May 30th
Speaker: RJ Dugone

Text: Mark 3:31-35 ​ 31  Then His mother and His brothers *arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called Him. 32  A crowd was sitting around Him, and they *said to Him, "Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You." 33  Answering them, He *said, "Who are My mother and My brothers?" 34  Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He *said, "Behold My mother and My brothers! 35  "For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother."

Big Idea: Is it true that blood is thicker than water?  (Which means that most people have a higher level of commitment to their blood relatives than they do to anyone else)  Should this be true in the context of the church?  One could make a Biblical case that a Believers first loyalty in life should be to God, and secondly to their family in Christ.  There is no doubt that "we" are called to love everyone; but when it comes to doing good, we start with the household of faith.
Questions to Consider:

1. How can "we" demonstrate (in tangible ways) our love, commitment and loyalty to one another?
2. What is our responsibility towards family members (our blood relatives) who are without Christ, and maybe even antagonistic towards our faith? 
3. Why are the relationships between Believers so crucial to the health and well-being of the church?

Parallel Passages: 

• Luke 14:25-27. Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
• Matthew 19: 16-22.  And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS; HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; and YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?” Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property. And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. “Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Questions to Consider:

1. What do you think Jesus meant when He said that we could not be His disciples unless we hate our father, mother, wife, children, brothers and sisters?  (Is Jesus using of figure of speech called "hyperbole?") 
2. How would you define modern day idolatry?  (Idolatry is generally held to be anything that we allow to come between us and our commitment to God)  
3. How could the following "things" actually become objects of idolatry in our lives?  1) Commitment to family; 2) Riches and material wealth; 3) The desire to "fit-in" and be liked; 4) Our favorite activities such as social media or playing video games.

Theology/Apologetics: When I was the pastor in a region of the country that was dominated by one of the world's most powerful Christian Cult Groups, ("Christian" in the sense that they self-identify themselves as being followers of Christ), it was challenging to anyone who was converted out of that cult to leave said cult and declare their faith in Christ.  As one young man explained to me: "I have come to see the errors in the theology of the "cult group" and no longer believe in what they teach; but to openly walk away and embrace Christ as taught in the Bible would cost me everything.  I would lose my job, my wife, my family, my community and everything that I care about."  That is the cost one must be willing to pay if that is what it takes to follow Christ.  The cross that you pick up in your pursuit of Christ may look different than someone else's cross.  Each of us have a personal price that we must be willing to pay in order to follow Christ.  Important Note: This must not be equated to paying the price for your salvation; Jesus, already paid that price.  However, in the words of Jesus, to be His disciples we must deny ourselves, pick up our cross and follow Him.
Questions to Consider:

1. What do you think Jesus meant when He called on us to "deny ourselves?"
2. What are some of the "works of the flesh" that seem to need a "daily crucifixion?"
3. How would you describe the personal cross that you are carrying as you follow Christ?

June 6th
Speaker: RJ Dugone
Text: 2 Timothy 1:6-12 For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. [7] For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. [8] Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, [9] who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, [10] but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, [11] for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. [12] For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.
Salient Points from Text:

• (Verses 6 & 7) We should not allow fear of man to dictate our use of spiritual gifts.
• ​(Verse 7) God is not the source of fear.  Quite the opposite, He has given us "His" power, love and discipline.
  
• (Verse 9) Our calling is a sacred  trust by which we serve the purposes that Jesus has established by His grace.
  
• (Verses 11, 12) We should never be ashamed of Christ's work in and through us.
  
• (Verse 12) We need to consign our "concerns" to the care of the Lord.

Big Idea: Although it is not one of the Ten Commandments, the most common command found in the Bible is "fear not."  Behind the command of "fear not" stands the God and Creator of the Universe who encourages us with the fact that He is with us.  The three Hebrew children dared to defy the orders of King Nebuchadnezzar because they knew that their God could deliver them.  They found out that in the midst of the fiery furnace, God was indeed with them.  When Jesus delivered the Great Commission (the mandate to make disciples) He ended with the promise that He would be with us, even to the end of the age.

