Mark 12:13-17 (NASB)

¹³ Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement. ¹⁴ They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not? ¹⁵ “Shall we pay or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.” ¹⁶ They brought one. And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were amazed at Him.

Sermon Theme/Outline: Believers in Jesus Christ must avoid hypocrisy, yield to government’s authority and yield to God above all.

1) Believers must avoid the wicked sin of religious hypocrisy (12:13‑15)
2) Believers must submit to Government (12:16‑17)
3) Believers must submit to God above all (12:17)

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Mark 12:1-12 (NASB)

¹ And He began to speak to them in parables: “A man PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT, AND DUG A VAT UNDER THE WINE PRESS AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey.  ² “At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive some of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers. ³ “They took him, and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴ “Again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. ⁵ “And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others. ⁶ “He had one more to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ⁷ “But those vine-growers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ ⁸ “They took him, and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. ⁹ “What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ “Have you not even read this Scripture: ‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; ¹¹ THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES ‘?” ¹² And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the people, for they understood that He spoke the parable against them. And so they left Him and went away.

Sermon Theme: Those who refuse to acknowledge and embrace Jesus’ authority over their lives will be silenced, exposed and put to shame.

Outline: Rejecters of Jesus’ Authority are Exposed and Put to Shame

1) Through God’s goodness (12:1)
2) Through God’s grace (12:2-8)
3) Through God’s justice (12:9)
4) Through God’s glory (12:10-12)

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Mark 11:27-33) NASB

²⁷ They came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to Him, ²⁸ and began saying to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?” ²⁹ And Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰ “Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me.” ³¹ They began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why * did you not believe him?’ ³² “But shall we say, ‘From men ‘?”-they were afraid of the people, for everyone considered John to have been a real prophet. ³³ Answering Jesus, they said, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Nor will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Theme: Those who refuse to acknowledge and embrace Jesus’ authority over their lives will be silenced, exposed, and put to shame.

Outline: Rejecters of Jesus’ Authority are Silenced

1) Unbelievers challenge the Lord’s authority (27-28)
2) The Lord asserts His authority (29, 30b)
3) The Lord challenges unbelievers’ beliefs (30a-33a)
4) The Lord is the final authority (33b)

Due to technical problems the audio quality of this sermon is not up to standard. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

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Mark 11:22-26 (NASB)

²² And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God. ²³ “Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. ²⁴ “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. ²⁵ “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. ²⁶ [“But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”]

Theme: Jesus wants us to truly trust in God, coming clean to Him as we pray for our many needs in life.

Outline: Three Essential Elements of Effective Prayer

1) True Belief in the one true God (11:22)
2) A trusting, believing heart (11:23-24)
3) A truly forgiving heart attitude (11:25-26)

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Mark 11:11-21 (NASB)

11 And Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple area; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.

12 On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. 13 Seeing from a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 And He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening.

15 Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple area and began to drive out those who were selling and buying on the temple grounds, and He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; 16 and He would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple grounds. 17 And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard this, and they began seeking how to put Him to death; for they were afraid of Him, because all the crowd was astonished at His teaching.

19 And whenever evening came, they would leave the city.

20 As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. 21 And being reminded, Peter said to Him, “Rabbi, look, the fig tree that You cursed has withered.”

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Mark 11:1-10 (NASB)

1 And as they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, 2 and said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. 3 And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately he will send it back here.” 4 They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they untied it. 5 And some of the bystanders were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them just as Jesus had said, and they gave them permission. 7 They brought the colt to Jesus and put their cloaks on it; and He sat on it. 8 And many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went in front and those who followed were shouting:

Hosanna!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord;
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David;
Hosanna in the highest!”

Outline:  Three reasons why you should follow & keep following Jesus through all of life’s triumphs & trails: 

1. Because He is The Sovereign Lord.
2. Because He is The Promised Messiah.
3. Because He is The Only Savior in the world.

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Mark 10:46-52 (NASB)

46 Then they came to Jericho. And later, as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a beggar who was blind named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here.” So they called the man who was blind, saying to him, “Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.” 50 And throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus. 51 And replying to him, Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the man who was blind said to Him, “Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.

Sermon Theme: When Jesus comes across your life/path, you should call out to Him in faith, and He will give you mercy.

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Acts 15:36-41

³⁶ After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return and visit the brothers and sisters in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” ³⁷ Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also. ³⁸ But Paul was of the opinion that they should not take along with them this man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. ³⁹ Now it turned into such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. ⁴⁰ But Paul chose Silas, and left after being entrusted by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. ⁴¹ And he was traveling through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

 Acts 16:1-10

1 Now Paul also came to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, ² and he was well spoken of by the brothers and sisters who were in Lystra and Iconium. ³ Paul wanted this man to leave with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. ⁴ Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the ordinances for them to follow which had been determined by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. ⁵ So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily.

⁶ They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, after being forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; ⁷ and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them; ⁸ and passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. ⁹ And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and pleading with him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰ When he had seen the vision, we immediately sought to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

I. Through conflict (15:36-41)

II. Through others (16:1-5)

III. Through the Holy Spirit (16:6-10)

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Hebrews 10:32-39 (NASB)

³² But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, ³³ partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. ³⁴ For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one. ³⁵ Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. ³⁶ For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. ³⁷ FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY. ³⁸ BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM. ³⁹ But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.

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Mark 10:32-45 (NASB)

³² They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, ³³ saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. ³⁴ “They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.” ³⁵ James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” ³⁶ And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” ³⁷ They said to Him, “Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.” ³⁸ But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” ³⁹ They said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. ⁴⁰ “But to sit on My right or on My left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” ⁴¹ Hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James and John. ⁴² Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. ⁴³ “But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; ⁴⁴ and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. ⁴⁵ “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Sermon Theme: Jesus’ suffering and sacrifice for sinners is the greatest act of humble service and leads to the greatest glory.

Outline:

1) Remember the price of Jesus’ Great Suffering (10:32‑34)
2) Battle the problem of Recurring Pride (10:35‑40)
3) Embrace the principle of True Greatness (10:41‑45)

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