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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Mark 10:28-31 (NASB)

²⁸ Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You.” ²⁹ Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, ³⁰ but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. ³¹ “But many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”

Sermon Theme: Sacrifice for the sake of Christ and the Gospel comes with Jesus’ promise of blessings both now and in eternity.

Outline:

1) The provision of Spiritual Family and Ultimate Security (10:30a)
2) The Privilege of persecution (10:30b)
3) The Promise of Eternal Life (10:30c)

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Acts 4:32-37 (NASB)

³² And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. ³³ And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. ³⁴ For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales ³⁵ and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need. ³⁶ Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement ), ³⁷ and who owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Outline:

1) The Priority of Unity (4:32)
2) The Priority of Evangelism (4:33)
3) The Priority of Sharing (4:34-37)

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Mark 10:23-27  (NASB)

²³ And Jesus, looking around, said to His disciples, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴ And the disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus responded again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶ And they were even more astonished, and said to Him, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷ Looking at them, Jesus said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”

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Mark 10:17-22 (NASB)

17 As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do so that I may inherit eternal life?” 18 But Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not give false testimony, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth.” 21 Looking at him, Jesus showed love to him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But he was deeply dismayed by these words, and he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

Sermon Theme: Jesus with love for sinners calls us to complete submission to Him as part of receiving eternal life.

How to miss out on the treasure of eternal life:

1) Be sincere, but mistaken about who Jesus is (10:17-18)

2) Be sincerely mistaken about your goodness (10:19-20)

3) Be unwilling to surrender your earthly treasures to follow Jesus as your Savior/Lord (10:21-22)

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Mark 10:13-16 (NASB)

¹³ And they were bringing children to Him so that He would touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Allow the children to come to Me; do not forbid them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” ¹⁶ And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.

Sermon Theme: Jesus’ blessing of children teaches us important lessons about service, salvation, and our Savior.

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Mark 10:1-12 (NASB)

¹ Getting up, He went from there to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; crowds gathered around Him again, and, according to His custom, He once more began to teach them. ² Some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began to question Him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce a wife. ³ And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” ⁴ They said, “Moses permitted a man TO WRITE A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY.” ⁵ But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. ⁶ “But from the beginning of creation, God MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE. ⁷ “FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER, ⁸ AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH; so they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹ “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” ¹⁰ In the house the disciples began questioning Him about this again. ¹¹ And He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; ¹² and if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.”

Sermon Theme: The Lord teaches about the preciousness of the marriage relationship and explains the sinfulness of divorce.

Outline:

1) The trap/test (10:1-2)

2) The proof text (10:3-5)

3) The truth about marriage (10:6-9)

4) The teaching about divorce (10:10-12)

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Mark 10:1-12 (NASB)

¹ Getting up, He went from there to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; crowds gathered around Him again, and, according to His custom, He once more began to teach them. ² Some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began to question Him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce a wife. ³ And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” ⁴ They said, “Moses permitted a man TO WRITE A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY.” ⁵ But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. ⁶ “But from the beginning of creation, God MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE. ⁷ “FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER, ⁸ AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH; so they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹ “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” ¹⁰ In the house the disciples began questioning Him about this again. ¹¹ And He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; ¹² and if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.”

Sermon Theme: The Lord teaches about the preciousness of the marriage relationship and explains the sinfulness of divorce.

Biblical Marriage:

1) Is Rooted in Creation

2) Is Reiterated by Jesus

3) Reflects  Christ’s relationship with the Church

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Mark 9:42-50 (NASB)

⁴² “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea. ⁴³ “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, ⁴⁴ [ where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.] ⁴⁵ “If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell, ⁴⁶ [ where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.] ⁴⁷ “If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, ⁴⁸ where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED. ⁴⁹ “For everyone will be salted with fire. ⁵⁰ “Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Sermon Theme: Jesus exhorts us to deal drastically with our sins and includes warnings about the reality of Hell.

1) Stern Warning: Don’t be jeopardizing other believers (9:42)

2) Sharp Exhortations: Be killing your sin as believers in Christ (9:43‑48)

3) Sound Reasoning: Be a purifying and preserving influence (9:49-50)

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