Sunday, August 4, 2019
The Gospel of Mark :: essays research papers
                                             Sermon Hold on, Help is on the way! Text: Mark 6:45-52 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, â€Å"Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.†Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened. Mark 6:45-52 Title: Hold on! Help is on the way Thesis      Jesus immediately made his disciples get into the boat to set off for Bethsaida before dispersing the crowd. Mark’s Gospel gives us no meaning to the sense of urgency to why Jesus compels the disciples to pull up the anchor and leave. He dispatches them along with the crowd and goes up the mountainside to pray alone. Distances from their master, the disciples undergo an ordeal, struggling against the wind. The storm does not endanger their lives but they find themselves trapped in the middle of the lake, fighting against the wind after rowing in a constant strain. Jesus looking from land can see this battle-taking place hour after hour as evening turns into the early morning hour. One must assume Jesus supernaturally sees the struggle in the darkness and comes to rejoin them *walking on the sea. As I examined the text, I realized that there is no condition too chaotic that God cannot change, no calamity that cannot be transformed into hope, no dilemma that cannot be solved. The word teaches that the God we serve specializes in being a divine deliverer for His people as in the mythos of Israel and his disciples. Similarly, I believe that God can deliver His people in this contemporary age if only we trust, persevere, pray, and have faith in Him.      Regardless of the barriers, regardless of the antagonistic attitude and reluctance to assist us as African Americans, we are not going to let go or give up but continue to press our way and hold on to God’s blessed assurance.
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