IF WE MISS WHAT IS WRONG WITH OUR WORLD, WE’LL MISS WHAT MAKES OUR WORLD RIGHT

Last time in Mark, Jesus confronted the disciples' hardness of heart and unbelief (6:52). In the following scene, he encounters opposition from those who focus upon cleanliness of their hands while their hearts remain far from God (7:6). In the scribes' and Pharisees' zealous observance of the ceremonies and traditions of the elders, they'd actually come to abandon God's moral law (7:1-13). All the outward cleanliness, ritual, and observances were powerless to cleanse what was actually morally defiled: their hearts. No amount of ceremonial washing, law-keeping, or personal strategies can cleanse us to the core (7:14-23). We need God to do a cleansing work in us and in so doing, draw our hearts near to Him. It’s something that nothing but the blood of Jesus can do.

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WE ARE GOD’S PLAN TO SPREAD THE JOY OF OUR SAVIOR TO THE PEOPLE OF SANTA ANA

God has sustained Cross of Grace Santa Ana for five years in our city. To mark the occasion, we asked Eric Turbedsky, Senior Pastor of Sovereign Grace Church of Orange, to come and preach from 2 Corinthians 5:11-21. Eric leads the church that sent us out with a dream of becoming a church in the heart of Santa Ana. In Sunday’s sermon, He reminded us of how marvelous it is that God would love us and that He would send us. Listen to the sermon and become captivated once again by the fact that you’ve been chosen to be a part of God’s mission to save people to the ends of the earth.

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YOU NEED TO BELIEVE

Have you ever thought, "I'd much more easily believe God if He just _________”. If he just spoke to me audibly, gave me a sign, or proved his love for me in some way. But would you? Mark 6:31-56 teaches us that, actually, we don’t need God to prove himself. We need him to change our hearts. Our tendency toward unbelief is not a problem of insufficient evidence, it’s a problem of a hardened heart. If you believe that God is but aren’t sure that God is for you, listen to this Sunday’s sermon to learn more about God’s solution for hard hearts.

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REJECTION IS THE UNIFYING THREAD INTERWOVEN INTO EACH SCENE

The humiliated Savior sends us into a life of humble service - being rejected by men, not being impressive, relying upon God's sustaining grace and not our own strength, and dying the daily deaths of humble self-denial. We embrace this calling because the Savior who "emptied himself" and was humbled unto death has been "highly exalted" and received the "name that is above every other name" (Phil 2:7-9). Listen to last Sunday’s sermon to hear more.

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HAS ANYONE DEFEATED DEATH AND CAN THAT TRIUMPH BE APPLIED TO ME?

That is the one question Canadian scientist G.B. Hardy said is the only essential question that needs to be asked in the selection of true religion. In the latter half of Mark 5, Jesus definitively demonstrates that He has the power to defeat death. But whether or not that triumph can be applied to you and me has to do with whether or not Jesus cares enough about us personally to do what’s necessary to defeat death for us all. And that’s precisely what Mark answers through the story of the suffering woman who interrupts Him on His way to defeat death in a dying girl. It’s a gripping story of a tender Savior. Listen to last Sunday’s sermon to hear more.

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EVEN THE DEMONS HAVE TO ASK FOR PERMISSION

In Mark 5:1-20, Jesus faces down the supernatural forces that are fearfully arrayed against us. The demoniac is a walking-dead, bell-tolling, rooster-crowing, alarm-ringing, reminder of darkness and death (5:2-5). He personifies the problem of death and provides a visual representation of the unseen realm of demonic powers. He is the Gerasenes unsolvable predicament - none can control, subdue, or bind this threat of evil - but then Jesus comes to town. Jesus overcomes the power of death and brings peace to the man once caught in the throes of demonic possession. He overcomes the power of death in our own lives and brings peace to those living in fear of any and all unseen forces. Listen to Sunday’s sermon to hear more.

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THE QUESTION ASKED BY ONE WHO HAS SEEN THE TRUE IDENTITY OF JESUS

In Mark 4:35-41, Jesus’ disciples tremble in fear and awe as they witness Jesus exert His power of nature itself. Until this point, Jesus was still a stranger to His disciples. They thought they knew and understood Him, but a moment of revelation makes them suddenly realize that the God of the universe very well may be with them in the boat. Is Jesus still a stranger to you? Do you tend to tremble in awe and fear at circumstances and the natural world instead of the Lord over nature? Listen to last Sunday's sermon to dive deeper into this incredible passage from the Gospel of Mark.

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GOD’S WILL IN GOD’S TIME

We often pray and live with the expectation that God will - or should - answer us according to our preferred timeline. But in the middle of Mark 4, Jesus tells three parables - one about a lamp, one about a crop and one about a tiny mustard see. What’s Jesus’ point? God’s kingdom will come and it will grow. The seed will sprout and bear fruit - even if it takes time. Even if it begins very small; as small as a mustard seed even. The applications for real life are many. Listen to last Sunday’s sermon to hear more.

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ALWAYS BE SURPRISED BY GRACE

In Mark 4:1-20, the pace of the story slows down and we take our seats along the sea as Jesus teaches from his floating pulpit. And as he teaches, it’s all in parables. Jesus tells stories drawn from the everyday stuff of life that reveal the true nature of the kingdom he’s come to bring and the proper response to it. In the well-known parable of the sower, Jesus explains that though everyone hears him, not everyone truly “hears” him. The four soils represent four responses to the gospel message. Three of these are ultimately a rejection of that message. While one of them is the genuine reception of the gospel by grace through faith, that evidences itself through good fruit. Jesus explains this parable to us so that we would not be surprised or shaken by various types of rejection of the gospel, but would always be surprised by and celebrate grace where it’s found in and around us.

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HOW YOU RECEIVE JESUS DETERMINES WHAT YOU GET FROM JESUS

At the end of Mark 3, Jesus says some things that are, frankly, scary. He speaks of an unforgivable sin. He responds to an accusation of demon possession. He even claims that His blood relatives are not His truest family. Who are these scary words directed toward? Toward those who are outside. Outside of God’s kingdom. Outside of His family. And they’re outside because they’ve received Jesus the wrong way. But for those who find themselves on the inside - His blessings abound. Listen to last Sunday’s sermon to learn more.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE