Tag: Jesus-The Ultimate Action Hero

Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()

Sermon Audio: The Compassion and Provision of Jesus
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Mark 6:30-52
Duration: 24:37
Size: 13.1 MB

Jesus: The Ultimate Action Hero
The Compassion and Provision of Jesus
Mark 6:30-52

I think the portion of Mark 6 we are going to look at today will be a comfort and a challenge to you as we see the Lord’s compassion with our plight and His provision for everything we need to serve Him.

The trip itself had been exhausting but now there were so many people crowding around they couldn’t even eat.

It was actually more important for them to listen to the life-giving words of God than in getting food for their bellies.

He will take what they have and multiply it, just as Jesus takes what we offer and infuses it with Holy Spirit reality to multiply it beyond our wildest dreams.

Even as Jesus desires for us to rejuvenate and not burn out from service, He also cares about our physical needs.

It is also good to pray after success, to set the mind to Who actually did the work and what it was for.

Sometimes God does things in our lives that frighten or trouble us – urging us to move deeper in our relationship or trust Him with an impossible circumstance.

Don’t be afraid of anything in this age because Jesus has conquered it. And don’t be afraid of the next age, though you don’t really understand the Lord you follow.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()

Sermon Audio: What Do You Really Think of Jesus?
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Mark 6:1-29
Duration: 20:23
Size: 10.6 MB

Jesus: The Ultimate Action Hero
What Do You Really Think of Jesus?
Mark 6:1-29

After a string of incredible miracles where even the dead were raised, with crowds were so thick that Jesus was barely able to move, and after such great victories – surely the people of his own town would now see those words from Isaiah in a different light.

Sometimes it is the church that stands between people and understanding who Jesus is. All they can see are the imperfect people in the church and they can’t see how Jesus could be anything special.

How odd it must have been for Jesus, knowing that He held life and was giving it away freely.

When we share the gospel, we are not responsible for the outcome, but for merely supplying the message in the best way we can.

When word got to Herod he bought into number three – perhaps reacting out of guilt over having arrested and then murdered John.

Herod was swayed easily by others and Herodias uses this to her advantage when Herod gave himself a birthday party.

I think this is no accident. Mark is trying to communicate that sharing the good news of Jesus Christ can be hazardous to your health.

Don’t dismiss Jesus as nothing more than a man. You will miss an opportunity to know the most wonderful man ever born.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()

Sermon Audio: Do You Trust Me No Matter What?
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Mark 5:21-43
Duration: 19:20
Size: 8.84 MB

Jesus: The Ultimate Action Hero
Do You Trust Me No Matter What?
Mark 5:21-43

But in times of extreme personal crisis, your position in society, the possible outcomes of siding with Jesus – they all go out the window.

So, with heavy hearts they set off to tell Jairus that not only was his daughter dead, but that he had not been there to say goodbye.

The easier thing here would be to give into the fear of death and the grief of loss, to abandon hope because death is the final end – no one comes back from the dead.

Their laughing causes them to miss the greatest miracle Jesus would perform – raising the dead.

Jesus will do the same thing to us who fall “asleep” in death as a believer. We will “wake up” and be in His presence.

God is never rushed (Jesus paused to care for the woman) and God is never late. Time isn’t important to God (though it is to us) but timing is important.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:10 — 8.8MB)

Sermon Audio: How Much Do You Long For Jesus?
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Mark 5:21-34
Duration: 19:09
Size: 8.77 MB

Jesus: The Ultimate Action Hero
How Much Do You Long For Jesus?
Mark 5:21-34

Today we read about the beginning of Jesus’ encounter with Jairus, and the woman with the flow of blood.

Sometimes it takes a real crisis to bring into focus what’s important, and when brought to an end in himself, Jairus doesn’t care about public opinion or his own doubts, he wants help and knows Jesus can help heal the sick.

She has something wrong inside of her, it is doing things to her that she doesn’t want, she cannot cure it herself, and it makes her unclean, cutting her off from fellowship.

Whether He already knew who the woman was or not, the point is that He wanted her to admit to the fact that she had reached out in faith to Him.

We too have been afflicted with brokenness – an infirmity that separates us from God, the source of which cannot be seen on the outside but we do see the result.

You can’t become a Christian by hanging out with Christians or at church any more than going into a hospital makes you well.

There are plenty of thieves of robbers out there in this age. But there is only one Good Shepherd. Do you hear His voice calling you?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()

Sermon Audio: The Stronger Man
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Mark 5:1-20
Duration: 22:43
Size: 10.4 MB

Jesus: The Ultimate Action Hero
The Stronger Man
Mark 5:1-20

It is the ultimate mission of our ultimate action hero to spring us all from the biggest prison of all: the prison of sin that keeps us away from God.

The world paints this picture of happiness through abandon and an “if it feels good, do it” mentality. The reality behind that mask is that Satan only wants to “steal, kill, and destroy” you.

Satan and his demons have nothing in common with Jesus because in their rebellion they left all hope of ever being redeemed.

They know their fate; they are merely trying to do as much damage as possible until they are arrested, and the sentence is carried out.

For all of the enemy’s bluster, He too must submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Whatever the case, they missed the chance of an eternity to have Jesus heal and provide hope.

So the man went away and immediately began proclaiming Jesus in the Decapolis, which bore fruit as many followed Him from that region.

