Jesus' Church is born when 3000 people start following him and it doesn't stop there. Every day more and more people start following Jesus. What did the early believers do? What did they devote themselves to? Well Acts 2:42 gives us 4 things that they devoted themselves to and we too should devote ourselves to them.
What does it mean that God "will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants—men and women alike—and they will prophesy." What does prophecy look like today and how should it be used? Let's dig in!
Acts 1-2 is exactly what we are praying for at Montage. Jesus is alive, the Holy Spirit fills all believers with power to be Jesus’ witnesses, the church is on the move with the good news of Jesus. Acts 1-2 teaches that the church is a movement made up of ordinary people, empowered by Jesus' Holy Spirit to tell the world about Jesus.
In Acts 2, Jesus’ promise is fulfilled: the Holy Spirit descends on his disciples, readying them to go and proclaim the gospel to all nations. He does this by giving them the gift of tongues, a symbol of the fact that barriers of location and language have now been removed. What is this gift? Can every Christian get it? Is it for today? I hope to teach a simple biblical perspective toady in such a way that, when tongues comes up again, we can come back here to reference this teaching. While we all have lenses we see life and read the bible through, I have been asking the Holy Spirit to help me simply read, understand and teach the bible, not anybody nor any denominations take on it. So let’s jump into the deep end!
This week we see the early church work through a leadership crisis. How will they select Judas' replacement? And what is the difference between 2 men. Peter and Judas, who both failed Jesus? One ended up taking their own life while the other ended up leading the early church. How did they end up in such different places? Listen to find out.
The first eleven verses of Acts that we’ll examine together today—every single one of them mentions Jesus. There is no Christianity without Christ. Jesus’ life and his power are not just to be admired; they’re also to be experienced. A non-Christian can look at Jesus’ life and Jesus’ power and admire it. Only a Christian can look at Jesus’ life and Jesus’ power and experience it. So how should we use this power the Holy Spirit that Jesus will give us? We should start by looking at Jesus to see how he used the power of the Holy Spirit.
Buckle up! Acts is such an amazing book to see God’s mission, through God’s people, filled with God’s power! I mean what a book to see God’s Kingdom spreading from Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the world. And that’s really the whole outline of Acts that comes directly from Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
At the end of the book of Mark you’ll find the account of Jesus appearing to his disciples after his death and resurrection. He leaves them with a motivating speech to preach the gospel to all creation (Mark 16:15). At first glance, quite satisfying. Jesus is alive and the way forward is clear.
But there’s a problem. Most scholars agree that this happy ending was a later addition, since it was not present in the earliest manuscripts. It seems that later scribes were uncomfortable with Mark’s inconclusive ending, so they provided an appropriate conclusion with what they knew had happened. (additions like this are extremely rare, and can easily be discerned from comparison with earlier manuscripts). So what’s the real conclusion to Mark’s Gospel—and does that change how we respond to it?
The highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Ultimate sacrifice. Ultimate love. I have spent countless hours studying and learning about the physical torture and humiliation that Jesus went through. Roman crucifixion was specifically designed to not just cause excruciating pain but soul crushing shame and humiliation. This time through Mark 15 the Lord is laying on me the weight of not the suffering, but the ONE who was suffering. Many other people suffered on a Roman cross. Others have been skinned alive, burned, tortured for their faith. An estimated 70 million Christians have been martyred for their faith. But this one…This lamb of God…This one is different.
One of the primary themes in the book of Mark is his focus on Jesus as a suffering servant. Maybe the most famous verse in this Bible book is Mark 10:45 where Jesus says, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus makes it very clear that he came to suffer, serve us, and give his life as a ransom for all who will turn from their sin and believe in him.
Peter thought that the Messiah would come and immediately rescue Israel from the oppression of the Romans. And he thought that a Messiah would do this through force. And then all of a sudden, he sees Jesus who he thought was a Messiah, he sees him get arrested, and then he sees Jesus not even fight back. And by the time that Peter sees Jesus on trial Peter begins to lose confidence in Jesus to be the Messiah he thought he was.
In the Garden of Gethsemane we see Jesus facing the consequences of choosing to become a human. In Philippians 2 it describes how Jesus gave up His divine rights and willingly became a human, even when He knew it would lead to death on a cross. Jesus becoming a human was always leading to this very point in time when He would take on the suffering of the world.
