Fresh Fruit // Part 5: Kindness
The Golden Exception If you’re old enough, you might remember the phrase, “be kind, rewind.” That motto encouraged people to reset their VHS tapes so that the next person to borrow the tape would be able to start watching right away. It’s sort of like replacing the toilet paper when it runs out, so that…
Read MoreFresh Fruit // Part 4: Patience
A World of Hurry We live in a world of hurry. Can you think of anything that hasn’t gotten faster in the last ten years? For the vast majority of human history, instant messaging was impossible for even the wealthiest kings. But today, it’s in the pocket of almost every American and countless around the…
Read MoreFresh Fruit // Part 3: Peace
It’s Fruit, Not Fruits! It’s our third week covering the fruit of the Spirit, and you may have noticed that we’ve been consistently saying fruit rather than fruits. There’s a reason behind this! It might seem small at first, but it’s actually an important difference. Let’s take a closer look at Galatians 5:22-23. But the…
Read MoreFresh Fruit // Part 2: Joy
Joy vs. Happiness The second fruit of the Spirit is joy. So, what is joy? Many dictionaries list it as a synonym for happiness, but they’re definitely not the same thing. Happiness is fully an emotion. It’s a product of our circumstances, and it changes with the wind. But joy is something that we can…
Read MoreFresh Fruit // Part 1: Love
How to Identify a Christ Follower Do you think you could recognize a trustworthy babysitter when you meet one? You couldn’t know for sure just by looking at them, because there are good people of all kinds of nationalities, body types, and fashion tastes. But what about if you had a quick, everyday conversation with…
Read MoreMasterclass: The Book of Mark // Living in God’s Kingdom Today
He Has Risen! In the final chapter of the Gospel of Mark, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome journeyed to Jesus’ tomb with the intention of anointing his deceased body. It eventually occurred to them that there would be a stone in place at the entrance of the tomb, and they’d have…
Read MoreMasterclass: The Book of Mark // Jesus Makes a Way to the Kingdom
You Have Said So, Pilate Pontius Pilate was a Roman official who was tasked with governing over Judea, during Roman occupation. In Jesus’ day, the Romans allowed the Jews to keep their own law, have their own leaders, and practice their own religion. The Sanhedrin were the ruling body of Jews in Judea, and they…
Read MoreMasterclass: The Book of Mark // Jesus as King of the Kingdom
The Anointing at Bethany In His last days before the crucifixion, Jesus spent a lot of time in the town of Bethany. There, a woman unnamed by the Gospel of Mark (but believed by scholars to be Mary Magdalene) stepped forward and anointed Jesus’ head. Anointing was the practice of applying oil or a similar…
Read MoreMasterclass: The Book of Mark // The Coming of the Kingdom
Understanding Biblical Genres Chapter 13 of the Gospel of Mark contains teaching from Jesus’ about the End Times. Biblical descriptions of what is yet to come can be difficult to interpret. But there are some tools we can use as we dig into The Word that can help guide our understanding. Two of the biggest…
Read MoreMasterclass: The Book of Mark // Invest in God’s Kingdom
The Parable of the Tenants In Mark 12:1-11, Jesus tells the chief priests and teachers of the law a parable. The story involved a man who rented his vineyard to a group of tenants while he lived in another place. When the man sent servants to collect some of the fruit at harvest time, the…
Read More