gospelthread’s Executive Director.
Mark 11:12-14 — A treeful of loincloths
March 7, 2019. “May no one ever eat fruit from you again” means Jesus was going to conquer sin, burn the loincloths, and clothe people in his own righteousness.
Mark 14:22-25 — A reminder in your mouth
November 30, 2018. The lesson of the Last Supper is that we have to take Jesus in as our Passover lamb before we see him as our king.
Mark 11:15-19 — Everything must go
October 31, 2018. With one perfect purchase, Jesus shed his blood on the cross and redeemed all of our failures, squaring with God for our sin.
Mark 1:9-11 — This time, from the top
March 1, 2018. Jesus is the new and better Adam, who received the Spirit of God and lived the perfect life that God requires from us.
Mark 1:1-8 — Cut to the chase
January 30, 2018. Jesus was sent into the wilderness of God’s wrath so that we who were destined for an eternity in that wilderness could be brought into the center, redeemed and filled with God’s presence.
Introduction to Mark — The Docudrama Gospel
January 30, 2018. Perhaps more than any other gospel writer, Mark strings together multiple events in conjunction, often three to five passages in a row, and invites readers to “connect the dots” to better understand the grace of God in the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus.
Introduction to James — A note from Jesus’ brother.
December 28, 2017. Especially for the Jewish diaspora—those who had been scattered outside the enclave of Israel—Jews protected their cultural identity primarily through dietary and cleanliness barriers: don’t eat, don’t enter, don’t touch. Jews who became Christians were challenged by the gospel because it pushed against these very barriers and called for profound changes in how they worshipped and expressed their faith in God.
Genesis 39:1-23 — In praise of lost jackets.
December 18, 2017. When God strips us naked, he isn’t tailoring our old clothes, he’s tailoring us. Jesus is showing us over and over that he pours out blessing and power not by removing us from weakness and loss, but in and through weakness and loss.
James 5:1-6 — Your money is no good here.
December 8, 2017. James is saying the system you have relied on to retain value is bankrupt, and a new value system appears in the cross and grace of Jesus. Jesus was rich in every way and became poor so that we could find our wealth in him.