Beyond the Weekend: Resolve
The new year is a great time for starting new. We start eating better, exercising more, reading our Bible more regularly and other things we let our busy lives get behind on.
But starting new requires a few things: (1) we understand we are somewhere for a reason and (2) we will be asked to leave something behind.
Join us for a two-week series we’re calling RESOLVE. We’ll learn ways to start well as we explore the stories of Esther, David, Elisha and Abraham. Do more in 2024 with your faith and start it with us at church.
Week 1: 1 Kings 19:19-21
Week 2: Esther 4:11-16
Jesus’s Power
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!” Mark 5:8
Read: Mark 5:6-13 Listen: Mark 5
TODAY'S MESSAGE
This isn’t a fair fight and the demons know it. Jesus encounters a man with an impure spirit whom no one can help. They’ve tried everything—chains, iron fetters—but nothing could stop him. His pain is deep. The darkness is overpowering. Then he meets Jesus, who commands the spirit to leave. The spirit says it is not one but many. They know they’re going to lose. They identify Jesus correctly—Son of the Most High God. They’re terrified of what he might do to them and beg for mercy.
We might look around the world and fear the darkness. Yet, Jesus reveals we need not fear. The Apostle Peter, who witnesses this encounter, later writes that our enemy, the devil, seeks to devour. Peter says we can resist him, standing firm in our faith in Jesus (1 Peter 5:7-8). The enemy has limits and must flee when we resist (James 4:7). We have the Holy Spirit within us— the same power that defeated the darkness. We are never alone.
This encounter is a clear statement about Jesus’s power. It reminds us of what happens when a person places their trust in Christ’s sacrifice on their behalf. Jesus cleanses us, no matter what impurity or darkness has marked us in the past. He has the power to make us whole and restore us to God.
TODAY: Join the Ada Bible Worship team as they sing Living Hope. Praise Jesus for "Through the darkness, your loving-kindness tore through the shadows of my soul. The work is finished, the end is written. Jesus Christ, my living hope.”
JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT:
Read Luke 11. Highlight anything that refers to the Old Testament and how Jesus fulfills it. Look up any Old Testament cross references included in this chapter.
Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.