The common theme we are going to see in these three incidents of Jesus setting people free is that they bowed before Him. He is Lord.

Will you let Him be Lord in all of your life?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()

Sermon Audio: Taking The Test
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Mark 4:21-41
Duration: 21:40
Size: 9.91 MB

Jesus: The Ultimate Action Hero
Taking The Test
Mark 4:21-41

Jesus lays out to them important spiritual truths that all lead in the direction of trusting and relying on Jesus and not on themselves.

Jesus is basically reiterating His earlier comment that those who will engage their minds and seek to understand, will get more understanding. But those who could care less, it will mean nothing to them.

We can impede the growth or encourage it but we do not make it happen, but it will take place as a natural course of being related to Jesus.

Now we switch back to the action mode, with our ultimate action hero taking authority over the creation itself.

How tired must Jesus have been to sleep through the pitching of the boat, and the spraying of water?

I love the way Mark laid these out – first three parables about spiritual growth then a test of that growth.

When Jesus is in your boat, you will get to the other side, though He may lead you into storms, not so you can flounder and drown but so that He can speak to you to trust, and speak to your surroundings to bring glory to God.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()

Sermon Audio: Tilling Up The Mind
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Mark 4:1-20
Duration: 21:18
Size: 9.75 MB

Jesus: The Ultimate Action Hero
Tilling Up The Mind
Mark 4:1-20

The actions demonstrate what He can do, but His words clarify and challenge people to understand who He is and what it means to be His disciple.

When it comes to learning about ultimate truth and understanding God your heart must be open to taking in, and then digesting what God is telling you.

Jesus gave out His truth in puzzles, but they are not that hard to solve if you just work on them!

There are basically four soil conditions Jesus uses to represent the various conditions of the mind that hear “the word” which is the gospel.

You can’t just glue Christianity onto the outside of your life – go to church, sing the songs, talk the talk – but not know Jesus.

If you “listen and consider” Jesus and begin to understand that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and you place yourself firmly in His hands, the gospel will bear fruit in your life.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()

Sermon Audio: The Hero’s Power, Position, and Person
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Mark 3:7-35
Duration: 21:22
Size: 9.77 MB

Jesus: The Ultimate Action Hero
The Hero’s Power, Position, and Person
Mark 3:7-35

In this section we see four groups of people and four different reactions to Jesus.

In this case they were in the presence of the ultimate hero and finding out that touching Jesus meant healing.

The twelve were not chosen because of their faith, their backgrounds, or their abilities. They were chosen because they answered the call and would obey their master.

It’s silly as we sit on this side of the cross, but they simply couldn’t accept the fact that their brother could be anything but an ordinary person who was out of his gourd.

Everything evil you have ever thought, done, or said, is covered by the blood of Christ.

You cannot blaspheme against the Holy Spirit by accident.

In one the greatest testaments to Jesus, these same brothers became believers after the crucifixion and James even became the leader of the church in Jerusalem.

In the end each of us must come to grip with how we feel about Jesus’ power, position, and person.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()

Sermon Audio: The Hero’s Hostile Takeover
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Mark 2:18-3:6
Duration: 20:42
Size: 9.52 MB

Jesus: The Ultimate Action Hero
The Hero’s Hostile Takeover
Mark 2:18-3:6

Now we see scenes three, four, and five – as Jesus demonstrates that the old system of man-made rules is contrary to the character of God and cannot hold His new paradigm.

Jesus next introduces the idea that the old way of rule keeping was not a part of what the Messiah was about.

The Law itself looked to the Messiah, but the men who ran Judaism were too rigid to expand to include the grace of God through Jesus Christ.

The Pharisees were so good at building fences to make sure no one violated the Sabbath that they fenced God out and fenced man in to slavish adherence of what became a silly bunch of contradictory rules.

But Jesus’ point is that discernment and compassion are more important than slavish obedience.

Keeping the rules was more important than doing good. Jesus saw a need and did something about it and it didn’t matter what day it was.

Sometimes we are so stuck in our own ways, no matter how miserable, that we miss the wonderful opportunity to jettison our way and give ourselves fully over to the Lord!

It’s amazing the lengths we sometimes go to fight against God’s love and healing.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()

Sermon Audio: Outcasts
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Mark 2:1-17
Duration: 19:17
Size: 8.82 MB

Jesus: The Ultimate Action Hero
Outcasts
Mark 2:1-17

In Chapter 1 we saw Jesus, the ultimate action hero, begin his battle against the enemy, Satan, in Chapter 2 He takes the war to a new front and begins battling the religious establishment in Israel, which was just as much an impediment to entering God’s kingdom as Satan.

We need to also hear the word He speaks about the coming of God’s kingdom and His place as the central figure in that kingdom.

I can imagine the surprise and even perhaps irritation of those inside as little pieces of mortar begin falling on them and then the sun breaks through in the ceiling!

He is now moving towards the second great campaign, the battle with the religious establishment that was keeping people away from belief.

Remember now, Jesus’ ultimate goal is to let these men kill Him, so He carefully moves them in that direction by making them make a choice: worship Him or kill Him.

As far as who was expected to be included in God’s kingdom, a tax collector would have not have been on the list for the Jews.

Matthew and the paralyzed man and the Leper had something in common, they were all outcasts. Jesus reintegrated them into God’s family in two ways:

1. Forgiveness
2. Calling