The Joshua Victor Theory

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Mark chapter 8, our Gospel reading, is a pivotal chapter. It is the center of Mark’s Gospel, and Jesus challenges His disciples to see His vision and purpose for His own ministry, as well as their discipleship or following after Him. First they need to be clear on who Jesus Himself is—which Peter correctly answers: “ You are the Christ .” God’s chosen or anointed One. The Savior long promised and foretold by the prophets. “Christ” is the Bible’s title for that Savior and Chosen One. But when Jesus turns to explain the “job description” of the Christ—He tells the disciples plainly that suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection were inescapably tied up with His purpose. Jesus puts a “ must ” in there—He “must suffer ” these things. Suddenly whatever glorious image Peter had in mind of the Christ rescuing God’s people Israel, is jarred by what seems to be a completely incompatib...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Last week we heard in 1 Peter 3 about the Christian living their life with good conscience, despite persecution and opposition for their faith. The theme continues in today’s reading. We’ve talked before this year about how we don’t experience persecution anywhere on the order of how millions of Christians in foreign countries do today, or early Christians. Yet Peter almost took it for granted that persecution was a basic reality of Christian life. Our reading opens with, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” This challenges us to consider why we don’t experience more persecution. Is it because we enjoy a period of relative peace in our country? Or do we see warning signs that the “goodwill” toward Christianity is fading in society? Or does it tell us we aren’t speaking up or witnessing ...

Sermon Outline: ·          Do you feel secure? What is it that gives you security? Jer. 33:16, “In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely.” Current crisis: Israel and Palestine—hundreds of rockets fired before the cease-fire. “Iron Dome” system. Shot down 300 rockets (80-90%) that it fired on. Living securely? Several hundred million $ rocket system? Physical security? Peace agreement, cease fire? What kind of security did Jeremiah mean? ·          Closer to home—what steps do we take to guard our security? Your homes, your property, your health, family? We go to incredible lengths to keep our property and physical health in safety and security--e.g. surgeries, security systems, food security (freeze dried foods for the eventuality of a food shortage). There is seemingly a type of insurance for almost all eventualities—travel, accidents, life, theft, fire, earthquake, etc. Do...