Church Redefined - Mark 1:23-26

Central Family,

Before we look at Mark 1:23-26, I want you to think about two numbers;186 & 30,000.

186?  30,000?

Are you one of the 186?  Presently 186 children, youth adults and seniors have signed up to part of one of the eight Pastorates that are being launched at Central in April. You can sign up this Sunday in the lobby after the 8:15, 9:30, 11:00AM or 6:00PM worship.

Wouldn't it be great if we gave over 30,000 pounds of food to CAER this Sunday! If each worship community (the four different services) gave a thousand dollars that would translate to 28,000 pounds. Let's step it up and open our hearts and hands to the hungry in our community!

Thanks for praying about what will you give this Sunday!  Now let's consider Mark 1:23-26; "An immediately there was in their synagogue a many with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, 'What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.' But Jesus rebuked him, saying, 'Be Silent, and come out of him!' And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him."

IMMEDIATELY - again! Mark uses 'immediately' 42 times, while Luke (which is longer) uses it only 7 times, and John (which is much longer) uses it only 4. Traditional scholarship tells us that Mark is the earliest Gospel - could it be that in the first telling of the story of Jesus there was a lot of 'Immediately' before Christians began slowing things down?  In these verses, it isn't the first disciples or Jesus who are in a hurry, but evil. Today, right now, just as in the first century, there is an aggressive evil in the world that must be rebuked by Jesus.

It is interesting that the crowds can't figure out who Jesus is or what he is up to, but the evil spirits understand what is going on. They are threatened and cry out - knowing that their darkness of evil is always defeated by the light of Jesus. So here at the very beginning of the story of Jesus it is the evil spirit who helps us know who Jesus is. What is important is that we see the greatness and the mission of Jesus, to reveal who he really is, and to bring the ultimate defeat of evil, sin, death and Satan!

To God be the Glory!

Paul