When we read the way Jesus teaches about prayer in this passage, we might be tempted to picture God a bit like a magical genie. All we have to do is ask, and we’ll be given whatever we want, right? Whatever door we knock on, God will open it,

Jesus is not a salesman trying to make a commission, nor is He a modern-day influencer trying to garner as many followers as possible. Actually, in the passages covered in this week’s session, Jesus seems to be almost trying to deter new followers,

So often those who knew Jesus missed the fact that He was the Messiah because He did not come to earth in the way that they had envisioned. While they expected Him to throw off the yoke of their Greco-Roman society, He was crucified under its reign.

Jesus’ answer to the disciples’ question about the man who was blind wasn’t what they expected. They asked Him for a cause, but Jesus responded in terms of purpose—this man had been blind all of his life so that the works of God would be displayed in h...

Jesus approached the disabled man and asked a curious question: Do you want to get well? The answer seems obvious—of course, he wanted to get well! Why else would he be lying there at the side of a pool that offered the hope of healing?

Life isn’t easy. Things happen. Look at Jairus and the woman who suffered from bleeding. Mark 5:22 says Jairus was a synagogue leader. He was a community leader. Everyone knew him. He was well off. Then his daughter got sick. And as time went on,

Every Christian has received God’s merciful compassion (Luke 1:78), and Paul says God is rich in mercy (Eph. 2:4). God isn’t stingy. He doesn’t ration His mercy to save enough for a rainy day. No, God is pouring out His mercy on us even now.

It has been said that everyone is wired to worship—the issue is that we often worship the wrong things. We see this desire in the woman’s question to Jesus.  The Samaritans worshiped in Samaria rather than traveling to Jerusalem. This was, in part,

For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

It’s called “the mic drop.” The phrase refers to when a speaker makes such a strong and compelling statement that it requires a prolonged pause or stage exit for full effect. Dropping the mic, whether physically or figuratively,