Escalate Sermon Blog & Connection Point Questions

Have you ever considered the question above, "Whose team is Jesus really on?" Some of you reading this might honestly answer 'yes' because you have wondered that question. Many of you would probably answer 'no' because you have some beliefs about Christ that you hold firmly. But I would guess that in a very practical sense, most, if not all of us, have posed this questi...

In last week's text we saw the difference that Jesus' power made - when He showed up on the scene demonic forces were rendered helpless and Jesus took ownership of and granted new life to a boy who was left for dead. What must it have been like for these 12 disciples? Can you imagine what it must have felt like to have the privilege of spending so much time with Jesus, o...

Have you ever desired to do something extraordinary for God? Here's a little bad news - if you're striving to do that in your own strength and by your own abilities, you're never going to accomplish it. In this week's text Mark makes it very clear that the only way we can accomplish anything of Kingdom value is if we are calling on the power and presence of Jesus. Mark ...

Jesus came to suffer! It sounds crazy - we know. The idea that the Son of God's mission here on earth was to suffer for us sounds anything but normal. The idea that God would send His Son to earth for the purpose of journeying towards and hanging on a cross doesn't seem like the plan of a good and loving God. But while it may not sound normal there is good explanation. ...

In our physical bodies the organs in the middle (e.g. our heart and lungs) are essential for life. In other words our central organs are central for physical life. Mark does something very similar in his gospel. Right in the very middle of Mark's gospel he includes some things that are essential to our spiritual and eternal life. Here we find both a question and an exp...

Have you ever tried to teach little kids to swim? Let's just say it's not the easiest thing in the world to do. There are a handful of unique challenges you face when you try to teach a young child who has no idea how to swim some of the basics. What's interesting in our passage this week is that some of the challenges Jesus faces with His disciples and with us are some...

Typically when we hear the word 'abundant' our minds are drawn to something that, in our own personal contexts, there is a lot of. Maybe we think that there is an abundance of sand at the beach or an abundance of water in the oceans. But there are still limitations involved with those things. As Mark lays out for his readers through three different narratives the abunda...

In Mark chapter 7 the Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem show back up on the scene. Opposition, we know, is imminent. The question is simply, "what will trigger it?" Verse 2 tells us that this time it's Jesus' disciples eating a meal with unclean hands. Jesus spends no time getting past this though and challenging the Pharisees and the scribes on the real issue at ha...

The amount of misunderstanding surrounding Jesus is amazing sometimes, especially when both Jesus' actions and words point so clearly to His true identity. Yet people, from the time that Jesus was living and ministering on earth through the present, have continued to fail to see and realize just who He is. People both then and today have misunderstood or failed to recogn...

Last week's text ended with verse 30 which said, "The apostles returned to Jesus and told Him all that they had done and taught." They had counted the cost and answered the call to serve Him and returned excited about all that had taken place. But is that what it's all about? Serving and performing well? Jesus' response in verse 31 will answer that question. And in th...