Lindsey Blair and Bobby Gilles recap and discuss Pastor Jonah Sage's sermon from Mark 6:35-44.
Lindsey Blair and Bobby Gilles recap and discuss Pastor Jonah Sage's sermon from Mark 6:35-44.
Lindsey: Welcome to the Midweek Checkup. My name is Lindsey Blair, and over yonder way is Bobby Gilles. This past Sunday, Pastor Jonah Sage preached Mark six, verses thirty through fifty-six, in our new series called Boundaries of the Heart.
Bobby: Pastor Jonah said that said that God loves you and will take care of you. He also quoted a brilliant young theologian named Lindsey Blair, who said, “Boundaries are guardrails that provide clarity so that we might have safe, healthy, and whole relationships. Barriers are walls that disrupt relationships and keep us in a space of self-preservation and self-protection—our relationships will not flourish with barriers up.” Good job, buddy. If you missed the sermon or need help remembering, you’re in the right spot for the Midweek Checkup.
Lindsey: Jonah began by saying that in the next two chapters of Mark, we will see Jesus breaking down barriers. Hurt people built walls of religion, theology, ethnicity, tradition, and gender. By breaking these walls, he shows us the heart of his mission: Healing the hurts we hide. He loves us and will care for us, so he must heal the hurts we often aren't even aware of.
Bobby: Herod got trapped into a situation where he let John the Baptist be executed rather than look bad in front of his guests. That’s messed up. Highly accomplished people, even KINGS can be terrified of a spouse, a crowd, or even a homeless man...because the hurt is hidden deep inside, and nothing from the outside can break through the barriers hiding that hurt. Instead of healing, Herod's hurt became a barrier, blinding him to God's nearness, rendering him incapable of making good decisions.
Lindsey: Later Jesus gets into a boat, desiring to rest. He sets up a boundary but the crowds are like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus has the option here: do I cling tightly to this boundary, or do I open myself to God being up to something? He's open to the possibility that what he needs is more than a nap and a meal. Jesus believed God would take care of him, which included giving him the words to say to these people and the strength to say it.
Bobby: Jesus then performed a feeding miracle, but the crowd didn’t know it was a miracle - they just knew they got fed. Jesus fed the thousands, yes, but more so he was healing the hearts of the disciples - the tired, hungry, fussy disciples. He was showing them, and now us, that God loves you and will take care of you.
Lindsey: Jonah asked, “Will you take the road of Herod? The road of isolation, self-protection, people-pleasing? Your hurts will linger. Your insecurities will grow. Or...will you take the road of Jesus? Believe God loves you and will take care of you. Embrace your good, human desires, then hand them to the Lord.”
Bobby: We are here because of the plan and the power of Jesus. Join us this Sunday for services at 9 and 11 a.m. We hope to see you at Bible Fellowship, as well, as we discuss Psalm 90, the psalm of Moses.