Journey through Jesus' ministry with Mark

Dear friends: In this Sunday's lection, we are taking a look at the Gospel reading, Mark 6:7-13. And as we do so, we are taking a journey through Jesus' ministry with Mark as our tour guide.

Here we find Jesus sending out the disciples spread the Gospel message. He gives them the authority to proceed in His Name. They go in groups of two's, telling people to repent, informing them of the coming Kingdom of God, and demonstrating the reality of the Kingdom by doing healings and miracles. By the end of this brief passage, it is hard to tell who is more amazed and impressed, the people who hear and see the message, or the disciples themselves!

This passage is important because it has a lot to say about the church today. First of all, it is hard not to notice that those disciples were not ready for what they were about to do. They misunderstood Jesus, they bumbled and stumbled around Him, and they were astounded by what Jesus could do. He gave them special tutorials by teaching them the meaning of the parables He taught the crowds. But He didn't give them any special preparation for their missionary journeys: no snakebite kit, no strategic plan. Just His authority to get things done. And that was enough. It's kind of nice to know that we can participate in the evangelization of the world without having special seminary courses. All we need is the authority of the Master.

Notice also that God used them despite their sometimes lack of understanding. All they had to do was to obey His call to go out into mission. This they did well. And despite the fact that they were "clay pots", God was able to use them mightily. It's also nice to know that we don't have to be dynamic speakers, great leaders, or powerful planners in order to be useful to God. We just have to be us. God can use us as we are just fine!!

There is a powerful message in this passage for South Riding Church. And we're going to discuss it this Sunday. So, be there or be square!!!!