#31 Mark 16:1-8 "Jesus, The Risen Lord! " (Easter Sunday 2022)

#30 Mark 15:21-47 "Jesus Crucified" (Good Friday 2022)

#28 Mark 14:26-72 "Jesus Betrayed"

Announcement 4.3.22Resurrection Sunday  - Mark your calendars as we celebrate victory in Jesus this coming Easter Sunday on Sunday, April 17th at Rainier Valley Church. Please invite family and friends to celebrate with us at 10am at Rainier Valley Church. We will be doing baptisms and a kids Easter egg hunt after the service.Good Friday  - Join us on Friday, April 15th as we remember and meditate on Jesus' crucifixion on Good Friday for our sins. Rainier Valley Church will be hosting a Good Friday worship service from 6:30pm-7:30pm.Baptisms  - It's time to celebrate baptisms! We believe that baptism is for those who have chosen to put their faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ—a public declaration of an inward decision to follow Christ. We believe that baptizing by immersion in water is a faithful representation of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.
If you’re interested in being baptized, please talk with @Steve Pratt or @Ken Sabalza.Kids Easter Egg Hunt - This Easter Sunday we will be doing a Kids Easter egg hunt after the service and we need your help.
Here are some ways you can contribute or serve to bless the children of our community.
Ways You Can Help:
*Community Groups fill and provide plastic eggs
*Donate to @Shelly Lischke or @Crystal Van Tine
*Drop off  Sundays - Last Sunday is April 10th (Palm Sunday)
Directly After Easter Service:
*Hands for Hiding
*Pick Up an Egg Hunt Handout for creative ways to fill eggsWorldview Apologetics Conference  - Pastor @Ken Sabalza is organizing a group from RVC to go to the upcoming Worldview Apologetics Conference on April 29-30th at Westminster Chapel with speakers like J.Warner Wallace and Dr. Phil Fernandes. For more information, please follow up with Pastor @Ken Sabalza.Gospel of Mark: Discipleship, Servanthood, and Following After Jesus
Week #27 "Jesus Betrayed"
Mark 14:26-72
Sunday, April 3rdOpening Questions
What was the best and worst part of your last week and how can we be praying for you?
What comes to mind when you hear the word failure? How was failure understand and handled in your family growing up?
How do you tend to respond to failures in your life and in the life others? Why is it so important to figure out what to do with failure?

1. Failure To Listen Carefully - Prediction (14:26-31) - Peter responds to Jesus prediction by radically overestimating his own strengths. What ways have you overestimated your strengths? Instead of listening carefully, Peter simply overrides Jesus words with his own thoughts and ideas. How can we learn from Peter's failure to listen carefully? Pastor Kyle talked about how we either learn by light (information) or heat (pain). Which of these areas do you need to work on to cultivate a humble and teachable spirit.

• Having an Open Mind
• Checking Your Pride
• Asking for Feedback from Others
• Being Respectful to Others
• Ingesting and Implementing what you are taught? 

1. Failure to Stay Awake - Struggle (14:32-42) - Jesus asks his disciples to stay awake and stay watchful with him in the garden three times and they fail and fall asleep three times.  Why is it important to learn from the disciples failure and cultivate the practice of staying watchful spiritually? What's at stake when we "fall asleep" spiritually? Pastor Kyle gave 3 ways to stay awake. Which of these ways do you need to practice over the next few weeks?

• Get up and move around to feel awake (Practicing Christian service to others)
• Eat a healthy snack to boost energy (Being in the Word to renew our minds)
• Start a conversation to wake up your mind (Being in Christian community to stay active, honest, etc.)

1. Failure to be Courageous - Betrayal (14:43-52) - All the disciples, who promised to be with Jesus no matter what, abandon him and ran away in the Garden. Mark even includes the story of running away naked rather than being identified as one of Jesus' disciples. The disciples talked a good game but when there was something at stake, they ran away like cowards. How do we learn from the disciples failure to be courageous? We see in the story of the disciples that they went from cowardly to courage and we can to. Which of these areas do you need to grow in to be more courageous and what opportunities do you have to practice courage in your life right now? 

• Remember the Resurrection - Death isn’t the end, what can man do?
• Be filled with the Spirit - Same power that rose Christ is at work in us!
• Pray for Boldness - It’s not a matter of knowledge but dependence, we need more Holy Ghost in our lives.
• Consider Pushback a Joy - The Disciples began to consider it a joy to suffer for the sake of the name.

1. Failure to be Loyal - Denial (14:53-72) - Peter denies Jesus 3 times. How is it true that failure doesn’t exclude you, but actual qualifies you in Christianity?  Why is an awareness of personal failure not an option, but a necessity to come to Jesus as Savior? How can we learn from Peter's life that failure is an EVENT not YOUR identity? How can we be careful to not internalize our failures but to learn from them? How can we pray for one another to apply and practice these important truths in our lives this week?

