Mark 1

When we choose our way, when we think we must be true to what we feel rather than what Jesus said, we find ourselves opposing the work of Christ. Phil Ware reminds us that authentic ministry involves listening for the will of God in time in God's presence, genuine compassionate and personal care for those who are broken, and obedience to Jesus as our Lord.

Take a look at what Jesus did and feel the call to do it, too! Phil Ware begins an 8-part series on discipleship and following Jesus in caring for the hurt people of the world.

To touch the broken as Jesus did, I must learn to pray as Jesus prayed! Phil Ware shares his second post on Mark 1:35-45 and learning to touch the broken as Jesus touched them by learning to pray as Jesus prayed.

Take a look at what Jesus did and feel the call to look and see people as Jesus did! Phil Ware leads us deep into the heart of Jesus for ministry as he looks at Jesus' actions and emotions in Mark 1:35-45, today focusing on how Jesus looked at the situation and into the heart of man with leprosy.

To touch the broken as Jesus did, I must learn to pray as Jesus prayed! Phil Ware looks at Mark 1:35-45 and learning how to touch the broken as Jesus touched them by learning to pray as Jesus

How are you doing at keeping up with all your responsibilities? We get behind and stay behind because we don't pray.

The sequence of grace — serving before saving! Phil Ware shares insight on the beginning of Mark's gospel and how salvation is preceded by service, serving comes before saving, and the gospel always begins with a servant.

How can we begin to help in a world so full of hurt? We can't help everybody, or even most bodies, but we can help the person nearest us.

How can we learn God's will for this time in our lives? Phil Ware uses Jesus' example in Mark 1 to show how we can begin to deal with our feelings of being overwhelmed with everything confronting us and do the most important thing, the One Tune God wants us to play with our lives.

Without the personal touch, full healing never comes. Phil Ware continues his series on Jesus' healing the man with Leprosy in Mark 1:35-45 and focuses in this post on Jesus' touch.

Without the personal touch, full healing never comes. Phil Ware continues his series on Jesus' healing the man with Leprosy in Mark 1:35-45 and focuses in this post on Jesus' touch.

Why would Jesus leave someone behind? Phil Ware talks about spending time in communion with God so that we can know best how to respond to those who need compassion and yet help us keep to our mission.

Jesus refused the route of popularity and chose to live for God's purpose. This post continues Phil Ware's look at the man with leprosy in Mark 1:35-45 and Jesus' loving interaction with the man after he had committed to live out the Father's purpose in his life.

What can we learn from Jesus on how to connect when communicating? Phil Ware looks at Jesus' interaction with the man with leprosy in Mark 1 and how it is a blueprint for how we need to be in our communication with others.

What's the big rush, anyway? Paul Faulkner reminds us that being in such a rush in life is not the way God intended us to live and not the way Jesus lived, so we ought to slow down, spend time with the Father, and be refreshed.

If we are honest, so much of what we choose to do is based on our self-interest, while Jesus invites us to live life centered in God's purpose for us! This post continues Phil Ware's look at the man with leprosy in Mark 1:35-45 and Jesus' loving interaction with the man after he had committed to live out the Father's purpose in his life.

How can help when I overwhelmed with the need? Phil Ware introduces many of us to the principle of doing for one what you wish you could do for everyone and how it helps us know whom to help with so many needs around us!

What does grace really look like in real life? Phil Ware reminds us the way Jesus uses grace as an action, a living out of God's grace, in real life that has urges that Go back to the original woman and man.

"Dear Servant of God, I love the way Mark begins his good news story about Me:This is the beginning of the good news of Jesus, the Anointed One, the....."

So what is the rest of the story? We must take time, listen with our heart, and learn the rest of the story in people's lives if we are going to effectively minister to them.

"One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished..."

"A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. "If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean," he said. Moved....."

"One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens..."

"When [the disciples] found [Jesus], they said, "Everyone is looking for you." But Jesus replied, "We must go on to other towns as well, and I will....."

"After Jesus left the synagogue with James and John, they went to Simon and Andrew's home. Now Simon's mother-in-law was sick in bed with a high fever...."

"This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. It began just as the prophet Isaiah had written: "Look, I am sending my messenger..."

"Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Later Simon and the others went out to find him. When they....."

"[When John the Baptizer was proclaiming the coming of Jesus], Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. The moment he came out..."

Jesus emphasized that the greatest in the Kingdom of God is a servant, and then defined his personal mission as serving those who are lost. Phil Ware continues his reflections on his gospel studies and shares how we can become JesuShaped by becoming servants like John the Baptizer and four friends.

In the healing of a man with leprosy, we see the touch of Jesus and new life promised to us through the Spirit's resurrection power. Phil Ware continues his series on Jesus touching a man with leprosy and focuses on how Jesus' touch and word of command make clean and redeem this man who was left alone to die, abandoned by everyone and everything in his world.

How our high-tech world desperately needs some low-tech love! Many of us are focusing on how to connect with work, family, friends, and church through high-tech resources which is good, but we also need some good ol' fashioned low-tech love!

"[John the Baptist's] clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey. ..."

"The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness, where he was tempted by Satan for forty days. He was out among the wild animals, and angels..."

"Then Jesus sent [the man whose leprosy he had cured] on his way with a stern warning: "Don't tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and let..."

"Suddenly, a man in the synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, "Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to...."

"A little farther up the shore Jesus saw Zebedee's sons, James and John, in a boat repairing their nets. He called them at once, and they also followed..."

"But Jesus reprimanded [the evil spirit]. "Be quiet! Come out of the man," he ordered. At that, the evil spirit screamed, threw the man into a..."

"Jesus and his companions went to the town of Capernaum. When the Sabbath day came, he went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were..."

"The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness, where he was tempted by Satan for forty days. He was out among the wild animals, and angels took care..."

"Amazement gripped the audience [when Jesus cast the evil spirit out], and they began to discuss what had happened. "What sort of new teaching is..."

"John announced: "Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am... I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!""

"That evening after sunset, many sick and demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. The whole town gathered at the door to watch."

"Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God's Good News. "The time promised by God has come at last!" he..."

'Prepare Him room': Inviting Jesus to reign in our hearts is how the strange beginning of the Gospel of Mark fits into the Advent season. Phil Ware shares how Mark's gospel, which doesn't even mention the birth of Jesus, fits into the Advent season.

Jesus asks us to trust him — not just for receiving our salvation, but also by obeying him in our daily lives. Phil Ware concludes his six-part series on the man with leprosy that Jesus heals (Mark 1:35-45) and how we can learn to impact the lives of others as Jesus did.

Botiyasi just stood there a moment, speechless. He choked, then cleared his throat. Kneeling beside his friend, he spoke the request the old man coveted. Roy and Kathi Merritt share a beautiful story of love and conversion from Zambia and a servant of God named Botiyasi.

When I recall how Mr. Ellis brought me back into the human fold, I remember that Jesus once took ten lepers in hand and did the same. Philip Gulley uses his homespun charm to pay tribute to a hero, tell a self-effacing story about childhood warts and crushes, and weaves it together to remind us of God's love and how we should love others.

Where does your church meet? Rubel Shelly talks about a book he read recently, "Sanctuary of Outcasts", and challenges us to make the church such a place.

When Peter, Andrew, James, and John accepted Jesus' call to follow him, everything changed for them! Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in online, virtual worship through words and music using YouTube videos to help us understand, celebrate, commit, and confess what it means to follow Jesus.

We rejoice in the grace so lavishly given us in Jesus by obeying the Lord. Phil Ware concludes his six-part series on the man with leprosy that Jesus heals (Mark 1:35-45) and how we can learn to impact the lives of others as Jesus did.

"One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River."

"But the man [who had been cured of leprosy] went and spread the word, proclaiming to everyone what had happened. As a result, large crowds soon..."

"A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. "If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean," he said."

"All of Judea, including all the people of Jerusalem, went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan..."

"This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God."

"And a voice from heaven said [to Jesus following his baptism], "You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.""

"[John the Baptizer:] "I baptize you with water, but [Jesus] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.""

"The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness,..."

"And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.""

"The moment [Jesus] came out of the water, he saw the sky split open and God's Spirit, looking like a dove, come down on him."

"So Jesus healed many people who were sick with various diseases, and he cast out many demons. But because the demons knew who he was, he did not allow..."

"Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray."

"Very interesting is this little peep into the house of the Apostolic Fisherman. We see at once that household joys and cares are no hindrance to the....."

"Primeval darkness heard the Almighty fiat, "light be," and straightway light was, and the word of the Lord Jesus is equal in majesty to that ancient....."

"When they heard the call of Jesus, Simon and Andrew obeyed at once without demur. If we would always, punctually and with resolute zeal, put in..."

"As Jesus came up out of the water [after his baptism], he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove."

"So [Jesus] traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons."

"This messenger [to prepare the way for Jesus] was John the Baptist. He was in the wilderness and preached that people should be baptized to show that...."

Inspirational illustration of Mark 1:35 -- Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

Inspirational illustration of Mark 1:11 -- And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love, with you I am well pleased."

Here's your chance to change your life… Jesus called his disciples to leave comfortable lives in order to receive lives of purpose and a chance to be a part of God's mission in this world

What a beautiful example of the movement from invisibility to humanity! It is so easy to allow the world to slip by as I attend to my very important tasks. Jackie Halstead reminds us to view people as Jesus did; unique and valuable because each is made in the image of God.

Did you hear the one about the fellow who walked into First Suburban Church wearing an expensive suit and a baseball cap? If you value human contact and personal service, then take note of and appreciate it when you receive it.

"Dear Friend of God, Today, I AM asking you to do something important. I know you are busy with all your Christmas plans, but there is one important....."

How can I cluster my time effectively? How do we cluster activities to allow us to focus our energies on doing God's will for our lives rather than spending all of our time in routine, daily, maintenance activities?

What happened with the talk about the Kingdom of God? Phil Ware talks about climbing to the top of a mountain and seeing all the beauty that he never realized was there and uses this metaphor to talk about the difference between church and kingdom.

How are you going to get it all done? A plan to help us get things done we need to get done in a world of too much to do.

Why does Jesus' ministry begin with John? Phil Ware continues his series on The Story and reminds us that we can all be John the Baptist, the baptizer, to people around us.

In the healing of a man with leprosy, we see the touch of Jesus and new life promised to us through the Spirit's resurrection power. Phil Ware continues his series on Jesus touching a man with leprosy and focuses on how Jesus' touch and word of command made clean and redeemed this man who was left alone to die, abandoned by everyone and everything in his world, revealing Jesus' heart f

When's the last time you had a great rest? We must guard and protect our sacred space, our time alone with God.

Is your thinking stuck in a rut? Tom Norvell reflects on Apple founder Steve Job's retirement and reminds us to think differently.

"Dear Friend, My cousin John the Baptist "appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins" (Mark 1:4 NIV)......"

We spend time with God and find out that we are loved! Tammy Marcelain reminds us that we are able to realize that we are God's beloved when we take time to open ourselves to Him and be still and experience that God is with us and speaks to us in whispers.

Don't like change? Here's something worse and something better! Rubel Shelly talks about change and our need for it or we grow obsolete and irrelevant.

Will I follow on the journey, or will I choose to let where I am, where I'm comfortable, and what I have hold me in bondage? James Nored and Phil Ware remind us of the call of the Lord to leave and follow no matter the cost.

How do we live in the interim? Mark Frost of http://www.interimministrypartners.com shares part 1 of a 4 part series on the interim season by comparing it to the journey through the wilderness.

Why does the character we long to have take so long to develop? Phil Ware's first in a four article series on Jesus' work of transformation in us.

First Stage of Jesus' Ministry First stage of Jesus' ministry.

"Dear Friend, My earthly ministry began with My baptism by My cousin, John the Baptist, in the Jordan River (Luke 3:21-23). The heavens were ripped..."

Have you been called and did you answer? Andrew becomes one of the four disciples most closely associated with Jesus, he was a speaker on the Day of Pentecost and then he traveled, mostly by foot. Eventually, to be tortured and crucified in the city of Patras on the Peloponnese peninsula of what

What is the Phil Ware continues with his series on The Story focusing on the What Is and Who Is and the Why Is of Jesus' coming.

How would you feel if you had The Disease? Jesus came to touch and to heal, to take away The Disease.