Sermon preached on Deuteronomy 6 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 11/15/2009 in Novato, CA.

Manuscript: Teach Them Diligently

Teach Them Diligently [ 41:57 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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.

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

Have you ever thought you knew someone, because you had learned something about them? Maybe you learned where they were born or what their job was, and you assumed you knew everything about them. Those kinds of assumptions can certainly get you in trouble. In our passage, we find the disciples thinking they knew Jesus. You see, they finally learned something critical about Jesus — that he was the Christ!

And yet, just because they finally knew this important truth about Jesus, didn’t mean that they really knew him. No, no sooner do they make that momentous confession do we find them confused about what that meant. They thought they knew Jesus because they thought they knew what the role of the Messiah would be. However in this passage we find Jesus challenging their assumptions. We see Jesus calling into question what they thought they knew about him and his role as Messiah.

If we are to follow Jesus, we must understand his mission and role as the Messiah. Let’s look at what this passage says about that mission and how that affects how we follow him.

Passage: Mark 8:31-9:1
Author: Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
Sermon originally preached during the Morning Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 07/27/2008 in Novato, CA.

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Whoever Desires to Come After Me [ 36:52 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Today we return to our series in Mark and see something amazing.  As we have been studying this gospel, we have already been seeing plenty of amazing things.  We’ve seen Jesus perform a number of miracles, which he does more of today in our passage.  In verses 7-12 Jesus heals more people and casts out more demons.  And yet what I think is even more amazing is what follows in verses 13-20.  In those verses Jesus appoints twelve men to be in his inner circle, to be discipled by Christ, with the ultimate goal of evangelism – to use these men in bringing the good news of the kingdom to the world.  Jesus hand picks twelve men, a diverse group full of unlikely candidates, eleven of whom will ultimately become his apostles.  And it will be through these apostles that Jesus builds his church, and brings his gospel to the ends of the earth.

Passage: Mark 3:7-20
Author: Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
Sermon originally preached during the Morning Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 03/30/2008 in Novato, CA.
Other Scripture Readings: Isaiah 55:1-7; Genesis 12:1-4; Revelation 7

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He Appointed Twelve [ 38:53 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download