March 28th
Speaker: Michael Dugone
Text: Mark 2:13-17  13 And He went out again by the seashore; and all the [d]people were coming to Him, and He was teaching them. 14 As He passed by, He saw [e]Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax office, and He *said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him. 15 And it *happened that He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and [f]sinners were [g]dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him. 16 When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the [h]sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, “Why is He eating with tax collectors and [i]sinners?” 17 And hearing this, Jesus *said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

March 21st
Speaker: RJ Dugone
​Text: ​Mark 2:1-12. When Jesus came back to Capernaum a few days later, it was heard that He was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer space, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them. 3 And some people came, bringing to Him a man who was paralyzed, carried by four men. 4 And when they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and after digging an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralyzed man was lying. 5 And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6 But some of the scribes were sitting there and thinking it over in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins except God alone?” 8 Immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were thinking that way within themselves, said to them, “Why are you thinking about these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven’; or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk'? 10 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralyzed man, 11 “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet, and go home.” 12 And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

• In our time, what are some of the unplanned events that would draw a huge crowd of people to gather?  (Have you ever been in a crowd that gathered to see the President of the United States?)
• What do you think would have convinced four friends to "deliver" their paralyzed friend to Jesus, regardless of the obstacles in their way?  (How did the actions of the friends demonstrate real faith?)
• Why were the Scribes convinced that Jesus was blaspheming when He forgave the sins of the paralyzed man?  (They obviously did not understand that Jesus was the Messiah)

The Big Idea: When Jesus was through healing and forgiving the sins of the paralyzed man, the people who had witnessed the "event" proclaimed, "We have never seen anything like this!"  What Jesus did was a significant break from the mundane.  It was supernatural.  It was non-traditional.  It even challenged the theology of the Jews.  What does the present church need to experience?  We need to experience God (both His person and acts) in such a way that it causes the people of our time to proclaim: "We have never seen anything like this!" 

• Have you ever witnessed "something" that was supernatural in nature?
• What are some of the "events" that happened in your life that led you to a place of faith?
• What are some of the signs that indicate that God is working and moving in our midst?  

Parallel Accounts: Accounts from the other Synoptic Gospels. 
Matthew 9:1-8 1 Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the sea and came to His own city. 2 And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.” 3 And some of the scribes said to themselves, “This fellow blasphemes.” 4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? 5 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk’? 6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He *said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.” 7 And he got up and went home. 8 But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

Luke 5:18-26 18 And some men were carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. 19 But not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus. 20 Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” 21 The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” 22 But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—He said to the paralytic—“I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.” 25 Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God. 26 They were all struck with astonishment and began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

Cross References: 

• John 14:10-13 (NASB) 10  "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. 11  "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves. 12  "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. 13  "Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
• John 20:24-30 (NASB) 24  But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25  So the other disciples were saying to him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." 26  After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus *came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." 27  Then He *said to Thomas, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing." 28  Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" 29  Jesus *said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed." 30  Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;  

Theology and Apologetics: The biggest objection to the spiritual authority that Jesus demonstrated came from the religious crowd.  Many, perhaps most, of the religious leaders of the Jews did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah.  Rather than helping and celebrating the Messiah, they resisted, opposed Him.  Although God had another plan in mind for Jesus; a plan that did not set up Israel as a political power; the Jewish leaders actions undermined their own vision of what the Messiah would accomplish.  Rather than supporting Jesus, they plotted (early on) to kill Him.  From a practical standpoint, the people of God need to be careful not to fall into the trap of opposing what God is doing.  We need to be spiritually discerning; and we need to conduct ourselves (in our relationships and actions) with a demonstration of the Fruit of the Spirit.

Quotes: “If we could collect all the authentic stories all over the world — from all the missionaries and all the saints in the all the countries of the world, all the cultures of the world — if we could collect all the millions of encounters between Christians and demons and Christians and sickness and all the so-called coincidences of the world, we would be stunned. We would think we were living in a world of miracles, which we are,” John Piper

March 14th
Speaker: Travis Cunningham
Text: Mark 1: 40-45 40 And a man with leprosy came to Jesus, imploring Him and kneeling down, and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” 41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. 43 And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, 44 and He said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” 45 But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere.

Big Idea:
​No one is beyond God's power to save and cleanse from sin.  This does not mean that everyone will avail themselves of Jesus' atoning work, but those who do will be clean.  In the words of the prophet Isaiah: "Though your sins be as scarlet, they will be white as snow..." (Isaiah 1:18)  Jesus cleansing of the lepers is proof that He came to save that which was lost; to restore that which was broken; and to cleanse that which was unclean.

