Sermon Video: Jesus assembles his team - Mark 3:7-19

 We know that it takes a team to accomplish a great task, many of our favorite books and movies illustrate this, and the same holds true for the work of Jesus to share the Gospel and found a Church. He needed a team. The 12 men called to be his official disciples were an interesting bunch, and we might not have chosen some of them given the opportunity, but Jesus molded and shaped them over the next several years. The result? Aside from Judas, they all served Jesus and the Gospel in the face of death, 11/12 (If we include Matthias instead of Judas) were martyred (to the best of our knowledge) while sharing the Good News...The Church today needs a team too, we need each person's skills and passions to fulfill the task at hand: Sharing the Gospel and making disciples of Jesus Christ.

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Sermon Video: Peter Disowns Jesus - Matthew 26:69-75

In a well known and dramatic trio of confrontations, the Apostle Peter, formerly the most vocal and brash of Jesus' disciples, fails to acknowledge Jesus as his friend, rabbi, or Lord, when challenged by bystanders during Jesus' sham trial before the Sanhedrin.  Each of Peter's denials increases in their fervency, from his initial attempt at pretending to not understand the question, to a denial containing an oath, and then finally a denial backed up with the calling down of a curse if he should be lying.  In many ways, the experience of Peter parallels that of so many people who have followed a road of temptation into sin, each step of the way increasing the severity of the rebellion against God and the eventual guilt.  The Gospel of Matthew doesn't mention Peter again, but fortunately for Peter and for us, his story doesn't end with Peter outside weeping bitterly.  The Gospel of John contains the fullest account before Peter's central role in the book of Acts, in it Jesus repeats to Peter three times, "Do you love me?" as a means of restoring Peter's confidence that he was not permanently damaged by his failure, that passage ends with Jesus sharing with Peter a command filled with both love and service, "Follow me!".  Peter didn't fail his Lord in the future, he served the church faithfully for about thirty years, eventually affirming his faith in Jesus during Nero's anti-Christian purge, and in the end, dying for the Savior he had once denied.

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