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Knowing and Ministering Like Jesus!

Focusing on what really matters!

The strangely supranormal ministry of Jesus Christ!

The pastoral heart of Jesus (the Good Shepherd) in action!

Jesus experienced rejection throughout His entire ministry, but the rejection He received in His  hometown of Nazareth was particularly painful.  Their familiarity with "childhood" Jesus made Him familiar, common, and offensive to them in many respects.  In short, they were offended by Jesus and filled of unbelief toward His ministry.  As a result, Jesus to do the mighty works in Nazareth. But instead of being shut down by this rejection, Jesus turned His attention to the mission field ahead and released His men into the mission.

What we all need for an amazing new year ahead, is a refresher in the New Covenant! Jesus came to this world full of "grace and truth".  Grace comes through Jesus and is a totally free gift to us because Jesus paid for the entire Christian life upfront on the Cross.  Jesus gives us a Christian life that is by "grace alone" not by works of the Law.  And this New Way of relating to God is only accessed by "faith alone"--we don't "work" for it or "earn" it, we simply believe and accept the promises of God by faith.  Grace works through faith, but the final piece of the equation is that everything in the Christian life only works through the power of the Holy Spirit.  So this New Covenant for the New Year ahead is only given by grace, accessed by simple faith, and activated in our lives by the Holy Spirit. Such good news!  This study in Mark 5 illustrates grace, faith, and the Spirit's power as the way everything works now in the New Covenant.  I pray that 2024 will be a new year for you that is focused on this New Covenant in Christ!  I can think of no greater prayer to pray for you than this one!

The story and details surrounding the birth of Jesus in Matthew 1-2. Then how we can apply this to our lives at Christmas time!

We are in the middle of a gigantic cosmic battle between good and evil over the lives of every human being on earth! It's a messy battle that needs to be understood so that we aren't victims! This week we are going to touch on this spiritual battle directly from Jesus' ministry in Mark 5. In this study Jesus deals with a legion of demons--the messy side of God's Kingdom invading planet earth!

Jesus told parables to illustrate the Kingdom of God or what life is like under the rule and reign of God. But most people were happy to just hear Jesus' parables and go home afterward.  So only those who stuck around and pressed into Jesus got the secrets of the Kingdom.  Perhaps the greatest of all Kingdom "secrets" is the revelation that Jesus is the sovereign Lord of King of God's Kingdom!

God designed us to bear fruit in our lives--fruit that remains and lasts the tests of time.  But what are the obstacles that stop or stunt that fruitfulness? Jesus' first parable is full of truth that clarifies where we are at spiritually, and shows us how to stay on track!