This week in Mark 14:12-26 we will look at the transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant, the beginning of communion, and the Passover meal. It will help if you have read Mark 14:12-26. In Mark’s traditional style, he cuts all the fluff out and just goes straight to the point he is trying to make…but for bonus content read John’s expanded account in his gospel chapter 13-16…AND for those who want to dig deeper and nerd out with me add in Exodus 12:1-30 where you can read about what Jesus and his disciples are celebrating at the Lord’s supper.
In Mark 14, as Jesus is just a couple of days away from His death on the cross, we get a vivid picture of what it looks like to be broken and poured out in our love and devotion and worship of Jesus. Mark deliberately places the stark contrast of the hate of the leading priests and the teachers of religious law with the love of Mary of Bethany followed again by the hate of Judas. He sandwiches them so that we might see their contrast. Like an artist, he draws together two lines of truth, taking that line of thought which centers around hate, and that which centers around love, and braiding them together.
Man, I’ll bet that when you read our verses you have some questions. Like: How can Jesus be God and not know when his 2nd coming will happen? Was Jesus wrong when he said in V30 that “this generation will not pass from the scene before all these things take place” because Jesus disciples are dead…and Jesus hasn’t come back yet. What is going on? We’ll get into some of that and hopefully come in for a landing focusing on verses 34-37 of Mark 13 and Verse 45-51 from Matthew 24 were we look at the instructions about the work we are to do while we wait for Jesus’ return.
Chapter 13 is a difficult text to interpret with faithful Bible believing teachers differing on the details. Some are convinced Jesus is only addressing the destruction of Jerusalem which took place in ad 70. Others are equally certain that he has in view the end of the age. I personally think there is a third and better understanding. Jesus does indeed address the imminent destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in AD70. And in doing so, he provides a preview of distant attractions: his second coming and the end of age.
The mission of God is for Him to be known. God’s desire to be known is an overarching theme through all of the bible. From creating Adam and Eve to have a unique relationship with him, to Abraham’s promise that his decedents (Jesus) will be a blessing to all people, to the tabernacle (God dwelling among his people), to Jesus being the visible expression of the invisible God, to Jesus restoring the broken relationship between humanity and the Father at the cross by becoming our sin, to heaven where every tribe nation and tongue get to spend eternity with God. All that evangelism is, is working with God to accomplish his goal to be known and to be with his people. It’s helping others know this amazing God that you know. This Sunday we will work through a few ways to have gospel conversations with the people God has put around us.
We’re about to look at a passage where Jesus watches people giving. He watches what they give and how they give. If nothing else, this passage is going to show us that Jesus is watching what we give and how we give. He’s watching us, not like a heavenly policeman who’s making sure we do things right. He’s watching us because he loves us and wants the best for us.
Let’s set up this story. This is Tuesday of the week when Jesus is going to be betrayed on Thursday and crucified on Friday by groups of people who were working against him. These groups have coordinated efforts to pepper him with questions, all with the intent of trapping Jesus and trying to bring him down. At the end of our last study, we read that after Jesus’ responses, no one dared to ask him any more questions, at which point Jesus decided that he was going to ask a question of his own.
We believe that every word of the Bible is important like 1 Timothy 3:16-17 says. That is part of the reason why we go through books of the Bible and read every word. We also know that there are some scriptures that carry more weight. So, today we want to dig into some of the most important verses in our Bible. Granted there are many more verses that could make this list (I'm sorry if your favorite didn't make it) but we want to study these weighty verses and apply these to our lives.
What a text we’re about to dive into. We’re going to read one of the most important, central and foundational texts in the entire Bible. I can’t wait to dive into it because, as foundational as this is, I’m convinced that many people who call themselves Christians are missing it, either completely or missing the wonder of what it means and how it totally transforms our lives, our families and our purpose in the world.
One day, for all who trust in Jesus, we will come home at last to our real country, the country where we belong, the land we’ve been looking for all our lives. We realize the things you and I love most about this world, the earthly pleasures we experience for a time here, will indeed have been just a shadow, a foretaste, of heavenly pleasures we will enjoy forever.
