video: Audio:  http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=41617135330 (Embed is not functioning at time of posting) Notes ( PDF ): Sermon Notes The Lord and His Sabbath | Mark 3:1–6 Shaun Marksbury | Morning Service | 9 April, 2017 I.                Introduction Last time, we saw the Lord face down the traditionalism of the scribes and Pharisees.  They had confused their external convictions with God’s Word.  They had weighed the Sabbath command with so many requirements that it became a heavy burden to God’s people.  Yet, here comes the supposed Messiah, and He’s not supporting the traditions of men.  So, they begin accusing