Weekend Service for July 19Scripture Readings: Mark 4:35 - 5:43Mark puts four impossible situations side by side: a storm no fishermen could control, a demon no town could tame, a disease no doctor could fix, and a death no human being could reverse. The thread running through all of them says faith is not the absence of fear. Faith is choosing to trust Jesus because of who he is.Jesus sleeps in the boat while the Sea of Galilee is coming apart around the disciples. The disciples read his sleep like he does not care, but Jesus knows his authority. Jesus wakes up, rebukes the wind and waves, and the storm stops dead in its tracks. The disciples move from fear of the storm to fear-filled wonder: “Who is this man?” Even the wind and waves obey him.Jesus steps next into a place nobody else wanted to go. The man in the tombs is violent, isolated, naked, cutting himself, and filled with a legion of demons. The town had tried chains, restraint, and distance, but none of it could restore him. Jesus speaks, the demons leave, and the man is found sitting, clothed, and in his right mind. Jesus does not just make people slightly better. Jesus sets people free from chains that nobody else can break.Jesus then meets a woman who had bled for twelve years. Doctors had taken her money, her condition had gotten worse, and her uncleanness had pushed her outside normal life. Her faith presses through the crowd with the thought that just touching his robe would be enough. Jesus heals her immediately, but he does not let her disappear into the crowd. Jesus calls her “daughter,” giving her dignity along with healing.Jesus also meets Jairus, a synagogue leader whose daughter is dying. Jairus has status, knowledge, and position, but none of those things can stop death. When the news comes that the girl has died, Jesus answers fear with a simple command: “Don’t be afraid. Have faith.” Jesus takes the little girl by the hand and says, “Little girl, get up,” and death obeys him.Mark’s stories press one question into every fear: is fear shaping the view of Jesus, or is Jesus shaping the response to fear? Spiders, sickness, storms, loss, cancer, and death are not the same size, but the answer is the same. Jesus has authority over all of it.[00:00] Welcome[00:28] Faith Is Choosing Trust[01:12] No Fear Beyond Jesus’ Authority[03:00] The Everyday Power of Fear[07:24] Jesus Calms the Storm[11:46] The Man in the Tombs[16:21] From Chains to a Right Mind[17:49] Twelve Years of Suffering[21:05] Daughter, Go in Peace[23:08] Jairus Brings Helpless Fear[25:01] Little Girl, Get Up[26:15] Questions Fear Has to Face[27:10] Dave Loomis and Faith[31:22] Prayer for Faith Over Fear

Weekend Service for July 12Scripture Readings: Mark 3:7 - 4:34Mark places Jesus in the middle of growing crowds, but the crowds are not all the same. Some people come because sickness has made them desperate. Some people come because miracles are interesting. Some people come because Jesus has traction now, and everyone wants to see what this Jesus guy is doing. The crowd can gather around Jesus and still not become disciples.Jesus withdraws from the noise and appoints the twelve. The list of names matters less because they are famous and more because these men stop being just part of the crowd. They are being called to give up their lives, their trades, their plans, and their ordinary way of seeing the world. Jesus is not gathering people to sit around and watch him do everything. Jesus is forming people who will become his hands and feet.Mark then shows the different hearts around Jesus. His family says he is out of his mind. The religious leaders accuse him of working by Satan. The crowds stay fascinated. The disciples keep learning what it means to stand in truth. Jesus answers the accusation with simple force: Satan does not cast out Satan, and a divided kingdom collapses. The stronger one has come into the strong man’s house, tied him up, and begun plundering what evil once held.Jesus then redefines family around obedience and discipleship. His brother and sister and mother are those who do the will of God. Faith brings people into the family of God, not as spectators, but as those who serve alongside him.The parable of the soils brings the whole thing down to the condition of the heart. The seed does not change. The word of God does not need improvement, polishing, or a better bag. The soil is what changes. The hard path never lets the seed get in. The rocky soil receives it quickly but has no root. The thorny soil allows worries, wealth, habits, desires, scrolling, busyness, and distractions to choke out life. The good soil is cultivated, watered, softened, and ready to receive.Jesus is the Word made flesh, the ultimate seed planted in the world. Some rejected him, some treated him like a fad, and some left everything to follow. The lamp is not meant to sit under a basket or under the cabinet. The life of Christ growing in good soil is meant to shine into a hurting, empty world.