A Word from the Wilderness

Mark 1:1-8 · 2024-01-07 · Jason Wolin · Gospel of Mark | Cross and Crown

Mark 1:1-8 · Baptism. A Word from the Wilderness — sermon from Cypress Bible Church on BibleSlides.

A Word from the Wilderness Download discussion questions (PDF) Click HERE to view the Slideshow for this message Well good morning church. I have an announcement to make. I am officially a Texan; On behalf of my family, I want to thank you for being patient with the timing of our move. It was a great blessing to allow my kids to finish out the semester and spend the holidays with our extended family. I also wanted to thank so many of you for the kind notes, the gift cards, the Christmas cards, the warm welcome. CBC hospitality has lived up to its name. Today we are going to begin a new book, the gospel of Mark. Now here’s the reasons the elders chose this book. If you’ve been here for the last 24 months, you’ve been through a lot of change. And it’s easy in the midst of change to feel discontent, anxious, annoyed, fearful, unsettled. What studying the book of Mark does for us is anchor our thoughts in the person and work of Jesus Christ. It puts the gospel of Jesus Christ as our North Star. It reminds us that God is in control as King of Kings. It give us our bearings in the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross creating in us a new motive engine and helps us respond to difficulty in a new way. But the gospel of Mark is only going to help us if we receive it as it’s intended to be received. How is it intended to be received? As history. One of my main hopes in teaching this series is that we are confronted afresh with the historical claims of the book of Mark. For the Christian faith to be useful or helpful in any way, it must be historical. In other words, what we are about to study is not a story. It’s a REAL, non-exaggerated, authentic account of events that truly happened. Let me give you an analogy to help us see why this is so important. If you are a POW behind enemy lines, you need help. You need real help. Now let’s say someone hands you a novel and says, “Read this. I think it will help you.” You might read a story about a POW whose in a similar situation and in the story the POW is rescued. And for a moment, your distracted by the story, the story might inspire you in some way, it might shift your perspective a bit. That’s a form of help. But the second you close that book, you are still cold, hungry, alone and suffering. What you need is a real person to come and do real things in the real world and rescue you. You need a REAL savior. In the same way, in order for the Christian faith to be of any use at all, it must be historical. Now, historical is EXACTLY what this book claims to be. And that is exactly how the book begins. Mark 1:1, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” The word GOSPEL means good NEWS. Think about the word NEWS. NEWS is a genre of literature. If you say something is NEWS your making a reality cl…

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