The theme for several weeks, in the Gospel of John, has been bread. In our Gospel for today, John 6:24-35, Jesus refers to himself as the bread of life, identifying with the most basic of foods; simple, everyday sustenance. Pastor Nelson reminded us that the simple bread becomes a feast when many share the eucharist together. The bread…
Today’s Gospel (John 6:1-15) reminds us that Jesus saw the hunger and need for nourishment, and provided food for the 5000. He turned 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish into enough to feed the crowd, until all were satisfied. Today, even though we are blessed with abundance, we are often too concerned with carbs…
Naps are a good thing! Pastor David Nelson emphasized this during his time with the children and in his sermon based on today’s Gospel (Mark 6:30-34, 53-56). Jesus told his disciples to rest after they had traveled much and taught many. They tried to get away to a “deserted place by themselves”. But they were…
Sometimes, you need the whole story. Mark’s gospels are kind of like a detective story with everything pointing to the Cross. Today was Mark 6:14-29 telling of the beheading of John the Baptist. All sorrows can be bourn if you put them into a story. Retired Pastor David Nelson said he wonders if this is…
Jesus, early in God’s ministry, goes back to his hometown and is rejected by some in today’s gospel, Mark 6:1-13. Jesus had gained the trust of his twelve disciples and some authority but some of his former neighbors still looked at him as the son of Mary, son of a carpenter and uneducated. Someone pulls…
Mark 5:21-43 Gospel tells the story of two people who believed in Jesus’s power to heal and bring life out of death. One, a man with riches and power, begs Jesus to leave the crowds he is surrounded by and heal his daughter and the other is an unclean woman, who knows if she can…
In today’s Gospel (Mark 4:35-41), Jesus called to his disciples to get into a boat and cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. It was evening and they were ready for rest near the warmth of a fire. They had no desire to get up, get in a boat and travel out…
Retired Pastor David Nelson said that after a few week’s worth of Mark’s ‘conflict’ Gospels (they’ll be back later in the year), we now have wonderful little stories. Today’s story is about the mustard seed. The smallest of small seeds. In Jesus’s time, no one planted mustard seeds! They didn’t have any hot dogs and…
Mark 3:20-35 tells the story of how a house divided cannot stand. Pastor David Nelson pointed out how Mark uses conflict in his gospels and even more so in today’s gospel. Jesus is in conflict with his family and the scribes who have come to question him. His family, Mary and her other children, show…
On this second Sunday of Pentecost, our Gospel of Mark (2:23-3:6) continues with a theme of conflict. The laws of the Sabbath were examined when the Pharisees questioned Jesus about his disciples plucking grain to eat, and Jesus healing a man’s withered hand, both on the Sabbath. Jesus defends the laws of Sabbath in its…