THE ANTI-INFLUENCE IN THE DESERTMark 1:4–8 (NLT) "This messenger was John the Baptist. He was in the wilderness and preached that people should be baptized to show that they had turned to God to receive forgiveness of their sins. All of Judea including all the people of Jerusalem went out to see and hear John... His clothes were woven from coarse camel’s hair, and he wore a leather belt around his...  Read More

WHERE THE STORY REALLY BEGINSMark 1:1–3 (NLT) "This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. It began just as the prophet Isaiah had written: 'Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way. He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, "Prepare the way for the Lord's coming! Clear the road for him!"'If you’ve ever sat through a 45-minute movie intro where ...  Read More

We began our first season of The Beautiful Upset in the middle of Mark’s Gospel. Which is an odd place to begin a story. Usually, you meet the characters before joining them halfway down the road.But we did it on purpose. In Mark 8, Jesus begins to speak plainly about his suffering, rejection and death. His disciples have come to believe he is the Messiah. Now they must discover how little that wo...  Read More

Reconciliation2 Corinthians 5:19-21For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that w...  Read More

ProvisionMatthew 6:26-33“Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?”“And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory w...  Read More

ForsakenGenesis 40:23The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.Matthew 27:45-46From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”Joseph can’t seem to catch a break. He is steady, conscientious, and faithful....  Read More