If you and your family are using Home for the Holidays as an advent devotional guide, you can also follow along with the Home for the Holidays sermon series. The discussion guide at the end of each week of devotions go hand in hand with the sermons. The first Sunday of Advent focuses on Hope. Join with me as we hope for the holidays this Christmas season.
Sometimes You Have to Dig A Hole
How far are you willing to go in your relationship with Christ?
- Expect opposition.
- The expectation of opposition creates an imperative for you to grow.
- The time to prepare for opposition is now.
- Find strength in numbers.
- And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken. -Ecclesiastes 4:12
- Anticipate obstacles.
- When you anticipate obstacles, you create a plan to overcome those obstacles.
- Watch God work.
- Jesus will never disappoint.
Blind Faith
Mark 10: 46-52 Bartimaeus had blind faith. Even as voices around him tried to silence his cries, his trust in Jesus didn’t falter. TBQ: Where is your trust?
It is Good to Be Uncomfortable
Mark 10:32-45
Jesus went to Jerusalem with a purpose in mind. Even the journey there is a reminder of his mission. The kingdom was dawning as Jesus neared Jerusalem, but not in the way that his disciples expected.
The Hope of Christ
Christianity is an other-worldly religion. We hope, not only in this life, but in the life to come. If in this life only we have hoped, we are of all people to be pitied. Where are you basing your hopes?
1 Corinthians 15:12-19
The King Has Arrived
When Jesus rode into town, he left no doubt as to his purpose. His arrival at the head of a rag-tag band of followers, riding a donkey was an illusion to his purpose. His cleansing of the temple was an exclamation point. The king had come to assume his throne.
Mark 11:1-19
An Upside-Down Kingdom
Mark 10:13-31
The disciples had a misplaced understanding of Jesus’ ministry. His was a kingdom open to children, but resistant to rich young rulers. Jesus isn’t a king only for the powerful, but for the helpless and even the oppressed.
How do you view Jesus?
The Permanence of Marriage
Mark 10:1-12
Jesus elevated the role of marriage beyond what was common in his day and beyond what is common in our day.
Take Sin Seriously
Mark 9:42-50
The reality and evil of sin are often lost on our modern culture that focuses on pain and therapy instead of sin and redemption. Sin is a problem because God is holy.
TBQ: Why is sin such a big deal?
Accidental Partners
Mark 9:38-41
We don’t have the market cornered on ministry. We do mission and ministry in ways that are dictated by our particular theology and our preferences. Just because some choose to minister in ways that are different than ours doesn’t mean that they are wrong.
The Big Question: What is ministry?