“You Have To See This!” – January 17, 2021
Jesus begins calling his disciples in this text. Phillip was so excited from spending time with Jesus that he told his friend, Nathaniel about it. Nathaniel was skeptical, but Phillip didn’t try to convince him or sell him on the idea. He simply said, “Come and see.” This is the same simple message that we all have for people who have not yet come to know Jesus – “Come and see!” We can invite people to come and see what has made a difference in our lives and what could make a difference in theirs too.

John is uncomfortable with Jesus’ request to be baptized by him, because he didn’t think that respects the hierarchy. Jesus insists on baptism for several good reasons: God commanded it, it makes us adopted children of God with Jesus and our brother and it shows that Jesus identifies with us in every way. Baptism is being branded as one of God’s own. It is a washing clean from all sin and a promise God will always be with us.

MP3 Audio [12 MB]MP3 Audio [0 B]DownloadShow URL

MP3 Audio [18 MB]MP3 Audio [0 B]DownloadShow URL

MP3 Audio [12 MB]DownloadShow URL

MP3 Audio [10 MB]DownloadShow URL

John the baptizer was the link between the past and the future. He told folks that God was doing a new thing and they needed to be ready to see it and accept it. Likewise, today in the Christian Church in America we are in a transitional stage and need to perceive where God is breaking into our present reality.

When Mark’s Gospel was written, the destruction of the temple had just happened and folks thought it was the end of the world. This text reminds us to not get too caught up in the desperate world around us, but wait on the Lord. But while we are waiting, make good use of our time by loving God and serving others.

Jesus reminds us in today’s lesson that there will be a day when we stand before the Lord God and we will be judged and the sheep will be separated from the goats. The sheep will be surprised that they treated the Lord well in the person of others who are struggling and need help. The goat have been keeping score and believe they deserve the kingdom of heaven, but they don’t

The parable of the talents answers the question of what should we be doing in the meantime until Christ comes again. It is clear that our calling is to spread the gospel message around wherever we can and use our talents to make that happen.