Christmas: Why Is He Here? (Mark 1:35-39)

It's Christmas week! This Saturday and Sunday at Grace, we'll be welcoming dozens of guests to our worship services to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, many for the first time. Please pray for them to have ears to hear, and for me to explain the gospel clearly and well.

I'm going to be preaching from Mark 1:35-39, a short passage where Jesus tells his new disciples why he came. I thought it would be a fitting passage for Christmas, to remind us why this holiday matters on a core level. As special as nostalgia, traditions and family time are, they pale in comparison to the gift of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In Mark 1, Jesus is met with the expectations of others to continue to do what they want, where they want, when they want. Instead, Jesus points them to what is better for them: for them and others to hear the message of the gospel.

At a time of year when we are often met with the expectations of others on our lives, Jesus' example and gift to us are what we all need the most.

In Christ,
Pastor Bob

PS. The four services (including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day) will be the same order of service and sermon, so feel free to choose whichever one works best for your schedule.

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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. 36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 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.” 39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

- Mark 1:35-39