Don't miss this week. We have some cool things too talk about and pray over. Leading into our gathering time we wanted to share our mission vision and values.
Here we go into another political season. Everyone seems to have an opinion about the government, but too often we disconnect our view of the government from the teaching of God’s Word. Often it seems as though Christians put their hope in elections to make everything better instead of putting their hope in Jesus. Don’t hear me wrong, we need to vote and be involved in government but we fail to ask some important questions like, What obligations and responsibilities do Christians have toward the government? How do we relate to government and those who govern us? Should we submit to government or challenge it? Do we obey it or change it? Or both? Or neither? What if we don’t agree with our government? What if we are persecuted by our government? Is it ever right to disobey or defy government? If so, when?
This week in Mark 11:27-12:12 Jesus and his disciples “again entered Jerusalem.” Jesus had just entered Jerusalem on “Palm Sunday”, looked around the temple and left, went back the next morning and turned over the tables and talked about what was wrong with Israel’s worship, then left. That was Monday. Now it’s Tuesday and by Friday he will be on the cross. Today he’s back in the city and is confronted by the ruling Jewish religious authority (the leading priests, teachers of religious law and elders). Their question? Who in the heck do you think you are?
Israel had all the trappings of religion: crowds of people, the Word of God, the worship of God, offerings, all kinds of religious activity. They had all these things, but they were missing God, like a fig tree missing figs. Is it possible for crowds of people to assemble, hear his Word, do what they call worship and other religious activity, but actually miss God? Is that possible today? I think the glaring answer is YES! We can be just like these religious people busy with religious activity but miss the whole point- GOD!
What a beautiful and stunning picture of Jesus our humble king. Glory, fanfare, worship…riding on a donkey towards his death on the cross ahead. Jesus is different than any other religious leader, yes mostly because of his resurrection but also his life.
Last week we talked about extraordinary prayer. Taking what is ordinary prayer to you and adding something extra. This week we get to see that “extra” prayer does not necessitate time. We encountered blind Bartimaeus in our bibles today. As so many others we have already read about, his prayer is not one of length or many words, but of desperation and faith. “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” was his cry. He approached with humility and confidence.
Everything begins with prayer. Jesus tells us to make disciples…but who? Where? How? There are so many people in our neighborhood, valley, city, and WORLD! It can all seem overwhelming. How do I pick who? And once I have, how do I actually disciple them? Welp, it starts with extraordinary prayer…which really means you take how you currently pray…and add a little extra…then it is “extra ordinary.” Don’t get overwhelmed by this like all of a sudden you have to pray 4+ hours every day…think just one small step forward in prayer.
We are at the defining verse of the book of Mark and the verse that turns Christianity into the gospel; “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Before the crown there is a cup of wrath. Before the blessings there is a baptism of suffering. Jesus explains in detail what lies ahead of him; betrayal, mocking, spitting, flogging, and death. But through the cup and the baptism, after three days, he will rise again!
Two very different types of people. One wealthy, one with little. One powerful and influential, one with no power or influence. One self-sufficient, one totally reliant. One wanting to DO to receive eternal life, the other being brought to just be with Jesus. One leaves Jesus and is sad, the other blessed. It is a living example of Jesus’ words in v 31 “But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.”
Today we dive into a sensitive topic that causes grief, sorrow, soul searching, and hurt. Divorce and remarriage have affected almost everyone. In fact, about 40-50% of first marriages end in divorce. Both my wife and I come from families whose parents got divorced so this is not a topic I enter lightly. I hope to talk about divorce with the heart of Jesus that always pairs love, compassion and truth together. I pray that this study lands on humble hearts with truth and compassion. We won’t have time to dig into all the bible has to say but I am including a study sheet of all the places in the bible that discuss marriage and divorce. I would encourage you to dig and study and pray AND to do it with someone else in your spiritual family. Sometimes our emotions, trauma, and past experiences can skew how we interpret the bible and having another person there who loves you and loves Jesus can help balance your study. Prayerfully that is what we can do some of together today.
