Category: Mark

For those who are interested , last Sunday we played a rap song by Shad called Rose Garden.  It came from musing on why Mark sandwiches the story of the death of John the Baptist into the middle of the sending out of the disciple’s story in Mark 6. There was a sense that Mark wants us to eat a ‘reality sandwich, toR know that things don’t always go easy or the way we want.   He wasn’t promising us a Rose Garden. Listen to the song, and let the lyrics wash over you, and you’ll see what sticks. And for those who want to know what he said here are the lyrics : I didn’t promise you a rose…

A famous British theologian is often approached Americans asking him to fit into their theological labels. He tells this story “There is an old story about a gang of youths in Belfast stopping an Indian gentleman on the street. “Are you a Catholic or a Protestant?” they demand. “I’m a Hindu!” he answers. “Okay,” they say, “but are you a Catholic Hindu or a Protestant Hindu?” He tells the story to highlight how sometimes questions come from your background and where you live and goes on to say ?So, am I a fundamentalist creationist or an atheistic scientist? Answer: I’m a Brit.” Remember this story, because today we’re looking at the Bible, but also at something unique about New Zealand…

In life we face storms, some that we can see coming others that surprise us. Jesus can be trusted to be with us in the storm, and may even calm it for us. 

Family – We all come from a family of some kind. It’s part of what has made us what we are. As kids we grow up thinking that our family is normal but the normal of families can range from brilliant to horrifying. Churches often want to talk about families like hallmark cards; Lots of lovely sentiments and cutesy slogans but the bible is nothing like as sen timental about families. In Matthew 2:19 Jesus’ family flees death squads for Egypt. Read Luke 2:41-50. Imagine your self as  either Joseph or Mary.  Would you be upset with Jesus ? Why didn’t 12 year old Jesus let them know what he was doing ? How come it took so long. Look…

Read Mark 3:20-30 VOICES – Everybody has voices, either in their head, or in their life. These voices seek to make us less than who we are. They try and tell us who we are not. It was no different for Jesus. His own family are on their way to “take charge of him” worried that his ministry is not only affecting Jesus but could also make them look bad. The Pharisees are already starting to look bad so they try and label Jesus as evil.

Read Mark 3:7-19 This week Jesus picks his dream team. Have any of you ever played a fantasy football game, or picked your unique special team ? What was it like ?  if you were picking the 15 best all blacks ever who would you choose ? Jesus – being God has the ability to pick anyone as his followers. How come he picks these guys ? Two argue some brothers, Peter who often seems like not he sharpest knife on the rack and one of them will betray him. What was Jesus thinking ? If Jesus picks people like this, he might even pick someone like me. Why do you follow Jesus ? (If you do ?) That’s really…

1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us—  2 so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. –Psalm 67:1–2 (NIV) Discuss: what do you think it means for God’s face to shine on us ? Read Psalm 80 – notice the same phrase about God’s face comes up 3 times. What do you think this is saying ? Jesus Christ is God’s “Yes” to Humanity.  – Agree ? Disagree ? When we say “Yes” to one thing we are also saying “No” to others.   We see this in the 10 commandments – the first is our “Yes” to God, and the others are more of a “No” flavour. One thing…

It’s Queens birthday and the passage is short. There are two ideas to talk about. The first has to do with marshmallows. This was about delayed gratification.  It was the practise of many in Jesus’ time to fast and pray.  Fasting is about giving something up for a period of time so that you can have something else. It’s got some similarities to saving for something. It’s a behaviour that expresses our values and even though the passage we’re reading isn’t an endorsement of the practise. I did find myself musing on when we lay something aside, or wait for something and what that says about our values. How serious are we about our faith ? Do we really want…

The Others  When I was a student I had a student job of taking a political tolerance survey. One of the parts of the survey asked what group you most disliked (nazi’s, white power, KKK, mongrel mob, traffic warden etc..)    Then later on a question was asked if you would be happy for that group to speak (and possibly) recruit in Cathedral Square. It turned out that most of us believe in freedom of speech for the people we agree with. Discuss : What group do you dislike ?   How would you feel about them speaking in Cathedral square ? Levi is a tax collector. Native tax-collectors were despised by “upright” Jews for at least three reasons: 1)…