#27 Mark

Announcement 3.38.22Resurrection Sunday  - Mark your calendars as we celebrate victory in Jesus this coming Easter Sunday on Sunday, April 17th at Rainier Valley Church. Please invite family and friends to celebrate with us at 10am at Rainier Valley Church. We will be doing baptisms and a kids Easter egg hunt after the service.Good Friday  - Join us on Friday, April 15th as we remember and meditate on Jesus' crucifixion on Good Friday for our sins. Rainier Valley Church will be hosting a Good Friday worship service from 6:30pm-7:30pm.Baptisms  - It's time to celebrate baptisms! We believe that baptism is for those who have chosen to put their faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ—a public declaration of an inward decision to follow Christ. We believe that baptizing by immersion in water is a faithful representation of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.
If you’re interested in being baptized, please talk with @Steve Pratt or @Ken Sabalza.Kids Easter Egg Hunt - This Easter Sunday we will be doing a Kids Easter egg hunt after the service and we need your help.
Here are some ways you can contribute or serve to bless the children of our community.
Ways You Can Help:
*Community Groups fill and provide plastic eggs
*Donate to @Shelly Lischke or @Crystal Van Tine
*Drop off  Sundays - April 3rd or April 10th (Palm Sunday)
Directly After Easter Service:
*Hands for Hiding
*Pick Up an Egg Hunt Handout for creative ways to fill eggsGospel of Mark: Discipleship, Servanthood, and Following After Jesus
Week #27 "Jesus and the Last Supper"
Mark 14:12-25
Sunday, March 27thOpening Questions
What was the best and worst part of your last week and how can we be praying for you?
Describe your best best meal and your worst meal? If you could only eat one food what would it be?
What’s your favorite restaurant in Seattle? Favorite fast food restaurant?
What food did you hate as a kid but love now?

1. The Ultimate Host (14:12-16) - How does the way Jesus sent the disciples to find the upper room give evidence that Jesus was in charge of the whole situation? How does Jesus' control of events surrounding His passion encourage you when you face difficulties?
2. The Ultimate Feast (14:17-21) - What might the disciples have thought when Jesus said that one of them would betray Him? Do you think you would have suspected in your own heart if you had been there?  In what way has every person betrayed Jesus and put Him on the cross?
3. The Ultimate Promise (14:22-25) - How is this meal both the last Passover and the first Lord's Supper? How do you prepare yourself to partake in communion? How does communion function like a weekly covenant renewal? How would you like people to remember you after you die and how does this compare with Jesus' command?

#19 Mark:17-31 "Jesus vs. Money: Winner Takes All"

Gospel of Mark: Discipleship, Servanthood, and Following After Jesus

Mark 10:17-31 “Jesus vs. Money:”

Sunday, January 30th

Opening Questions for Community Groups

What was the best and worst part of your last week and how can we be praying for you?

At what age did you begin to ponder the ultimate questions of life?

What questions have you thought about the most?

Discussion/Study Questions for Mark 10:17-31

How does the context of Jesus welcoming the little child set the stage for this instruction?

Why is (1) coming to Jesus (2) with respect and (3) in humility necessary for salvation? Why are these things not sufficient for salvation?

How do churchgoing Christians sometimes make it look like our religion is based on what we do? how can we change this perception?

Is it possible for a person to keep the last six commandments? How do Matthew 5:22-28 and 22:36-40 raise the bar for perfection?

Why did Jesus make this particular demand of the rich young ruler? What demand might He make of you? (What is key to your core-identity? What is your functional savior?)

Is wealth an evidence of God's favor? How can it also be an impediment to salvation? What determines your opinion about money: your culture or the Bible?

Are there some people who have the gift of managing money for the kingdom and others who do not? What are the characteristics of this gift? Do you have this gift?

Is it wrong to seek a reward? How is the reward of discipleship better than anything the world has to offer?

How have you experienced the truth of Jesus' promises to those who would follow him?

Why did Jesus mention "persecutions" (v30) among the rewards of discipleship?

How can we pray for one another and support one another throughout the next week?