[00:00] Welcome[00:13] Hearts That Respond to God’s Word[02:21] Preparing Soil for the Seed[04:32] The Seed Does Not Change[05:25] Crowds Come From Everywhere[07:51] Jesus Appoints the Twelve[09:25] Crowd or Disciple[12:22] Jesus Accused by His Family and Leaders[13:24] A Divided Kingdom Cannot Stand[15:08] Jesus Defines His True Family[16:03] The Parable of the Four Soils[20:01] Thorns, Worry, Wealth, and Distraction[23:28] Good Soil and Slow Growth[25:46] The Lamp on the Stand[32:30] Jesus as the Ultimate Seed[36:13] Dusty Bibles and Prepared Hearts

Weekend Service for July 5Scripture Readings: Mark 1:21-3:6Mark brings Jesus into Capernaum without fanfare, without gold chains, without a big white robe, without Jesus filling out a “hello my name is” badge. Jesus shows who he is by showing up, doing what only he can do, and building relationship slowly and over time. His authority does not come from religious branding or a loud announcement. His authority is evident because darkness, brokenness, sin, and false religious systems all have to answer when he speaks.Jesus teaches in the synagogue with “real authority,” not like the teachers of religious law. The evil spirit recognizes him before most people do and cries out, “I know who you are.” Jesus does not argue with the demon or put on a show. Jesus simply says, “Be quiet, come out,” and the spirit obeys. Mark shows that knowing who Jesus is and trusting Jesus are not the same thing. Even demons believe, but disciples surrender.Jesus also shows authority over brokenness. The religious system had rules, and those rules had a purpose, like telling a little kid to stay away from the stove because the stove is dangerous. But the system had turned God’s good commands into a game with straight lines and narrow definitions. Jesus heals on the Sabbath because doing good does not violate the heart of God. Jesus touches the leper, spends time with broken people, and refuses to steer clear of the ones everyone else avoids. His pattern is not a repeatable method. His pattern is that he sees people for who they are and loves them where they are.Mark 2 becomes a turning point when four friends lower a paralyzed man through the roof. Jesus sees their faith and says, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” The religious leaders are right that only God can forgive sins, but they miss who is standing in front of them. Healing a body matters, but healing only lasts for this lifetime. Forgiveness lasts forever. Every miracle validates the greater miracle of who Jesus is.Jesus redefines what religious life looks like. He calls fishermen, tax collectors, regular everyday people, people who do not look polished, people whose language and lives are not cleaned up yet. The crowds watch, the demons recognize and fear, the disciples follow and change slowly, and the religious leaders resist because they do not want to lose power. Mark presses the real question: whose authority is being trusted? Jesus has the skill and authority of the true doctor, but surrender is required. His authority is not just something to admire from a distance. His authority calls for a life changed from the inside out.[00:00] Welcome[00:18] Mark Introduces Jesus’ Authority[01:22] Authority Built Through Relationship[04:36] Living Under Someone’s Authority[07:36] Jesus Teaches in Capernaum[08:41] Evil Spirits Obey Jesus[11:44] Authority Over Brokenness[14:35] Jesus Seeks Broken People[17:09] The Paralyzed Man Lowered Down[18:05] Only God Can Forgive Sins[20:23] Miracles Point to the Greater Miracle[22:26] Jesus Redefines Religious Life[25:37] Four Responses to Jesus[28:16] Whose Authority Is Being Trusted[30:18] Surrendering to the True Doctor

Weekend Service for June 28Scripture Readings: Mark 1:1-20Mark opens by sprinting into the story of Jesus. The gospel does not pause for genealogies or a Christmas pageant. It throws the spotlight on the Messiah’s public work, the way Peter would remember it, quick and vivid, packed with “immediately.” Isaiah sets the frame before a single scene plays out. A messenger will clear the road for the Lord. John the Baptist stands in that role, out in the wilderness in camel hair, eating locusts and wild honey, loudly announcing that the Greater One is at the door, the One who will baptize in the Holy Spirit.The Jordan then becomes a stage for revelation. The heavens split, the Spirit descends like a dove, and the Father names Jesus as the dearly loved Son. The same Spirit compels the Son into the wilderness for forty days of testing. The power comes with proving. This