Welcome to Timeless Truth with Pastor Jim Thomas. In season 2, Pastor Jim is leading us in a study of Mark. Today’s passage is Mark 1:14-20.
In verses 14-15 Mark summarizes the Gospel message of Jesus this way:
Good news!
The time has come!
The kingdom of God is near!
Repent and believe!!
“Human beings do not readily admit desperation. When they do, the kingdom of heaven draws near.”
– Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew
God is always the initiator and we are always the responders.
“You would not have called to me unless I had been calling to you,” said the lion.
– C. S. Lewis’ Aslan, The Silver Chair
“The whole of our life belongs to God and is part of his calling, both before conversion and outside religion. We must not imagine that God first became interested in us when we were converted, or that now he is interested only in the religious bit of our lives.”
– John Stott
Those who become disciples of Jesus Christ:
- Hear the call
- Count the cost
- Begin following Jesus daily
- Get ready for transformation
“We believe the gospel. For us this means that sacrificial love is not just our duty but our delight.”
– David Platt
While salvation will cost you nothing, discipleship will cost you everything. To be a disciple of Jesus means we recognize Jesus as our King; we follow, emulate, love, and obey Jesus in every category of life.
“The Christian faith has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.”
– G. K. Chesterton
“What marks Jesus’ disciples from His enemies is not theological acumen; His enemies often had the edge there. It’s this: Disciples follow Him, bewildered as they often are, while enemies oppose Him, clear-minded though they be.”
– Mark Buchanan, The Holy Wild
“Spiritual formation in Christ moves toward a total interchange of our ideas and images for his.”
– Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart
“The gospel is the dynamic for all heart-change, life-change, and social-change. Change won’t happen through ‘trying harder’ but only through encountering the radical grace of God.”
–Tim Keller
