Mark 1:35-45: Focused on the Father

On Day Six of the ill-fated mission of Apollo 13, the astronauts were attempting to return to earth after an explosion crippled their spacecraft. To conserve the limited power remaining in their batteries, they had to shut down the onboard computer that steered the aircraft. But there was a problem. They were drifting off course and were not going to hit their entry point through earth’s protective shield. The astronauts needed to do a 39 second controlled burn of their engines to get them back on course, but without a computer, how could they steer?

Astronaut Jim Lovell determined that if they could keep a fixed point in space in view through their tiny window, they could steer the aircraft manually. They just needed an object to focus on in the window…and what was that object?

Earth!

This was brilliantly shown in the movie Apollo 13. For 39 agonizing seconds the three astronauts burned the engines and did everything they could to keep the earth in the middle of the window! By not losing sight of their reference point and staying FOCUSED on the object of their destination they were able to avoid disaster.

My friends, what can we learn from this?

Your FOCUS is everything!!

In this message we'll explore these questions:

What is the object of your focus?

Where have you fixed your eyes?

Hebrews 12:2 (ESV)
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

This world is fighting hard to divert your eyes in multiple directions. Our culture has motion sickness from the Tilt-a-Whirl we are on…Looking in every direction.

And yet, the example that Jesus sets for us is hidden in PLAIN SIGHT right on the pages of the Gospels.

How did Jesus handle the roller coaster?

How did he keep His focus on the Father?

Let's take a closer look.

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