Join us for our new sermon series "Who is This Man?"More details here

Sermons

View All SermonsView All Series

At Berean the Word of God is very important and we are so glad you are here to listen to it preached. Below you will find our most recent sermon and you can also click above to view our sermon library with all of our past sermons categorized by speaker, series, and date. You can also watch, listen, and subscribe on these popular platforms. 

Spotify Apple Podcasts

YouTube Vimeo

Latest Sermon

The Gospel Has Left the Building

The Gospel Has Left the Building

Series: Mark: Who is this Man?
Passage: Mark 1:29-45
Date: 04/28/2024 

Mark 1:29-45 - And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons. And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter. 

Main Idea: Joining Jesus on His gospel mission, requires us to leave the building and move towards those who don’t know Him.

1. Jesus took the gospel mission outside the walls of a building.

Even a very committed church member will only be in church about 8-10 hours a week.  In truth, the vast majority of people will attend for about 1-3 hours a week. The gospel needs to be available more than 1-3 hours a week. So, while inviting someone here to be exposed to the gospel is not a bad thing, if we are going to reach our community it’s going to require the gospel message leaving our building.

Mark 1:29 - And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

A. Jesus did make a habit of teaching in synagogues.
B. Jesus took His disciples and moved the gospel into the neighborhood.
C. Jesus mission to reach the world required that He would take the gospel outside the walls of the synagogue. If He didn’t, who would have?
D. Similar question for us; if you don’t bring the gospel to your neighbors, who will? Listen to the convicting words of 17th Century English preacher and hymn writer Richard Baxter:
“We are so reluctant to displease men, and so desirous to keep in credit and favor with them, that it makes us most unconscionably neglect our known duty. A foolish physician he is, and a most unfaithful friend, that will let a sick man die for fear of troubling him; and cruel wretches are we to our friends, that will rather suffer them to go quietly to hell, than we will anger them, or hazard our reputation with them.”
E. Are you doing God’s bidding in your neighborhood? Have you taken the gospel message outside of these walls? Ulrich Zwingli once said: “You are God’s tool. He wills to wear you out by use, not by idleness. Oh, happy man, whom He calls to His work!”

2. Jesus moved towards the needs of people.

Mark 1:30-34 - Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

A. Notice two ways those who were in need met with Jesus? Jesus saw a need in one case and immediately healed Simon’s mother-in-law. Then, in other cases people brought their friends to Jesus.
B. I want to encourage you today, if you are sick and needing a touch from Jesus or know of someone who is, come to the pastors or deacons and ask for prayer. James teaches us that if you are sick, you should go to the elders of the church to be anointed with oil and prayed for… Miracles still happen and I believe in the power of prayer.
C. Notice how different Jesus healings looked than that of healing services from the charismatic movement? No partial healings, no pre-interview, no added drama.
D. Side note – all the people he healed ended up dying… In fact, if you are familiar with His friend Lazarus, you know that Jesus rose him from the grave. Even after being risen from the grave, Lazarus eventually died. So, why would Jesus heal anyone if He knew they would eventually get sick and die?
E. His healing the people wasn’t so they would never suffer or die, but so we would know that He has the power to save!
F. By casting out demons, He demonstrated His power over spiritual things.
G. By healing the sick, He demonstrated His power over physical things.
H. He demonstrated His power to save by His power to heal. 

3. Jesus valued quiet time with His Father.

At Berean, we believe that we glorify God by enjoying Him fully. That means, it’s not all about what you do for the Kingdom, but it’s about being in the presence of God as He works in and through you.

Mark 1:35 - And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.

A. Jesus’ earthly ministry lasted around 3 years. He had three years to change the course of humanity. And even with that task, in that short of time, He made sure part of it was in prayer…
B. Friends, we must have regular times when we break away from the crowds and spend time with our Father in Heaven.
C. For us to apply this lesson fully, we need to look and see what Jesus didn’t do when He broke away from the crowds. He didn’t:
• Play video games -watch tv – scroll facebook.
• Go hunting or fishing or go to the game.
• Read His favorite book.
D. He went to be alone with His Father and to pray. When is the last time that you have done something like that?
E. Downtime is most useful and beneficial when it is done with intentionality.

4. A life-changing encounter with Jesus leads to telling others about Him.

Mark 1:40-45 - And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.

A. The man with leprosy knew Jesus could heal him, so he went to Him with his issue.
B. Jesus was moved by pity for the man. While many of Jesus’ miracles were performed to demonstrate His authority and ability to save – He was also moved by pity and compassion.
C. After healing the leper, and thus completely changing his life, Jesus sternly told him to not tell anyone. Likely to keep from the messianic hysteria from growing –
D. Whatever the reason, He would later tell those He healed to tell everyone. Friends, the touch of Jesus on our lives is not to be kept a secret any longer.
E. When we talk about Jesus, we should talk about how He has loved us and how He loves others.

"If you can convince a man that you love him you have won his heart. If we really make people believe that God loves them, how we should find them crowding into the kingdom of heaven! The trouble is that men think God hates them; and so they are all the time running away from Him." – D.L. Moody 

Pastor’s Challenge:

  1. Jesus went to the wilderness to spend time with His Father – take at least one hour this week, go into a private place or into the wilderness and talk to God.
  2. Invite one friend to a service this week.
  3. Go to someone in need and seek to meet that need.

Speaker: Dan Krause

April 28, 2024

Mark 1:29-45

Dan Krause

Lead Pastor

Featured Sermons