“As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!’
‘Do you see all these great buildings?’ replied Jesus. ‘Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.’” (Mark 13:1-2, NIV)
There are some things that we think will last forever. As the disciples looked at the huge stones of the temple, they must have been impressed by the workmanship and the permanence of this incredible building. Jesus looked further ahead, to a time when the stones would be scattered on the ground. He knew that there would be a time of distress coming for the temple. He also knew that Christians would suffer as well, just for following him.
I hope you’ll join us online at 10:30am for our Sunday morning service, as we look together at how Jesus’ warning of difficulty should help us as we look to the future.
John’s funeral will be held at St. Andrew’s church, Cuffley at 12 noon on Wednesday 17th February (his 80th birthday), followed by cremation at Garston Crematorium, Watford. Sadly, because of Covid restrictions, we are not allowed to have more than 30 people at the service.
“a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few pence. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.” (Mark 12:42-43, NIV)
What difference can two small coins really make? It turns out that these two small coins are worth more that all that the rich people had put in. That seems completely upside down. In God’s kingdom, however, that’s often the case.
I hope you’ll join us online at 10:30am for our Sunday morning service, as we look a bit more at the difference a couple of coins can make.
“‘Well said, teacher,’ the man replied. ‘You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.’
“When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.” (Mark 12:32-34, NIV)
We ask questions in order to get answers, and so we sometimes feel that the answers are the most important thing. In the reading for Sunday morning (Mark 12:13-34), Jesus is asked lots of questions, but most of them are traps. Only one seems to be genuine. Sometimes it’s the questions we ask that are most important: Who is Jesus? Why did he come? What does it mean to follow him? How far am I from the kingdom of God?
I hope you’ll join us online at 10:30am for our Sunday morning service, as we look at some questions, and some answers.
“Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: ‘A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.’” (Mark 12:1, NIV)
Last Sunday the reading was about Jesus used a figtree to help us think about what it looks like to follow him. This week, we’re looking at a parable about an ideal vineyard, and ungrateful tenants. The story Jesus tells has a warning and a great promise for us. I hope you’ll join us online at 10:30am for our Sunday morning service, as we hear both warning and promise together.