#29 Mark 15:1-20 "Jesus Our Substitute"

Palm Sunday Announcements 4.10.17

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.

Resurrection 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.

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.

Worldview 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.

Guest Speaker James Rayment - We're excited to welcome James Rayment from the Al-Ma'idah Initiative on Sunday, May 1st. James will be sharing a message on how Christians can engage family, friends, neighbors and coworkers from other religions.

Gospel of Mark #29 - "Jesus Our Substitute"

Sunday, April 10 (Mark 15:1-20)

Discussion/Study Questions

Our King’s Silence (15:1-5) - If Jesus had been primarily interested in avoiding execution, what defense might he have offered before Pilate? Why did Jesus remain silent? How does Jesus' silence ultimately save us? What areas in our life can you practice "passive obedience" like Jesus by not justifying ourselves and not lashing out at others?

Our King’s Substitution (15:6-14) - "Substitutionary Atonement" sounds complicated. How would you explain it to a children's Sunday school class and what would you call it? How does the story of Jesus taking the place of the criminal Barabbas show the powerful truth of substitutionary atonement?

Our King’s Suffering (15:15-20) - What ironies does the Gospel of Mark highlight between the way the soldiers mock Jesus and who he actually is? Jesus was (1) psychologically ridiculed, (2) physically beaten, (3) spiritually abandoned by God, and (4) mortally executed. How do these torments compare? How can we prepare our hearts for this coming Holy Week, Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday? What is God teaching you specifically this Easter season? How can we be praying and serving one another this coming week?

Summit View Church - CG Coach Week #8 - 2 Corinthians 7:2-16

Sunday, July 26th  -  Pastor Kyle Van Tine  -  "Sorrow and Repentance"

Growing Deeper

Depression is often called the common cold of the soul. Eventually, most people catch it. Even Paul catches it. He was afflicted from within and without. Quarreling and conflict dogged him. Paul had followed God willingly into the fray of spiritual warfare and now was paying the cost of the battle. He was fearful for the church he had planted and he was exhausted with a troubled soul for the people he loved. But comfort was coming; God sent Titus. Titus’ visit is a slice of God’s comfort for Paul. His joy is doubled by the news of the repentance of the Corinthians.Paul gains strength in the well being of others and finds joy when others repent. Worldly grief weeps for our losses. Godly grief weeps for sin against God. It produces repentance.Joy and sorrow are often linked in our Christian lives. Sorrow comes when we recognize sin. Joy celebrates when repentance and spiritual prosperity are present within the church. We need to be like Paul-- other-focused and seeking the spiritual prosperity of the church body through the repentance of its members. We need to be infected by a yearning for one another’s spiritual health. To learn how to walk beside and love others to godly repentance. To support others as they join God in the battle against sin. The Christian life is a life lived before the face of God. We must strive to reflect God’s goodness in the way we grieve, mourn, comfort and repent. 

Read 2 Corinthians 7:2-16; Psalm 51, I Thessalonians 3:6-13.

Repentance means to turn around. It is a sincere decision to forsake selfish sin and to value what God desires. It isn’t self-disgust, it is sorrow.

What are your joys and your sorrows? 

How do you respond to a loving rebuke?

What are the characteristics of a trusted person who can listen to another person’s deep longings and secrets with care and love?

Is there someone you need to encourage to be strong in the battle against sin? 

Recommended reading: Side by Side by Edward Welch