Mark #4
A disciple of Jesus engages in biblical community.
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Biblical Community is a handful of people that are being intentional about growing in their love for Jesus and one another.
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Mark 2:1-12
A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
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John Ortberg
“You can’t become the person God intends you to be by yourself. We are always formed in the context of relationships.”
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1. We all need mat carriers.
2. True Community is Costly
3. Community that is intentional changes both the person on the mat and the mat carriers.
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Mark 2:5
“When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’”
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John Ortberg
“The goal of community is not community itself. It’s that we would come to love God and one another the way Jesus loves.”
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1. To Be Known
2. To be Cared For
3. To practice the way of Jesus
4. To be challenged and held accountable
5. To live on mission together
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