Son steps straight from water to warfare.After John’s arrest, Jesus steps into Galilee with a line that still rings: the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is near, repent and believe the good news. The good news is not a self-help plan or a religious system. It is a Person to be trusted and followed. Systems can orbit Him, but the center must stay personal.The shoreline of Galilee becomes the place where the kingdom’s call lands. Jesus sees working men on ordinary days, Simon and Andrew tossing nets, James and John mending them. He says, Come follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people. They leave their nets at once. The call asks for an immediate yes, not a later maybe. The team He gathers is not a stack of religious elites but ordinary people who will learn to do what He does by walking in His steps.Mark’s first chapter ties the Savior into long promises and real time. God’s plan has been unfolding for centuries, and every promise finds its Yes in Jesus. The Son who is affirmed from heaven steps into temptation on earth, then announces a kingdom that demands decision. The text presses two questions into the heart of any listener: Who is Jesus in this chapter, and, because of who He is, what is He asking a disciple to do today? The King arrives, and His presence still moves people out of boats, off safe routines, and into life that looks like Him, touching the untouchable with grace.[00:00] Welcome[00:26] Series intro and gospel options[00:52] Quick profiles of the four Gospels[05:17] Mark’s pace and the word “immediately”[05:37] Peter’s eyewitness shaping Mark[06:49] Reading Mark 1:1-20[07:12] John the Baptist prepares the way[08:21] Heavens open at Jesus’ baptism[08:57] Jesus proclaims the kingdom[11:35] Good news is about a Person[12:05] Firefighter urgency as a picture of Mark[13:01] Prophecies fulfilled in Jesus[14:12] God’s promises still hold[15:35] The call demands an immediate yes[16:08] Recognizing the Caller: a modern anecdote[19:09] Jesus chooses ordinary people[20:49] Called to a decisive response[24:18] Two questions to bring to the text[25:18] Closing prayer

Weekend Service for June 21Scripture Readings: Hebrews 12:7-11 / 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12The contrast between caped heroics and faithful fathering sets the frame. Clark, Bruce, and Peter all point to the same thing: under the suit are ordinary people. Ordinary is where fatherhood lives. The flash on the big screen is not the metric. God celebrates the dads who show up day after day, pay the electric bill, drive to practice, pray when nobody sees, and try again after hard days. The claim that matters lands simple and strong: the greatest superpower a father has is his presence.Hebrews 12 then steadies the pace. The text calls the church to run the race with endurance by keeping eyes on Jesus, the champion who starts and finishes faith. The cross proves his joy and his grit. The discipline that follows is not punishment for punishment’s sake. God disciplines the children he loves. That is how a perfect Father treats his own. So a “super dad” shows up, and because he shows up he can rightly shape, correct, and guide his kids.Playful presence becomes training ground. The machindano on a queen-size bed is not about winning a crocodile fight. It is about time spent that builds a foundation for voice and correction to mean something later. Joshua 24 then fixes direction. “As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” Leadership here is not domination or pretending to be flawless. Leadership owns failure, apologizes for snapping in a McDonald’s drive-thru, and points the family back to Christ again.Hebrews 12:10-11 gives the why. Discipline is painful in the moment, but it yields a peaceful harvest of right living. Correction is love in motion. A dugout talk after a long losing season shows what this looks like: stop the resignation, call for effort and attitude that can actually be controlled, and aim the team toward growth. First Thessalonians 2 adds the tone: pleading, encouraging, urging toward a life God calls worthy. Ephesians 6:4 guards the method: do not provoke; bring up with the Lord’s instruction.Practice then becomes legacy. Children learn to pray, forgive, show grace, humble themselves, and persevere by watching. A kid who tracks crops beside the house remembers more than his dad might think. Words like “son, I’m proud of you” become the inner voice a child carries. Careers, houses, and projects are fragile. The legacy that sticks is who a father becomes and who he helps his children become. The good news anchors it all: kids already have a perfect Father. In Christ, imperfect dads are made whole and can be faithful, present, leading, correcting, encouraging, and modeling Jesus in the ordinary.[00:00] Welcome[00:22] Father’s Day and superhero expectations[04:37] Clark, Bruce, Peter: ordinary men[05:50] Ordinary faithfulness of fathers[07:29] Presence is a father’s superpower[07:58] Hebrews 12: endurance and discipline[11:03] Mashindano: playful presence builds trust[13:38] Lead your family to serve the Lord[16:11] Discipline that yields a peaceful harvest[17:26] Coaching story: effort and attitude[20:19] Encourage and correct with purpose[24:57] Children learn by watching[27:33] Legacy is showing Jesus daily[29:33] A father’s self-check[30:46] Closing prayer for dads

