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All Sermons, Pastor Andrew Schmidt, MARKed, MARKed: A Year in the Gospel of Mark, MARKed By Good News Celebrate Church All Sermons, Pastor Andrew Schmidt, MARKed, MARKed: A Year in the Gospel of Mark, MARKed By Good News Celebrate Church

MARKed By Good News- Week 1

Pastor Andrew Schmidt begins a new sermon series called, “MARKed by Good News”. This is part of our MARKed: A Year in the Gospel of Mark, which began on April 20th. This week’s passage centers on Mark 1:1.

There were two sermons on Easter Sunday, April 20th. The first service is available to watch above. The second service sermon is the audio version you will find below or on our podcast.

You can listen to the sermon below, or you can subscribe to our Celebrators Podcast wherever you listen.

Sermon Slide Notes:

Mark’s Gospel starts “The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah the Son of God.” As we spend a year in this Gospel we note that it will be all about Jesus and it will be good news.

God’s people at the time Jesus lived needed to be prepared in order to receive the Messiah. 

John the Baptist is the one who prepared them. Three aspects of John’s preparation:

  1. They confessed their sins (1:5) that is they acknowledged what’s true about their life in relation to God and his ways. 

  2. He preached a baptism of repentance (1:4) that is they were to take steps to change.

  3. This baptism was for the forgiveness of sins (1:4) that is they receive God’s grace to do for them what they could not do for themselves. 

Story after story in Mark’s gospel presents people, both religious and irreligious, being called to respond to Jesus. They are described in such a way as to invite us to decide how we will respond to Jesus. 

If we are to receive Jesus we need to respond in the same ways as those who were prepared by John the Baptist that is with:

Confession: Acknowledging what’s true

Repentance: Taking steps to change

Forgiveness of sins: Receiving God’s grace

Possible Action Steps are:

Baptism (Sign up for Faith Commitment class if you have not been baptized or confirmed your child baptism as an adult through public profession of faith)

Bible (Read the Gospel of Mark during the coming weeks and months)

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