Here is the study: https://DivorceAndRemarriage
Jesus, on the road to his death, about to leave these guys in charge of God’s eternal plan of salvation, now has his disciples arguing about who is the greatest among them. Notice something very significant about that. He did not on this or on any other occasion rebuke them for wanting to be greatest. God has somehow built into every human heart the desire to succeed at whatever we do, in whatever terms we may conceive success to lie. He did not rebuke them, for this is part of our humanity -- to want to succeed, to be the greatest. What he did do was to tell them the true way to greatness. "Whoever wants to be first,” he says, “must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.”
We have been working our way through UP, IN and OUT; Worship, community and mission. We believe that those three elements are the minimum of what makes a church a church. If you have those three things centered around Jesus, you are a church. If you miss any one of them you aren’t a biblical church. We worked our way through UP and OUT and this month we are going to dig into IN: Community.
HERE is the worksheet for IN
Mountaintop experiences are wonderful, and we need them from time to time to recharge our spirit. However, God never intended for us to stay withdrawn from people. He wants us “down here” sharing the gospel and serving people. As his agents of redemptive love, we go in His name and with the promise of his presence.
But why did the disciples fail to cast out this demon? Join together with others this week to discover what is going on in this account.
I can only imagine what Peter, James, and John felt as the had their own moment of holy encounter when Jesus transformed before their very eyes and was joined by Moses and Elijah. It is almost like a glimpse behind the curtain of flesh and blood to see Jesus in all his glory. Things are not always as they seem. Looks can be deceiving. Never was this more true than when the Son of God left heaven and came to earth, when “the Word became human and made his home among us.” (John 1:14), When all the fullness of God came to live in a human body (Col 2:9). When the essence of God “did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. He appeared in human form (Phil 2:6-7). The transfiguration of Jesus confirms that, despite having the outward appearance or a mere mortal man, Jesus is in His nature and essence God. God in a bod.
Mark 8:1-30 parallels Mark 6:30-7:37. Feeding a great multitude; boat trip; confrontation with the Pharisees; conversation about bread; miraculous healing; significant confession (that we will get into in 2 weeks). I think Mark presents things in this order for 2 reasons. One is obvious: because that’s how it happened. Second is for discipleship. Remembering what God has done in the past should help us trust him with our present and future. Unfortunately we are sometimes hard hearted, blind, and deaf just like the disciples.
Jesus explains what the normal Christian life looks like and what it means to follow a King who came to die and serve, who calls his followers to die and serve as well. This section answers 3 main questions: Who is Jesus? Why did he come? What is my response?
God is calling us to be a part of a discipleship making movement, taking the gospel to the people around us, and seeing the next microchurch emerge from within those people. Here at Montage we talk a lot about what the heck we are supposed to be doing as a church. What is our mission? For that matter, what makes a church a church? We say that the three essential elements we MUST have are Up, In, and Out. Worship, Community and Mission. We dug into “worship” last month, this month we are digging into “Mission” and “Community” is on deck.
Jesus is launching a global movement for every nation and language of people. He goes out of his way to move toward people who need to hear and experience the gospel. It’s worth pausing and asking: If you could look at a relational map of all the people you encountered this past week, what would the map look like? Whom did you help move towards the gospel? Whom did you take the gospel to? Did you only connect with people who believe what you believe?
You just read a weird and potentially upsetting chunk of scripture. Here is a hurting mom coming to Jesus for help. Sure she is from a different people group…but calling her a dog? That seems a bit harsh if not outright racist.
In these videos I’m trying to give you background and context but not all the answers. I believe that the Holy Spirit will illuminate the bible for us as we discuss it in our microchurch. So let me do that here for you.
After a long day of ministry Jesus doesn't kick his feet up and throw on an episode of his favorite tv show to relax. Instead he goes up a hill by himself to pray until almost 3am! I need to pray like Jesus. I need to find my revitalization in the Father. I feel so convicted by the prayer life of Jesus. Lord help us all pray!
This is such an amazing chunk of scripture that has deep connections to the Exodus in the Old Testament as well as looking forward to things to come. It highlights Jesus as the provider, the fulfillment of Messianic expectations, and the embodiment of the Good Shepherd. It also points forward to Communion and underscores the significance of spiritual nourishment through Jesus, all in 14 verses!
We see two main personalities in our bible today. One, Herod a politician, who tried to please everybody and in doing so stood for nothing. The other, John the Baptizer, who stood for what he believed even if it cost him his freedom and his life. Yes, John lost his life. Yes, Herod was a successful political ruler who got ahead in this world. But when we put on an eternal perspective, John gained everything and Herod lost everything. The struggles, persecution, and injustice in this world are temporary. God promises that true and full justice WILL come.