Weekend Service for June 14Scripture Readings: 2 Timothy 2:1-14Passover sets the tone by tying salvation to a family’s story and command: obey as a lasting ordinance for descendants, and when children ask, “What does this mean to you?” answer with lived meaning, not bare definition. The question becomes the doorway through which faith moves from rule to relationship, from events to interpretation, from history to identity. Paul then names the three-generation thread in Timothy’s line, where faith first lived in Lois, then in Eunice, and now lives in Timothy, and he presses further: fan into flame the gift, refuse shame, suffer for the gospel, and guard the good deposit. The text itself links lineage to stewardship, not to nostalgia; the living gospel is entrusted and must be guarded and given, not merely admired.The contrast between binary and spectrum frames a first test of lifestyle. Some moments are rightly no, like a hot stove with a toddler, but maturing children must be coached into discernment where Scripture gives principle, not a script. The spectrum forces hard calls issue by issue, and the Exodus question stays near: why is this important to you. Presence then demands wisdom between hovering and vanishing. Lois and Eunice are known and formative, yet absent from the travel log, suggesting a posture that is available without smothering, supportive without supplanting.Wisdom itself refuses two easy ditches, either rigid rule-keeping that never requires thought or a free-for-all that never offers rails. Paul’s pattern helps: hold sound teaching with faith and love, then teach others who can teach others also. Family identity asks whether a household will live like a locomotive on fixed tracks or like a hovercraft exploring open country. Both images carry risks and gifts. The aim is not control but clarity about who the family is, what a name means, and how to hold honor when insult or confusion comes.Consequences round out the field. Some homes major on catching wrongs and keeping score. Others deny there is any wrong at all. The gracious father in Luke 15 shows a better center. He lets a son choose, absorbs the waste, keeps the road home visible, and runs with open arms when the child returns. Grandparenting gains that perspective. What used to matter shrinks, and what endures comes forward. Exodus keeps asking, what does this mean to you, and 2 Timothy keeps urging, guard the good deposit and pass it on.[00:00] Welcome[00:35] Series setup and grandpa focus[02:21] From secular kid to Christ[04:38] Parachurch and the local church[06:29] Learning to think in the friction[07:10] Two texts for three generations[09:55] Passover and a lasting ordinance[12:18] Paul, Timothy, and a family line[14:12] Lois, Eunice, and sincere faith[15:04] Grace revealed and death destroyed[16:07] Guarding and entrusting the deposit[19:56] Five challenges for grandparents[20:17] Lifestyle: binary to spectrum[24:53] Presence: hovering to absence[27:15] Wisdom: rules to license[30:27] Family identity: tracks or hovercraft[33:27] Consequences and the real stakes[34:58] Not prodigal son, gracious father[38:13] The gift of grandparent perspective[39:07] Prayer and benediction

Weekend Service for June 7Scripture Readings: Genesis 2:24 / Luke 15:20-24 / Exodus 18:17-23Parenting names the long road from diapers to diapers and insists the road starts with the parent. The calling looks inward first, asking whether the parent is becoming the kind of person who can lead children toward healthy adulthood. The years shift. Infants need protection. Adolescents need guidance. Young adults need an influencer, not a controller. The approach that worked at 8 does not work at 18, 20, or 25. The relationship must evolve as needs change, even when emotions flip from “I’m right here” to a meltdown in a minute.Genesis 2 speaks into that shift. God builds a family that nurtures and trains, but he also sets a trajectory. A man leaves father and mother and is joined to his wife. The design is not permanent dependence but maturity and a new union. The goal becomes adult children who can stand, decide, and still remain in living relationship with