As I’m sure everyone knows, the Olympics just finished a week ago in Beijing.  Most of us probably watched a number of competitions during the last couple weeks, and now the festivities are over.  And when you think of the athletes, I’m sure many things stand out, but one thing inevitably does.  If you are an Olympic athlete, you most likely desire to be first.  That’s the whole idea of a sports competition.  That’s why they give out medals.  That’s why they keep world records.  You train, and you work hard, you get coaching, and you do that over and over again for years, until you finally compete, and you desire and hope to be first.  That’s not only natural, but it’s certainly a good desire.   There’s nothing wrong in one sense to want to excel in whatever you do, especially in a sports competition.

But what about the disciples here?  We find them having a competitive attitude with each other.  Jesus catches them arguing among themselves about who is the greatest.  And Jesus then even instructs them on how to be first.  Well, is this desire by the disciples a good desire or a bad one?  Was it good that they wanted to be first or bad?  What does Jesus think about this?

Passage: Mark 9:30-37
Author: Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
Sermon originally preached during the Morning Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 08/31/2008 in Novato, CA.

Click here for the manuscript.

 

 If Anyone Desires to be First [36:03m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (226)

Topic: Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 34
Author: Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
Adult Sunday School at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 08/31/2008 in Novato, CA.

 

 Westminster Shorter Catechism 34 [34:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (161)

Exhortation on Acts 12:1-19 by Mr. Darren Hsiung.  No manuscript or audio available.

Has your faith ever faltered?  Have you ever had any doubts about your faith?  Well, if we are honest with ourselves, I think we can all say yes.  Our faith is often lacking.  This can quite commonly come during a difficult trial in our life, but our faith can also be lacking during the ordinary times of life too.

In our passage for today, we see Jesus cry out, “O faithless generation!”  Those words were especially directed toward the disciples, but they obviously apply to all humanity.  And in our passage, that is what we see.  We see a number of groups of people and all of them show a lacking faith in God and in his Son, Jesus Christ.  And so as we look at this passage, we’ll see how Jesus not only heals a demon-possessed boy, conquering the demon in this boy, but we’ll see how he also conquers unbelief in our lives.  And so let’s look at how Jesus confronts unbelief in this passage.

Passage: Mark 9:14-29
Author: Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
Sermon originally preached during the Morning Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 08/17/2008 in Novato, CA.

Click here for the manuscript.

 

 O Faithless Generation [36:41m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (217)