Related Passages of Scripture: 

May 23rd
Speaker: Michael Dugone
Text: Mark 3:20-30 20 And He came home, and the crowd gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. 21 When His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He has lost His senses.” 22 The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.” 23 And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but [l]he is finished! 27 But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house. 28 “Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

big idea: Jesus has declared war on an established kingdom. He is healing the sick, bringing new authority and teachings, forgiving sins, breaking the oral tradition, "working" on the sabbath, overcoming temptation, and opposing the Jewish/religious leaders of his time. However, it is not the kingdom of Israel or the Jewish religion that is under attack but the Kingdom of Darkness. Jesus says in Matthew 5:17 that "He has not come to abolish the law and prophets but to fulfill them," but He says no such thing about the realm of Satan. In fact, He is in open opposition and has begun to attack this kingdom. It started in the desert when Jesus resisted the devil's temptations and continues as we see Jesus exert his power and authority over the demon possessed. In this passage we see Jesus’ power and authority come into question by two different groups in two different ways. It reminds me of a C.S. Lewis quote from Mere Christianity, “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” This is exactly what we see play out in the passage and Jesus leaves the Pharisees with a very stern warning about the road they are headed down. 

Questions to consider:

1. In Mark 3:6 we see Jesus was being conspired against in order to destroy him, this was the first salvo in order to discredit his ministry. What are some ways that people are trying to discredit Jesus today?
   
2. Despite vs 20 “And He came home, and the crowd gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal” why do you think there was a growing opposition to Jesus?
   
3. Take time to think of someone you know who is opposed to Jesus. Can you take the time to pray for them and ask God to reveal those reasons to them or yourself? If God reveals the reason to you please search the truth out and share it with that person. 
   

parallel passage:
Mark 12  1And He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and put a [a]wall around it, and dug a vat under the wine press and built a tower, and rented it out to [b]vine-growers and went on a journey. 2 At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive some of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers. 3 They took him, and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. 5 And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others. 6 He had one more to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those vine-growers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 They took him, and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.

Matthew 12: 22-32 22 Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to [v]Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. 23 All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by [w]Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

25 And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “[x]Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and [y]any city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan casts out Satan, he [z]is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 If I by [aa]Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. 28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.30 He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.31 “Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 Whoever [ab]speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever [ac]speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.



Theology/apologetics:

1. The parables Jesus teaches show first that the kingdom of darkness (Satan) is not attacking the kingdom of darkness (vs 23-26) or else it would not stand. He follows this teaching up using a parable in vs 27 where he (jesus) points to having tied up (defeated or proven his power over) the “strong man” i.e. Satan.
   
2. There is a sin which is unforgivable, namely the blasphemy of the Holy spirit. This is not a one-time/one-off sin but a slow hardening of ones heart as the light of revelation and the work of the Holy spirit is rejected and attributed to others (in this case Beelzebul)
   

 3:20-30  ​20  And He *came home, and the crowd *gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. 21  When His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, "He has lost His senses." 22  The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons." 23  And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan? 24  "If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25  "If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26  "If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished! 27  "But no one can enter the strong man's house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house. 28  "Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29  but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"— 30  because they were saying, "He has an unclean spirit." 

May 16th
Speaker: Travis Cunningham
Text: Mark 3:13-19  ​13  And He went up on the mountain and summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him. 14  And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach, 15  and to have authority to cast out the demons. 16  And He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter), 17  and James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, "Sons of Thunder"); 18  and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot; 19  and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him. 

