BELIEVE! When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it. Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either. Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. —Mark 16:11-14 “Lack of faith” and a “stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen” brought a strong rebuke from…

KING OF KINGS Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “You have said it.” —Mark 15:2 Jesus is King! He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the Supreme One and none raise to His level of majesty… none! He created all things and He is Master over all things. He is the One all men will give account to one day. He alone is the final judge. All men regardless if whether they believe it or not will appear before Him. That is one appointment that nobody will miss or be late for. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTHIUU2H0QU Get ready now to meet Him!…

BOLDLY PROCLAIM JESUS “You were one of those with Jesus of Nazareth.” —Mark 14:67 “This man is definitely one of them!” —Mark 14:69 “You must be one of them.” —Mark 14:70 “I don’t know this man you’re talking about!”—Mark 14:71 You are in a crowd of people and someone points out that you are a follower of Jesus. How would you respond? Would you acknowledge the fact? Would you remain quiet? Would you shrug it off in denial? Would you boldly proclaim to the crowd what it means to follow Jesus? Peter had said he would never deny Jesus and even said he would die with Him. But when death…

BETRAYAL As soon as they arrived, Judas walked up to Jesus. “Rabbi!” he exclaimed, and gave him the kiss. —Mark 14:45 Only friends can cause the pain of betrayal that a stranger cannot bring. Those who are close to us and turn on us are the ones who truly cause our heart to ache. Judas spent about 3 years with Jesus and the other disciples. That was 3 years of walking and talking together. Three years of eating and sleeping. Three years… three years and still the other disciples did not have a clue as to who Judas really was. Three years that Jesus knew who His betrayer was (John…

DO IT! For the Good News must first be preached to all nations. —Mark 13:10 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. —Matthew 24:14 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. —Luke 24:46-47 If the gospel must be preached in all nations, then how am I helping to accomplish that? Or, how is the local church helping to accomplish…

FAITHFULNESS “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul.–Deuteronomy 8:2-3 What does God require of you? You are to fear Him, live in a way that pleases Him, love Him and serve Him with all your heart and soul. · “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” —Matthew 10:28 · “And we will…

NOT KNOWING GOD’S WORD LEADS TO ERROR Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. —Mark 12:24 When people do not listen to God then they will be in error about all kinds of things. People who do not know God do not accept who He is nor the power that He has. These type people have to suppress the obvious—“But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was…

KEEP HIS WORD! Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you. Just obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you. —Deuteronomy 4:2 See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it. –Deuteronomy 12:32 Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar. —Proverbs 30:6 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll…

FORGIVE! But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too. —Mark 11:25 Is there anyone you need to forgive? Did this come to you while you were praying? We are told to first forgive anyone we are holding a grudge against. This is because we are upset over what they have said or done to us, believing they have sinned against us. But if we want God to forgive our sins, and every follower of Jesus still sins, then we are to forgive those who have sinned against us. In this way we stay…

THE PRICE PAID! “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” —Mark 10:45 “No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them—the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough—so that they should live on forever and not see decay” (Psalm 49:7-9). You put these two verses together and we find out something about Jesus. He is no mere man. “They were now on the way up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were filled with awe, and…