Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, July 30, 2023

ReCreate Church’s Podcast

People + Jesus

Today, Pastor Michael is back in the Gospel of Mark. Today’s lesson is about how priority shapes destiny.

At this point in the story, Jesus is telling the disciples that he will soon be betrayed and die. And after this, He will rise on the third day. The disciples did not understand this, so that’s where we pick up the story.

This isn’t the first time that Jesus has talked about his impending death and also not the first time that the disciples haven’t asked or drilled down on what this was all about. They did not ask. But the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the central port, the core, of Christianity. So let’s look at our highest priorities here.

What is priority number 1? People plus Jesus! A relationship with Jesus: nothing else matters! It has to be our number one focus.

Priority number 2: Serving people. How are you serving people?

Our question for you: have you put your trust in Jesus? That’s a life-transforming connection and central theme of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Next week we will cover more of the priorities that we did not have time for today.

Mark 9:30-32 (CSB Study Bible Notes) 9:30 This is the last reference in Mark to Galilee until after Jesus’s resurrection (see 14:28; 16:7 and notes there).

9:31 Jesus’s second death prediction is the briefest of the three (see notes at 8:31; 10:33-34), and has much in common with the others. The new element in this prediction is that he would be betrayed.

9:32 Luke explains why the disciples did not understand: “It was concealed from them so that they could not grasp it” (Lk 9:45).

Verses can be found in Mark 9: 30-40.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.