East Frankfort Baptist Church Pastor's Blog: March 2017

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Worship Minimovie: You Have Been Raised Up With Christ

From Sunday morning:

You Have Been Raised Up with Christ from Crossway on Vimeo.

Monday, March 27, 2017

March 26, 2017 | Mark 7:14-23 - Here Comes Trouble: Why Hypocrisy is Both a Religious and Heart Issue, Part 2

Here is the sermon from Sunday morning taken from Mark 7:14-23:

¹⁴After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: ¹⁵there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. ¹⁶[If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”]

¹⁷When he had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable. ¹⁸And He *said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.) ²⁰And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. ²¹For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, ²²deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. ²³All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”

Audio
Notes

For more:
January 10, 2016 | Mark 1:1-15: Jesus is the Gospel, Stupid
January 17, 2016 | Mark 1:16-20: The Correlation Between Repentance and Obedience, or, If Jesus Jumped Off a Bridge Would You Follow?
January 17, 2016 | Malachi 3:13-4:6: Is it Vanity to Worship God?
January 24, 2016 | Mark 1:21-28 - This Means War!
January 31, 2016 | Mark 1:29-45: Rusted and Weathered
February 7, 2016 | Mark 2:1-12
February 14, 2016 | Mark 2:13-17: God Helps Those Who Cannot Help Themselves
February 21, 2016 | Mark 2:18-22
February 28, 2016 | Mark 2:23-28
March 6, 2016 | Mark 3:1-6
March 13, 2016 | Mark 3:7-19 - How to Change the World
March 20, 2016 | Mark 3:20-35
January 1, 2017 | Mark 4:1-20: The Parable of the Soils, Part 1
January 1, 2017 | Mark 4:1-20: The Parable of the Soils, Part 2
January 15, 2-17 | Mark 4:21-25 - Hide It Under a Bushel?: The Beauty and Blessing of Taking the Gospel Seriously
January 15, 2017 | John 9
January 22, 2017 | Mark 4:26-34: The Kingdom of God is Coming. Wait For It Y'all
January 29, 2017 | Mark 4:35-41: We Have Nothing to Fear But God Himself
January 29, 2017 | Jonah: God Pursues
February 5 2017 | Mark 5:1-20: What Can Wash Away My Stains?
February 5, 2017 | On Spiritual Warfare, Part 1
February 12, 2017 | Mark 5:21-43
February 19, 2017 | Mark 6:1-6: The Nazarene School of Rejection
February 19, 2017 | On Spiritual Warfare, Part 2
February 26, 2017 | Mark 6:7-13: When Disciples Become Ambassadors
March 5, 2017 | Mark 6:14-32 - Something Worth Losing Your Head Over: Why Repentance is Truly Liberating
March 5, 2017 | Judges 13-16 - Samson: Let the Strong Say I Am Weak
March 12, 2017 | Mark 6:33-56 (unavailable)
March 12, 2017 | John 6:1-40: The Bread of Life
March 19, 2017 | Mark 7:1-13: Here Comes Trouble: Why Hypocrisy is Both a Religious and Heart Issue, Part 1
March 19, 2017 | Exodus 20:1-18: The Ten Commandments
March 26, 2017 | Mark 7:14-23 - Here Comes Trouble: Why Hypocrisy is Both a Religious and Heart Issue, Part 2

Thursday, March 23, 2017

A Few Thoughts on the Gospel of Mark from Ben Witherington

I found this to be a helpful summary of the Gospel of Mark from Asbury professor Dr. Ben Witherington, III.

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Pre-Worship Minimovie: Promotional Video

Sunday morning we unveiled in worship our new promotional video for EFBC. Thanks again to the students for participating.

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

March 19, 2017 | Exodus 20:1-18: The Ten Commandments

Sunday even we began a brief two-part series on the 10 Commandments. Here is part one.

Then God spoke all these words, saying, ²“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
³“You shall have no other gods before Me.
⁴“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. ⁵You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, ⁶but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
⁷“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
⁸“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. ¹¹For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
¹²“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.
¹³“You shall not murder.
¹⁴“You shall not commit adultery.
¹⁵“You shall not steal.
¹⁶“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
¹⁷“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Monday, March 20, 2017

March 19, 2017 | Mark 7:1-13: Here Comes Trouble: Why Hypocrisy is Both a Religious and Heart Issue, Part 1

Here is the sermon from Sunday morning taken from Mark 7:1-13.

The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, ²and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. ³(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; ⁴and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.) ⁵The Pharisees and the scribes *asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?” ⁶And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:

‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.
⁷‘But in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’

⁸Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”

⁹He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. ¹⁰For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, is to be put to death’; ¹¹but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),’ ¹²you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother; ¹³thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”

Monday, March 13, 2017

March 12, 2017 | John 6:1-40: The Bread of Life

Sunday mornings sermon was, unfortunately, not recorded. However, below is the audio from Sunday evening taken from John 6:1-40 on the feeding of the five thousand.

After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). ²A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. ³Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples. ⁴Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. ⁵Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, *said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” ⁶This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do. ⁷Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.” ⁸One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, *said to Him, ⁹“There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” ¹⁰Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. ¹¹Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. ¹²When they were filled, He *said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” ¹³So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. ¹⁴Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

¹⁵So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.

