How has Jesus met you through the book of Mark?

Short teachings from Hillcrest Church exploring the background, context, meaning, and significance of the account of Jesus of Nazareth in the book of Mark.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey, hope you're doing well. Tim here, and we are diving deep into the Book of Mark. Or ending our deep dive into the Book of Mark. We now uh have been walking through this book since uh the beginning of October. Um we've talked about it on Sundays. Uh many of you have been reading through it multiple times. Uh many of you have been listening to these podcasts, you've been talking about it in small group. And ultimately, it's not just the book of Mark. I mean, it's the life of Jesus. We've spent an immense amount of time um with the person of Jesus, uh testified by the Spirit through the through the Gospel of Mark uh to us here in uh Walkham County in 2026. And I hope it's been encouraging to you. Um I just kind of wanted to end uh this this final cut podcast, and kind of there's there's two sets of questions um that I wanted to ask. Uh the first set of questions um I wanted to ask was just about the podcast itself. Um this was just an experiment this year. I love to teach. It is a blast. I was looking for other avenues to teach. I was trying to figure out ways to do that, and I, you know, there's so much that I love about the life of Jesus and the Gospel of Mark in particular, and I thought, how could I do that? I put a um survey up on the Facebook group and people said, hey, what about a regular podcast? Okay, let's go for it. So this is what came of it. And so a question that I've been asking myself is how much of this podcast was just one and done, just to kind of it fit well with the book of Mark, and how much of it has been, you know, it's really a helpful spiritual formation tool in people's lives. It's a helpful discipleship tool in people's lives. And so um I'm I would love to hear from you. Uh I would love if you shoot me an email, Tim.k at hcbelling.com, any thoughts you have on what might be helpful going forward? I mean, the things that I've heard from people, I'll name a couple things. Um they found the length really helpful, uh, five, ten minutes. A couple people said, hey, you could do 15 minutes if you wanted, but that's kind of I've heard the length is helpful. I've heard the frequency is probably more than needed. People are like, eh, probably two or three times a week would be enough. Um I've heard uh that it's helpful to be connected to the Sunday teachings, that kind of to take that further has been helpful. Um and yeah, generally kind of an interest of man, if if this was continued connected to Sunday teachings, that would be it would be a helpful uh discipleship thing in my life. So um if you have a different opinion from that, I would love to hear it. Uh but um or or if the same, but I'm just kind of looking for some feedback. What would serve this community well? So that's that's number one. Feedback on that the podcasting kind of going forward. Number two, um, and just I would invite you uh to take some time, especially for those who've really spent a lot of time in Mark. I mean, if you've listened to these podcasts, you've spent a lot of time with the story of Jesus. Uh the story of Jesus as told uh to us through the book of Mark. And I would really encourage you to sit down and to spend some time, and this doesn't have to be one sitting, maybe all your maybe your quiet times next week, um, with a journal, um, to reflect on how God has met you through the life of Jesus told by Mark. I believe if you have if you have spent this amount of time in uh in the story of Jesus and Mark, you have been met. I have no doubt about that at all. Because when God's word goes it goes forth in the world, things always happen. Like it's just that's the power inherent in it. And so I know you've been met. And I would encourage you to reflect how you have been met. I mean, it could be it could be in your head there's been new ways of understanding who God is, um, who Jesus is, parts of how Jesus' mission works, what his kingdom is about, what discipleship, what faithful followership looks like, what the cross means. Um, like what uh like what have you learned about who this triune God is and how he revealed himself in his son, Jesus of Nazareth, what it means to walk faithfully with him, what sin even looks like in the world, what you're being delivered from. You know, um, yeah, I would encourage you to reflect on that intellectually. What have you learned? What ideas maybe have you let go of? What new images and understandings of Jesus have you picked up? Maybe there's particular messages or teachings or scriptures that have really impacted you. Yeah, to write those down. Yeah, head. I would also talk about your heart. Um I encourage you to reflect, you know, not just on the intellectual side, but kind of the personal side. How have