Category: Mark

The Son of God in Glory

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Pastor Matt Tarr – AM Sermon

Scripture: Mark 9:2-8

In a miracle unlike the disciples had ever seen, Jesus fulfills His promise made in 9:1. Peter, James, and John see Jesus lift the veil of His humanity so that they might see Him in His kingdom glory and power. He is the Divine Christ, and as such, His words must be obeyed and followed. The disciples must abandon their own ideologies and sinful denial of the necessity of His death, and recognize their need for a Savior.

Add. Ref.: Philippians 2:6

Ashamed

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Pastor Matt Tarr – AM Sermon

Scripture: Mark 8:38-9:1

In Mark 8:38-9:1, Jesus concludes His counsel to His disciples with a stern warning: whoever is ashamed of Him, He will be ashamed of in the day of His return. That is not a sorrowful shame as though He wishes we could have been more faithful. It is an eternal shame that results in His rejection. That is a Divine guarantee, and Jesus makes a prophecy that will be shortly fulfilled as proof.

Add. Ref.: Jeremiah 6:6-15; 2 Thess. 1:3-12

The Cost of Following Christ (Part 2)

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Pastor Matt Tarr – AM Sermon

Scripture: Mark 8:34-38

Christ has called all who wish to follow Him to abandon their lives and their living for His sake. That isn’t possible in today’s gospel of “self-esteem” and “self-love.” A life of sacrifice for the King cannot come from a heart that thinks too highly of itself, since that heart will think itself too valuable to give itself up. It will be  a heart committed to self-preservation. Sadly, it is a high view of self that is propagated today to the destruction of souls and the church.

Add. Ref.: Mark 10:17-31; Psalm 141:5

The Cost of Following Christ (Part 1)

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Pastor Matt Tarr – AM Sermon

Scripture: Mark 8:34-38

A necessary question for anyone who professes to be a Christian is, “Is Christ Lord of your life, or are you still lord of your life?” In this passage, Jesus makes it very clear that if you are still lord of your own life, you are not a follower of His. His disciples are called to a life of self-denial, suffer for the sake of the Gospel, and follow after Him.

Good Confession, Bad Profession (Part 2)

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Pastor Matt Tarr – AM Sermon

Scripture: Mark 8:27-33

After making the most supreme confession, that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus begins teaching His disciples what that means and how He would accomplish God’s plan for His Christ. That stood in the way of Peter’s plan for the Messiah though, and his rebuke of Christ demonstrated that he was ultimately interfering with the eternal decree of God. That was inexcusable, and so seriously offensive to Christ that Peter’s plan made him God’s adversary.

Add. Ref.: Ephesians 3:11

Good Confession, Bad Profession (Part 1)

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Pastor Matt Tarr – AM Sermon

Scripture: Mark 8:27-33

In one of the most pinnacle confessions in the Gospel of Mark is also the greatest blunder. Peter, speaking on behalf of Jesus’ disciples, makes a supreme confession, recognizing for the first time by any person in Mark’s Gospel that Jesus is the Christ. The finally understood the Person, though they still didn’t get the plan.

Add. Ref.: John 9:4-41

What Do You See?

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Pastor Matt Tarr – AM Sermon

Scripture: Mark 8:22-26

Mark 8 presents the first account in the Gospel of Mark of a healing of a blind man, but the story proposes numerous questions, perhaps chief among them being, “Why did Jesus heal the man in two stages?” This is the only time He does that, and it is also the only time when Jesus asks the recipient of a healing a question, rather than making a pronouncement. Is there a reason?

What Are We Missing?

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Pastor Matt Tarr – AM Sermon

Scripture: Mark 8:11-21

The Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herod have shown themselves to be dangerous enemies of Christ and His mission time and time again. It would seem natural then that Jesus would warn His disciples to beware the influence of their leaven. But as soon as He says, “leaven,” all the disciples seem interested in is bread. Jesus, disappointed with their lack of perceptiveness to spiritual truth, reminds them that the spiritual things are far more important than the physical.

Add. Ref.: Psalm 119: 18, 32, 36, 72

What Are We Not Seeing?

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Pastor Matt Tarr – AM Sermon

Scripture: Mark 8:11-13

The moment Jesus arrives once again in Galilee, He is instantly met with the hostility of the Pharisees and the Jews who demand a sign to validate His message. But after having witnessed all He had already done in Galilee, just what were they looking for? Regardless, Jesus refused to oblige them saying, “No sign will be given to you,” and for a very important reason.

Add. Ref.: John 15:23, 8:19; 2 Kings 20:1-11; Isaiah 7:10-17; Psalm 95:8-11; Matt. 12:38-42; 16:1-4

Compassion Even to the Gentiles

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Pastor Matt Tarr – AM Sermon

Scripture: Mark 8:1-10

Many contemporary “scholars” have rejected Mark’s account of Jesus’ feeding of the 4,000 in Decapolis, pointing to the many similarities between this account, and the feeding of the 5,000 near Bethsaida. What they fail to see, however, are the many dissimilarities between the two accounts. In fact, it is because of one major dissimilarity, that this miracle in Mark 8 communicates a whole new message to Mark’s audience in Rome.

Add. Ref.: Acts 2:1-4