Recent Sermons

Mark 5:1-20 (NASB)

¹ They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. ² When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, ³ and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; ⁴ because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. ⁵ Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones. ⁶ Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; ⁷ and shouting with a loud voice, he said, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” ⁸ For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” ⁹ And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” ¹⁰ And he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. ¹¹ Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain. ¹² The demons implored Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” ¹³ Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea. ¹⁴ Their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the country. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. ¹⁵ They came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the “legion “; and they became frightened. ¹⁶ Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. ¹⁷ And they began to implore Him to leave their region. ¹⁸ As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was imploring Him that he might accompany Him. ¹⁹ And He did not let him, but He said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” ²⁰ And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.

Big Idea: Seeing Jesus’ authority over supernatural powers should compel people to fear Him, follow Him, and spread His fame.

Scenes from “Frightening Encounters Across the Sea”:

Scene 1) The Demon-Possessed Man (5:1-5)

Scene 2) The Demon Called “Legion” (5:6-10)

Scene 3) The Herd of Swine (5:11-13)

Scene 4) The Swine Herdsmen (5:14-17)

Scene 5) The Lord of them All (5:18-20)

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Mark 4:35-41 (NASB)

³⁵ On that day, when evening came, He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.” ³⁶ Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. ³⁷ And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. ³⁸ Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” ³⁹ And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. ⁴⁰ And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” ⁴¹ They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

Sermon Theme/Outline: Jesus the God-Man has complete control over all nature and perils, and is therefore worthy of our total trust through all of life’s trials.

1) Entering the Storm (4:35-36)

2) Experiencing the Storm (4:37-38)

3) Easing the Storm (4:39-40)

4) Uneasiness after the Storm (4:41)

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Mark 4:26-34 (NASB)

Parable of the Seed
26 And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; 27 and he goes to bed at night and gets up daily, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know. 28 The soil produces crops by itself; first the stalk, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. 29 Now when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 And He was saying, “How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is the smallest of all the seeds that are upon the soil, 32 yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants, and forms large branches, with the result that the birds of the sky can nest under its shade.”

33 And with many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to understand it; 34 and He did not speak to them without a parable; but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples.

Big Idea: God is in charge of the growth and breadth of His Kingdom, and He uses faithful believers to bring the lost into it.

Outline: Two descriptions of the Kingdom of God which help us grasp its mystery and its magnitude, and also encourage us to faithfully spread the Gospel.

Description #1 (Parable of the Seed): God’s sovereign power over the KOG’s growth

Description #2 (Parable of the Mustard Seed): God’s sovereign plan through humble means for the KOG’s breadth

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Guest Speaker : Mark Borsuk

Introduction

For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the world produces death.  1 Corinthians 7:10

Genuine repentance trusts in the character of God.  (V.1-2; 7-10)

 a. God’s Grace – “Be Gracious” – A plea for underserved favor from God

b. Steadfast Love – speaks not so much of God’s mercy, but of his loyalty to His covenant.

Psalm 25:7; Psalm 130:7; Ps 136; Psalm 138:2 Isaiah 54:10

It is at the cross where we see God’s lovingkindness, His steadfast love, His New Covenant promise that Christ’s perfect life has been imputed (applied) to us. This is the gospel, but it is the gospel that we need to remember and apply every day of our lives. (cf. 2Cor 5:17-21)

1. Compassion –A deep awareness and sympathy for our need.
2. Forgiveness – God can do what no human priest can
3. Blot Out 2) Wash 3) Cleanse

Isaiah 44:21-23 “Shout for joy…for the LORD has done it!”

I. Genuine repentance does not minimize sin.

a. Transgression (vv. 1,3) rebellion, revolt
Those who reject God’s authority and therefore cause a breach of relationship.

b. Iniquity (vv. 2, 5, 9) – crooked, twisted, or perverse behavior.

c. Sin (vv. 2, 4, 9) – miss the mark or fall short.

d. Evil (v. 4) – As Defined by God.

e. Blood guiltiness (v. 14) – shedding of innocent blood often through violence.

II. Genuine repentance expresses the  justification of God. (v. 4)

David does not vindicate himself, he vindicates God.

III. Genuine repentance renews Joy in salvation (vv. 8, 12, 14)

Guilt keeps us in a pattern of joylessness (cf. Ps 32:3-4)

David’s joy was not lost because he sinned, David sinned because he had already lost his joy in God.
“The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied.” Jonathan Edwards

IV. Genuine repentance leads to a focus on evangelism. (v. 13)

People are not looking for perfect lives, they are looking for how God has met us through Christ in our sin, in our brokenness, in the same struggles of daily life that they are experiencing.

Genuine repentance produces genuine worship from a broken humble heart (vv. 15-17)

… as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things.    2 Corinthians 6:10

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Mark 4:21-25 (NASB)

21 And He was saying to them, “A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, or under a bed, is it? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? 22 For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 And He was saying to them, “Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides. 25 For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

Sermon Theme/Outline: Our Lord illustrates the blessed responsibility and privilege believers have in receiving the light of God’s Word.

1) The Purpose of having the Light (4:21-22)

2) The Preciousness of the Light (4:23-24a)

3) The Promise to those with the Light (4:24b-25)

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Mark 4:1-20 (NASB)

1 Again He began to teach by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat on the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. 2 And He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching, 3 “Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8 Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much.” 9 And He was saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

10 As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve disciples, began asking Him about the parables. 11 And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but for those who are outside, everything comes in parables, 12 so that while seeing they may see, and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear, and not understand, otherwise they might return and it would be forgiven them.”

13 And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. 16 And in a similar way these are the ones sown with seed on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; 17 and yet they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution occurs because of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And others are the ones sown with seed among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, 19 but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things enter and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 And those are the ones sown with seed on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much.”

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Guest Speaker : Wayne Truong

Outline:

A. God

B. Inside the home

C. Outside the home

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Mark 3:31-35 (NASB)

³¹ Then His mother and His brothers arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called Him. ³² A crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.” ³³ Answering them, He said, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” ³⁴ Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! ³⁵ “For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

Sermon Theme/Outline: Two revealing moments with the Lord to help you understand and embrace the priority and privilege of your adoption into God’s family.

1) An Intense Moment of Interruption {addressing His Earthly Family} (3:31‑33)

2) An Intentional Moment of Instruction {about His Eternal Family} (3:34‑35)

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Subject: The Holy Spirit’s Role in the Spiritual Life

Outline:
1) The Spirit Enlightens us by Scripture (John 16:13‑15; 2 Timothy 3:16)

2) The Spirit Equips us for Service (Romans 12:6‑8; Ephesians 4:11‑13)

3) The Spirit Enlivens us to be Spiritual (Romans 8:11; Galatians 5:22)

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