you been met? I know. I I talked to one woman and she said there's a there's a moment um in as I was in one of these podcasts talking about a teaching of Jesus, and that God just spoke to her. She's at her uh kitchen table and she just starts weeping. God, by his spirit, spoke to her heart. How have you been met? How is how's God spoken to your heart uh through these times? Was there was there a sermon? Was there a time in scripture uh time where you're just reading Mark on your own? One of the podcasts you're listening to, and you're on a walk in the woods, and and it's less about some new thing you learned, but it's a way like God spoke to you, God uh confirmed something, God encouraged you to trust something. Like, how did God meet your heart through this in personal ways? I think sometimes those moments can happen, and and if we're not careful, they can kind of just slip into the rear view. But I would this as we come to the end of the book of Mark, I would encourage you to write about that. How did you personally encounter the living Jesus through this time in the book of Mark? So head heart, um, and then the final one would be hands. And and um uh and essentially, you know, the uh as as we as we learn about God, as we're our hearts are shaped by God, ultimately it's meant to lead to change lives. And so I think the kind of final kind of constellation of questions would be um, what have you been called to do, or how have you been called to respond? And I and again, looking back, thinking about your times in in uh in the book of Mark, thinking about the different sermons that you sat under, thinking about the small group conversations, have there been some moments where you you had a clear invitation or command from Jesus by the Spirit through his word to you? I mean, over and over, I mean, you know, as we meet Jesus in the book of Mark, we meet someone who who calls people to do things, right? He repent, believe the good news, the kingdom of heaven is or the kingdom of God is here. Uh follow me. Like he he's you know, it's get behind me, Satan, with that attitude that you have. Like he he's a he's uh like if you want to be a follower me, you have to pick up your cross daily. Like if you want to be great, you have to become servant all. Like he says things, pointed things at times. And I and I just wonder, like, um, have there been some specific responses that he has asked of you? Hey, I want you to believe this, I want you to trust this, I want you to remember this, I want you to do this, I want you to say this. Like, are have there been some ways that Jesus has personally called response forth from you? And maybe it happened, it was back in November, it was in January, it was in your personal quiet time, and it's like He did. And I just what yeah, as you come to that, what it what are you gonna do with that? That's between you and the Lord. That's not between me and you, but it's between you and the Lord. But I do think as a pastor, part of my job is to come alongside people to pay attention to what God is up to in their lives, and so I would I I'm encouraging you, uh brother, sister, uh, to pay attention to what God has done in your life over the last six months. And to return to have you like what responses God asked of you? Um what does that look like going forward? And so, um, yeah, I I don't, you know, what the format is. Is it a day? Is it a couple hours with a journal? Is it some quiet times next week? Is it some family conversation around the dinner table? Is it your small group time? Like that is up to you. But I would encourage you um to not let this book of Mark and an all our time in it, the time in the cycle Jesus, to just kind of slip away, but to take some time and consolidate, to reflect and remember uh what you've learned, um, how you see God differently, how he's met you and what he's called forth for you uh going forward. So thank you so much. It has been a privilege to go on this journey with you. I'm grateful. Um, and I would just say, um, yeah, maybe for me, um, you know, in one sense, this is stuff that I've studied for a long time. Uh but I think uh, you know, if I had to summarize Jesus as the untamable lion of Judah, there's nothing domestic about him. The incredible holiness of his calling on us, the wideness of his grace, and I think probably, and maybe it's just because it's most recently in my mind, um the absolute um I don't even know, like the crushing beauty of the cross. Like those are things that have just been impressed upon me again and again. And the reality that this is the God man. I think those are some of the things for me. So um it's been a privilege to go on this journey with you. I'm grateful for you. I'm so grateful for this community and their love of their love of Jesus. Um and uh yeah, I encourage you. Uh I hope this time, looking back on your time uh with Jesus over this last year, I hope it really speaks to your heart. Grace and peace.