Sermon Notes from Sunday 3.20.11

Here are the notes from today's sermon.  It wraps up the almost year-long journey through the Gospel of Mark.  It was also a powerful time with the people of God in the presence of Jesus.  As always, you should be able to get these notes and the sermon audio at sermons.heritagepark.org sometime midweek.  You can also download the podcast on iTunes.

Lean Forward

Part 5 – Even Though…

Mark 14.32-72

Today’s Question:  will I worship when times get hard?

Suffering is Expected

• Jesus had predicted His suffering 3 times. 
• Expecting suffering blunts its impact on my heart.

Emotions are Acceptable

• Jesus held nothing back in His emotional response.
• The Psalms help me find God-honoring language to go with my emotions.

God is the Same

• My circumstances have changed, but God’s character has not.
• My circumstances have changed, but my relationship to God has not.
• My circumstances have changed, but His perspective has not.

God Knows our Pain

• Disappointment (v.37-42)
• Desertion (v.50-52)
• Injustice (v.53-64)
• Physical Suffering (v.65)
• Betrayal (v.43-49, 66-72)
• Emotional Suffering
• Spiritual Suffering
• I worship Him because He can empathize (Heb. 4.15).

The Future is Real

• Jesus walked through His trial because He could see the future (Heb.12.2).
• I worship Him because He will bring that promised future to reality.

Our Commitment is Faithfulness

• Jesus committed to faithfulness at any cost.
• I worship Him by doing the same thing (Heb. 12.3).