¹⁶Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. ¹⁹Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they *saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. ²⁰But He *said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” ²¹So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

²²The next day the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there, except one, and that Jesus had not entered with His disciples into the boat, but that His disciples had gone away alone. ²³There came other small boats from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. ²⁴So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. ²⁵When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”

²⁶Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. ²⁷Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” ²⁸Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” ²⁹Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” ³⁰So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform?

³¹Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’” ³²Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. ³³For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” ³⁴Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”

³⁵Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. ³⁶But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. ³⁷All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. ³⁸For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. ³⁹This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. ⁴⁰For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

Audio

For more:
January 10, 2016 | Mark 1:1-15: Jesus is the Gospel, Stupid
January 17, 2016 | Mark 1:16-20: The Correlation Between Repentance and Obedience, or, If Jesus Jumped Off a Bridge Would You Follow?
January 17, 2016 | Malachi 3:13-4:6: Is it Vanity to Worship God?
January 24, 2016 | Mark 1:21-28 - This Means War!
January 31, 2016 | Mark 1:29-45: Rusted and Weathered
February 7, 2016 | Mark 2:1-12
February 14, 2016 | Mark 2:13-17: God Helps Those Who Cannot Help Themselves
February 21, 2016 | Mark 2:18-22
February 28, 2016 | Mark 2:23-28
March 6, 2016 | Mark 3:1-6
March 13, 2016 | Mark 3:7-19 - How to Change the World
March 20, 2016 | Mark 3:20-35
January 1, 2017 | Mark 4:1-20: The Parable of the Soils, Part 1
January 1, 2017 | Mark 4:1-20: The Parable of the Soils, Part 2
January 15, 2-17 | Mark 4:21-25 - Hide It Under a Bushel?: The Beauty and Blessing of Taking the Gospel Seriously
January 15, 2017 | John 9
January 22, 2017 | Mark 4:26-34: The Kingdom of God is Coming. Wait For It Y'all
January 29, 2017 | Mark 4:35-41: We Have Nothing to Fear But God Himself
January 29, 2017 | Jonah: God Pursues
February 5 2017 | Mark 5:1-20: What Can Wash Away My Stains?
February 5, 2017 | On Spiritual Warfare, Part 1
February 12, 2017 | Mark 5:21-43
February 19, 2017 | Mark 6:1-6: The Nazarene School of Rejection
February 19, 2017 | On Spiritual Warfare, Part 2
February 26, 2017 | Mark 6:7-13: When Disciples Become Ambassadors
March 5, 2017 | Mark 6:14-32 - Something Worth Losing Your Head Over: Why Repentance is Truly Liberating
March 5, 2017 | Judges 13-16 - Samson: Let the Strong Say I Am Weak
March 12, 2017 | Mark 6:33-56 (unavailable)
March 12, 2017 | John 6:1-40: The Bread of Life

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Worship Minimovie: The Gospel is Like a New Language

How the Gospel Is Like a New Language from Crossway on Vimeo.

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

March 5, 2017 | Judges 13-16 - Samson: Let the Strong Say I Am Weak

Here is the sermon from Sunday evening looking at the life of Samson, the most famous Judge of Israel: the strongest man who ever lived who was, at the same time, one of the weakest.

²²However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it was shaved off.

²³Now the lords of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice, for they said,

“Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hands.”

²⁴When the people saw him, they praised their god, for they said,

“Our god has given our enemy into our hands,
Even the destroyer of our country,
Who has slain many of us.”

²⁵It so happened when they were in high spirits, that they said, “Call for Samson, that he may amuse us.” So they called for Samson from the prison, and he entertained them. And they made him stand between the pillars. ²⁶Then Samson said to the boy who was holding his hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them.” ²⁷Now the house was full of men and women, and all the lords of the Philistines were there. And about 3,000 men and women were on the roof looking on while Samson was amusing them.

²⁸Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.” ²⁹Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and braced himself against them, the one with his right hand and the other with his left. ³⁰And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he bent with all his might so that the house fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed in his life. ³¹Then his brothers and all his father’s household came down, took him, brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. Thus he had judged Israel twenty years.

Monday, March 6, 2017

March 5, 2017 | Mark 6:14-32 - Something Worth Losing Your Head Over: Why Repentance is Truly Liberating

Here is the sermon from Sunday morning taken from Mark 6:14-32 on the execution of John the Baptist.

¹⁴And King Herod heard of it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.” ¹⁵But others were saying, “He is Elijah.” And others were saying, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” ¹⁶But when Herod heard of it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!”

¹⁷For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. ¹⁸For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death and could not do so; ²⁰for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him. ²¹A strategic day came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his lords and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee; ²²and when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.” ²³And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you; up to half of my kingdom.” ²⁴And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” ²⁵Immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” ²⁶And although the king was very sorry, yet because of his oaths and because of his dinner guests, he was unwilling to refuse her. ²⁷Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and had him beheaded in the prison, ²⁸and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹When his disciples heard about this, they came and took away his body and laid it in a tomb.

³⁰The apostles *gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. ³¹And He *said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) ³²They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.