Theology & Apologetics:
One of the main points in this passage is that the man approaches Jesus to receive healing. This man had lived his life up to this point as an outcast in society, seen as being an unclean man, and most likely without hope. Yet, when He hears about Jesus and the power that He has to heal the sick, he does not delay in coming to Him. He knows that in the heart of Jesus there is a compassion to associate with and heal people that this world calls 'outcasts'. In Mark 1:37-38, Jesus leaves a place where He had crowds coming to Him. In verse 45, the same thing happens again where crowds are flooding after Him but because of the testimony of a man healed of leprosy. Isn't it amazing how the praise and popularity of Christ was advanced more by a leper than a man whole and in perfect health? 
Compassion: splagxnízomai (σπλαγχνίζομαι) – "from splanxna, 'the inward parts,' especially the nobler entrails – the heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys. These gradually came to denote the seat of the affections" to be moved in the inward parts, to feel compassion

Compassion is not the same as pity. Pity is standing in a high place and looking down on someone in a low place and feeling sorry for them. Compassion on the other hand is a feeling inside of your body and heart that stirs you in such a way that causes you to move into action. Almost an uncomfortable feeling. Jesus moved with this type of love and compassion inside of Himself when He saw the pain and lostness of those He was sent to save. 
Leprosy- Leviticus 14. If a man was healed of leprosy, he was to go to the priest to be inspected by the priest and then to make an offering to the Lord for his healing. Jesus was telling this man to go to the priest as a testimony. The priest would have asked him how it came about that he was healed of leprosy, and the man would have said Jesus. Jesus told this man to do this so that He could have had an audience with the priests. The priests according to the law, would have had to go to the Father and offer a sacrifice on behalf of this man who was just healed by Jesus. He would have had to praise the Father, and offer thanks to the Father on behalf to his man who was just healed by Jesus. So, get the picture here. The priest would have been offering sacrifices, praise and worship because of what Jesus did. What a predicament they would have been in. Jesus was trying to show them that He was the source of healing and the object of worship. Jesus was demonstrating to the priests that the healing that lepers receive comes from the Healer, the praise, sacrifices and worship that the priests give also goes to the Healer. Jesus was trying to show them that the Person you were sacrificing to for centuries, was now walking around on earth doing the same things He had always done, bringing healing to the afflicted. 
​The reality of this mans condition is seen in Leviticus13.
“As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered, and he shall cover his mustache and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ 46“He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp. Leviticus 13:45-46
Lepers lived "outside of the camp" and alone. They were avoided by the "clean" people because of the contagious nature of leprosy. 
Cross References:
“In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will assemble the lame And gather the outcasts. Even those whom I have afflicted. 7“I will make the lame a remnant And the outcasts a strong nation, And the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion From now on and forever. Micah 4:6-7 NASB

For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, 29so that no man may boast before God. 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 NASB

“As for the person who has the leprous infection, his clothes shall be torn and the hair of his head shall be uncovered, and he shall cover his mustache and call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ 46He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; he shall live outside the camp. Leviticus 13:45-46 NASB

Questions to Consider:

Why do you think Jesus told the man who was healed to go to the priests and offer his cleansing that Moses commanded? See Leviticus 14:4-7

Have you ever felt compassion for someone that caused your body or stomach to ache in pain for them? 

Why do you think the man with leprosy got down on his knees in front of Jesus? 

March 7th
Speaker: Travis Cunningham
Text:  Mark 1:35-39 35 And in the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and prayed there for a time. 36 Simon and his companions eagerly searched for Him; 37 and they found Him and *said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” 38 He *said to them, “Let’s go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may also [v]preach there; for this is why I came.” 39 And He went into their synagogues [w]preaching throughout Galilee, and casting out the demons.

Big Idea:
Jesus, the Son of Man, was a man of prayer.  If Jesus, who was God in the flesh, needed to pray, how much more is prayer a necessity for the saints?  Prayer is an expression of our dependence on God, and so we pray, on all occasions, about all our concerns, without ceasing. 

Isn't it fascinating that Jesus, the Son of God, had to leave the house and get to a secluded place to get to the heart of the Father? I'm sure Jesus was constantly in connection and communion with the Father, but even He had to make the choice to leave and get alone.
It says in verse 36 & 37 that Simon and his companions were searching for Jesus because everyone else was looking for Him. They were eagerly searching for Jesus because the crowds were desperately looking for this Man who was healing the sick and casting out demons. As disciples, why do we eagerly search for Jesus? Is it for notoriety and popularity, or with selfish motives? In the face of crowds who were desperately searching for Jesus, Jesus decides that leaving was the next step to be taken. The love of people, the praise of people, the popularity of crowds shouting your name; these are all things that we as people seek. Yet, Jesus decides to leave it all to fulfill the will of his Father; which was to preach about the gospel of the kingdom. 

Cross References:
“He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. John 7:18 NASB

How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? 15How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!” Romans 10:14-15 NASB

and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2: 4-5 NASB

Questions to Consider:

It says Jesus went into their synagogues throughout Galilee. Why do you think He targeted the synagogues to preach and cast out demons?  

Does casting out of demons and preaching go hand in hand? 

Do we talk to God about men, or do we talk to men about God more? 

​Do we desire to be known by men or to be known more by the Father?