#15 Mark 9:1-29 "Seeing Jesus in 2022"

Gospel of Mark: Discipleship, Servanthood, and Following After Jesus
Mark 9:1-29 “Seeing Jesus in 2022”
Sunday, January 2ndDiscussion Questions
What is one thing you are thankful to God for as we look back on 2021? 
What are some things you are looking forward to in 2022? Seeing, Savoring, and Worshiping Jesus (9:1-6)
Jesus gets alone with his disciples. How will you regularly get alone with Jesus this coming year? Is your spiritual life mostly private, public or a healthy balance of both? How does your schedule need to be open to time with God?  
God meets with his people on the mountain top from Moses and Israel to Jesus and the Disciples. Where do you meet with God? Do you have a special place set aside for communion with God? (e.g. a special room, a local park, nearby trail, traveling in your car, etc)  Trusting, Obeying, and Following Jesus (9:7-8)
God the Father calls us to listen to Jesus. If there is one theme, keystone habit, word of the year or new year’s resolution that would be most beneficial to us, it would be to listen to Jesus. How are we growing in listening and obeying Jesus? Humbly Receiving Correction and Coaching by Jesus (9:9-13)
Jesus corrects the disciples' understanding of the scriptures as they come down the mountain.  How can 2022 be different from last year? The way to be sure that this year will be different than last year is to be open to correction and coaching. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. How are you cultivating humility and allowing yourself to be correctable this year?  Learning from Past Failures with Jesus (9:14-19) 
Jesus rebukes the disciples for trying to cast out a demon in their own self-sufficiency by calling them a faithless generation, a term used for pagans. There is a tendency in us to become self-reliant, especially in things we’ve done for years. Are there areas in your life you function as though you’re self-sufficient and don’t need God? (e.g. Marriage? Parenting? Ministry? Evangelism?) God often gives us struggles so that we recognize we aren’t sufficient within ourselves. How has God used problems, difficulties, and hardships in your life as a gift to drag you out of yourself to rely on Him? Broken and Burdened Like Jesus (9:20-27)
Jesus is burdened for the suffering of the young boy who was brought to him because he was tormented and tortured by a demon. Over the last two years, we’ve developed some bad habits, become spiritually lazy, self-focused, and comfort-driven. What habits have developed in your life that are unhelpful, selfish, and or lazy? How can we cultivate a broken and burdened heart like Jesus for our family, friends, community, city, and world?  Praying with Passion and Dependence to Jesus (9:28-29) 
Jesus explains the importance of prayer. It’s been said that prayer is faith TURNED to God. Use the following prompts to seek after the Lord in prayer. 

• Seeing, Savoring, and Worshiping Jesus (9:1-6)

Lord, open my eyes to see Jesus for who he truly is, help me to savor and treasure Him for he is worthy!

• Trusting, Obeying, and Following Jesus (9:7-8)

Lord, help me to follow you closely in 2022. Help me to obey you with a joyful heart. 

• Humbly Receiving Correction and Coaching by Jesus (9:9-13)

Lord, help me to receive your correction and to put to death my pride.

• Learning from Past Failures with Jesus (9:14-19) 

Lord, forgive me for my sins and help me to learn from my past mistakes. Use my past failures for your glory!

• Broken and Burdened Like Jesus (9:20-27)

Lord, give me your heart for this broken world. Forgive my laziness and spiritual indifference. Help me to feel what you feel.

• Praying with Passion and Dependence to Jesus (9:28-29) Lord, forgiven my self-sufficiency and reignite my prayer life. Give me a renewed passion and help me to humbly come before you in prayer.

#12 Mark (Mark 7:24-37) Jesus for Everyone!

#10 Mark (Mark 6:45-56) Jesus In the Storm of Life

We all experience difficult storms throughout life. The question isn't if you will experience storms in your life but what storms you will experience because the truth is that we are either in a storm, coming out of a storm or headed into a storm. Storms are a part of life! Let's learn six principles about how we can enter, learn and grow in the midst of our storms.

God’s Plans Aren’t Our Plans (Mark 6:45) You Can Be Obeying God and Still End Up in a Painful Storm (Mark 6:46-48) God Reveals More of Himself to Us In the Midst of Our Storms (Mark 6:48b-50a) God’s with Us In the Storms (Mark 6:50b) God’s Using the Storm If we Have Hearts to Receive It. (Mark 6:51-52) Storms May Change Our Plans but they Accomplish God’s Purposes (Mark 6:53-56)

#4 Mark 3:7-19 "Jesus Prepares His Team"

The Gospel of Mark: Servanthood, Discipleship, and Following Jesus
#4 Mark 3:7-19 "Jesus Prepares His Team"

As we look at Mark 3:7-19, we see that Mark is specifically highlighting the difference between the crowd and the called, between fans of Jesus and those who will actually follow Jesus. Fans have knowledge but not intimacy (3:7-8), Fans want goodies but not God (3:9-10), and fans like convenience but don't really have conviction (3:11-12). There is a major difference between fans and followers. Followers are Called (7:13), Commissioned (7:14-15) and Changed (7:16-19) as walk with Jesus over a lifetime. Let's open our Bible, our hearts, and our minds and be challenged to take the next step of discipleship in our lives.

Introduction

How is everyone and what is one highlight from your week? Have you ever met a celebrity or childhood hero in real life? If so, what was the meeting like and was the person who you though they would be?  Which celebrity do you feel like you know really well even though you've never actually met them in real life? How is knowing about someone similar but different than actually knowing them? 