Big idea: Jesus had many people who followed Him throughout His earthly ministry. In fact, in Acts 1 when the first disciples had gathered in the upper room before the day of Pentecost had fully come, it mentions 11 disciples by name, but there were about 120 actually gathered together. But Jesus primarily had 12 disciples that walked closely with Him and that are consistently referenced throughout His ministry and in scripture even though many others were true disciples and followers of Christ. Jesus gives these twelve disciples three appointments or assignments in verses 14-15. These three assignments are important for us to understand and walk in today.  
1.) That they would be with Him
2.) That they would go out and preach 
3.) That they would have authority to cast out demons

Cross References: 
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; 27but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

​“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3“You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. 7“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8“My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. 9“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11“These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. John 15:1-11

Theology & Apologetics:
Preaching and casting out of demons went hand in hand in the ministry of Jesus and with  the ministry of the first disciples. Preaching is an act of authority where we declare something with our voice. When we do so there will be opposition that will arise from either people or from demonic entities. This is true with anything that is done authoritatively. In our time of Covid, if you declare with authority that masks don't work or that masks are necessary and vital; either one of those claims will get some sort of pushback. Notice that Jesus puts being with Him before preaching and casting out of demons. This is the key to the Christian life. Being with Christ, Christ being our life. Secondly, the preaching of the gospel is ahead of the casting out of demons. This is intentional because the preaching of the gospel is what is necessary for salvation; casting out of demons is not always needed and can be done without the person ever coming to faith in Christ. People come to faith through hearing the word of God and allowing the seed of the gospel to grow. But there are times when demonic powers are at work preventing that seed from taking root and they must be dealt with. We as believers that are abiding in and with Christ and walking in obedience to His command to make disciples of every nation, also have authority over demonic spirits that show forth themselves. 

Questions to consider: 

​Have you ever experienced a demon being cast out? 

Has God you ever used you to cast a demon out of someone? 

What does the phrase "being with Jesus" mean to you? What does that look like in your life? 

​Do you find joy being with Jesus and spending time with him? Why or why not? 

May 9th
Speaker: David Fritz
Text: Mark 3:1-6 ​1  He entered again into a synagogue; and a man was there whose hand was withered. 2  They were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. 3  He *said to the man with the withered hand, "Get up and come forward!" 4  And He *said to them, "Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?" But they kept silent. 5  After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He *said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6  The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him. 

Scripture:
Hebrews 12:3 - For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Titus 2:7-8 -  7 in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, 8 sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.

Matthew 5:10-12 - 10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

John 16:33 - These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

Ephesians 6: 10-13 - 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against [e]flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

ESV Commentary:
Mark 1:16–8:26 Demonstration of Jesus’ Authority. The first half of Mark’s Gospel is dedicated to the demonstration of Jesus’ authority over sickness, laws of nature, and the demonic world. He also calls, appoints, and sends out his disciples while regularly teaching in a unique and authoritative way.

Mark 1:16–3:12 Jesus’ Early Galilean Ministry. The call of the disciples is intertwined with narrative descriptions of Jesus’ authority over demons and sickness, as well as with authoritative teaching (see note on Matt. 4:12–25).

Mark 3:2 The scribes believe that healing is a form of work and is thus not permitted on a Sabbath. Accuse (Gk. katēgoreō, “accuse, bring charges”) is a technical term: they seek to mount a legal case against Jesus by collecting evidence against him.

Mark 3:3–5 Jesus is not intimidated by his opponents; he makes the Sabbath healing (cf. v. 2) an intentionally public incident. they were silent. The silence of the opponents displays their hardness of heart, and Jesus’ anger shows that his question, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm … ?” should have been answered: “to do good.” This would not violate the OT law, but it would violate the opponents’ extrabiblical, mostly Pharisaic tradition. Their tradition misses the point of the Mosaic law: to love God and one’s neighbor (cf. 12:29–31). Stretch out your hand. See note on Luke 6:10.

Mark 3:6 The Pharisees were quite different from the Herodians (supporters and associates of Herod Antipas of Galilee and the Herodian family dynasty; see note on Matt. 22:16). However, these two groups held counsel together (cf. Ps. 2:2) in order to destroy their common enemy, Jesus (Mark 14:1–2).