those who raised them.Failure sits inside that design as a teacher. Luke 15 puts a father on the porch and a son in a pigsty. The father lets the young man choose his path and lose his money. Then love runs. No ridicule. No I told you so. Only robe, ring, sandals, and a party. That welcome echoes the heart of God in Christ, the one who forgives Peter, is betrayed by Judas, and answers the thief with mercy. Parents prepare children not by bubble wrap but by walking them through the next right step after a fall.Exodus sets another pattern as Moses receives counsel from Jethro. Influence shows up without control. Advice comes as a gift, not a demand. Adult children get to choose, and wisdom respects their agency while staying close enough to be heard.The relationship must hold when convictions differ. Children may look different, vote different, parent different, even struggle spiritually. Love keeps the door open and the fattened calf ready. Disagreement need not mean disconnection. The parent’s posture says, the voice remains, the corner is occupied, and the table is set.Trust hands all this to God. Children imitate what they see before they understand what it means. So the parent aims to look like Christ, longing not for permanent control but for lifelong connection. The prayer becomes to raise sons and daughters who carry grace and make sound decisions as they stand side by side with those who first carried them.[00:00] Welcome[00:23] From Diapers To Diapers[00:48] Parenting Begins With Self-Examination[03:42] When Approaches Must Change[04:52] The Shift To Influencer[05:16] God’s Family Design[07:40] Failure As A Teacher[09:03] The Prodigal Son Begins[12:27] The Father Runs And Embraces[14:34] Grace, Not Ridicule, At Home[15:35] Choosing A Christlike Response[19:22] Jethro’s Advice Without Control[21:16] Disagreeing Without Disconnecting[23:54] Entrusting Children To God[25:35] Lifelong Connection, Not Control

Weekend Service for May 31Scripture Readings: Luke 2:41-52The goal of parenting adolescents is not to control but to cultivate wisdom, character, and connection that last. The call is holding on while letting go. Early on, protection makes sense. The oven is a bad place for a toddler. But adolescence needs guidance, not gates. The cookie recipe image does the work here: measurement, patience, and practice teach reality better than grabbing the whole bag of flour. Influence learns how to let go while still holding on, and it resists the urge to overcorrect.Adolescence frustrates because what works on a tantruming four-year-old falls flat on a questioning twelve-year-old. Their pushback can feel like rebellion, but most of it is normal development by God’s design. The dog-training story makes the point plain. Daisy could be obedient, but she never gained wisdom, judgment, conviction, or faith. Children must grow those on purpose.Luke 2 lets Jesus lead the way. At twelve he stays in the temple, listens and asks questions, amazes the teachers, then goes home and lives obediently. The text holds both identity-seeking and family honor together. Mary stores it up and learns. Identity formation is the work of these years: Who am I, where do I belong, what do I believe, what is my purpose? Parents can hand down habits, but teens must own faith for themselves, or the world will gladly hand them another name.Connection out-influences control. James says be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to get angry. Coaching from the dugout illustrates it: ask, draw out fear, and then coach courage. Intentional one-on-one time builds a safe home where kids bring news, good or bad. Rules matter, but the destination is wisdom. Proverbs 4 presses it home: get wisdom, develop good judgment.Training decision-making is a gift for the day a child leaves. Bring them into choices now, while influence is strong. Luke 2 ends with a parent’s posture: obedience, treasuring, and trust. The limits of control will surface, and fear will rise. Release the illusion of control, give children to God, and lean into faithful influence. The adolescent years are not about perfect pictures. They are about deepening influence so sons and daughters grow into adults who follow Christ on their own.[00:00] Welcome[00:10] From diapers to adolescents[01:10] Cultivating wisdom, not control[02:27] Oven-to-kitchen growth analogy[03:37] Influence without overcorrecting[04:48] Toddlers vs. adolescents[07:59] Daisy: obedience isn’t wisdom[11:56] Jesus at twelve, temple focus[16:49] From parents’ faith to personal[17:46] Connection over control: listen slow[22:30] Get wisdom, develop judgment[24:32] Training decision-making for life[25:59] Mary treasures, trusting God[27:57] Releasing control, embracing influence[30:52] Raising adults who follow Christ