Fans have Knowledge but not Intimacy (3:7-8) 

The Crowds heard of Jesus, but they didn't follower after Jesus as his Disciples. What's the difference between knowing of Jesus and actually knowing Jesus?

Jesus said twice to believe in him and twenty times to follow him. What's the difference believing in Jesus or are you actually following Jesus?

Fans want Goodies but not God (3:9-10)

The Crowds are pushing in and practically crushing Jesus to get a healing or see a miracle. How do you know if you're coming to God merely for the goodies or for God himself? 

How is your discipleship going when you don’t get what you want from God? How has God refined you through times of spiritual dryness, physical suffering, or emotional uncertainty? 

Fans like Convenience but not Conviction (3:11-12) 

Despite hearing the demons cry out that Jesus is the Son of God, the crowds don't follow him as Lord but merely observe him as fans. 

How has Christianity become like a spiritual buffet where people take what they want and leave what they don't like? What areas in our own life do we act like Christianity is a Buffet? What aspect of Christianity would we want to put on our plate and which would we avoid? 

What has following after Jesus cost you? What areas are you tempted to give into convenience instead of living out of conviction?

Followers are Called (7:13), Commissioned (7:14-15) and Changed (7:16-19)

How have you experienced the call of Jesus to follow after him? Jesus has commissioned his followers to preach the Gospel and make disciples. How are you making Jesus' final orders your first priority? Jesus often changes the names of his disciples or gives nicknames to them. How has walking with Jesus changed you? 

Prayer Time

Take a moment to share what your next step of discipleship will be in the Month of October and how others can be praying for you and supporting you this coming month. 

https://youtu.be/UouYKJhfQhU

Jesus and Management

“The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (Psalm 24:1)

Big Idea: Everything we have is a gift from God to manage for a short season.  

God’s Gift of Marriage (Mark 10:1-12)

God’s Gift of Kids (Mark 10:13-16)

God’s Gift of Stuff (Mark 10:17-27)

You can listen to Jesus and Management by following this link. 

  

"Jesus & Reality"  Mark 8:1-21

Jesus Reveals Reality (Mark 8:1-10)

Jesus shows the compassionate heart and power of God by feeding another massive crowd of people.

• How have you experienced the compassion of God and His people in your life?
• How can you be like Jesus and show compassion to others?
• Where are the needs? How can you and your Care Group meet those needs?

Pharisees Resist Reality (Mark 8:11-13)

The Pharisees demand Jesus gives them specifically a unique miraculous sign to authenticate His ministry.

• In what ways do we try to make God look like us, work on our timeline, play by our rules and follow our desires?
• What is the difference between unbelief and doubt, and how is that distinction important to the Christian Life?

Disciples Remember Reality (Mark 8:14-21)

Jesus tries to teach His disciples; but they’re too concerned about practical needs, so Jesus reminds them of His provision.

• How have worry and spiritual dullness caused you to miss what God is doing?
• How does remembering God’s faithfulness and blessing in the past encourage you in the midst of fearful uncertainties?

You can listen to "Jesus & Reality" by following this link. 

The Gospel of Mark: "Jesus & Religion" Mark 7:1-23

JESUS AND RELIGION

The Gospel of Mark 7:1-23

1. Jesus against Religious Traditionalism (Mark 7:1-5) 
What kind of religious traditions have you seen or experienced that actually go beyond the scriptures or even contradict God’s Word?
Why is it easier to see disobedience in others instead of ourselves?
In what specific ways do you have a condemning and judgmental spirit towards others (not lovingly, graciously correcting)?

2. Jesus against Religious Hypocrisy (Mark 7:6-13)
What is involved in the process of moving from honesty to hypocrisy? What might be gained by religious hypocrisy?
Where do you see areas of justified contradiction between what you claim to believe and how you really live?

3. Jesus against Religious Externalism (Mark 7:14-23)
What’s the difference between external conformity and internal heart-transformation? How do you personally know if your obedience is from the heart or only external pressure?
Apart from the gifted righteousness of Jesus, in what areas do you try to find your value, significance and worthiness in the eyes of God or others?

You can listen to Jesus and Religion here. 

The Gospel of Mark: "Jesus & Miracles" Mark 6:30-56

Big idea: Jesus shows His kingdom through miracles of provision, power and passion. 

Jesus’ Provision
1. How have you seen God provide for you in the past?
2. How does understanding Jesus’ provision build your faith?
Jesus’ Power 
3. What are the current storms in your life?
4. How has Jesus used storms in your life to show this glory?
Jesus’ Passion 
5. How have you seen or experienced the compassion and healing power of Jesus in your life?
6. What areas of your life (past, mind, family) need healing?

You can listen to "Jesus & Miracles" here