Today we are jumping into what makes a church a church. Here at Montage we believe the bible teaches that the three fundamental elements that make up a church are “up, in and out” “Worship, Community and Mission”. The church exists in the overlap and balance of those three elements. Worship is moving from unbelief to belief in Jesus in every area of life. (Romans 12:1-2). Community is living out the “one another” commands on a daily basis and living into our connection to the larger body. Mission is making new disciples (Matthew 28:18-20) and making the Kingdom tangible (Matthew 6:10) in our network of relationships. For each of the next three months we are going to tackle one of these three topics and do a little bit more of a deep dive. This month we will focus on what the bible (and we) means when it talks about WORSHIP.
Ministry changes this week in Mark 6:7-13. Up to this point Jesus was the one doing all the ministry. Now, Jesus sends his disciples out two by two to do ministry. He called them to himself, has spent about a year training them, and now it's time to send them out for a test run. He will follow up with how it goes for them in a few verses to see how it goes and refine their ministry. We as disciples can sometimes get stuck in one phase of this discipleship process without progressing. We can just come to Jesus for salvation and not learn and grow in training from him. We can learn and get trained but never step out and actually put it into practice. And we can try to do ministry but not bring it back before Jesus to evaluate. So where are you in this process and how can you move forward to the next phase?
Homefield advantage is a real thing. However, this week Jesus experiences just the opposite. He returns home to Nazareth only to find unbelief in the people he grew up around. Perhaps it's that familiarity breeds contempt, but despite an abundance of evidence, these people don't believe that Jesus is the Messiah. We are told that Jesus couldn't do many miracles because of their unbelief. That is super challenging to me personally because I have only seen a few miracles in my life. How do you think our unbelief limits God's desire to do the miraculous today? How can we grow our belief to see God move unhindered among us?
Desperate Faith. This week we see two very different people come to Jesus for help. They could not be more different: One is important, central in community, young. The other is an outcast, old, isolated. But both are desperate for Jesus to heal. Jesus responds to their desperate faith just as Jesus responds to our desperate faith. I pray that you get desperate and hungry for Jesus. So desperate that you don't care what others think about you, desperate enough to pray with a new fervency, to worship with a new depth, to serve with a new love. That's right where Jesus meets you in your faith.
There are not-so-subtle political undertones in Mark 5:1-20. Today we will view how Jesus casting a legion of demons out of a man connects to politics, our mission and our message.
This is one of the most misapplied sections of our Bible. When we see Jesus asleep in a boat, a huge storm sweep in, and then he calms the waves and the wind, the point is not that Jesus can calm the storms of you life. Rather the main point is that Jesus is fully human (asleep) and fully God (calming the storm). Mark writes the story intentionally to mirror the story of Jonah. See if you can find the parallels as you read Mark 4:35-41.
Jesus tells three more parables today. The Kingdom of God will grow in our world AND we have a responsibility to share the light of Jesus and prepare our hearts for God to move.
4 guidelines to help you discern Jesus' calling for you. Make sure to download the printable worksheet to accompany the video here.
As we gather our microchurches together this month we will be diving into Spiritual Disciplines. I know that doesn't sound sexy but spiritual disciplines are some of the best ways to grow our relationship with Jesus. While there is no formula to force that to happen, there are principles we can incorporate into our lives.
Most Christians don't share the good news about Jesus. There are many reasons ranging from fear, to apathy, to lack of training and understanding. Today we are going help with those things. What would you actually say if you were going to share the good news about Jesus with one of the unsaved people you have been praying for? The Gospel can seem overly complicated and it’s hard to know what to say and what not to say. Today we are going to boil the gospel down to its most essential elements.
You can download the Gospel worksheet that goes with this video from our website at www.MontageMico.Church.
How do you keep Jesus as the center of your whole life?
Kids Lesson:
Play a game of "Simon Says".
Wouldn't it be cool if we could play "Simon Says" with trees and the flu? "Simon says tree fall over...flu go away."
We can't do that but Jesus can!
Write or draw a picture of what you would like Jesus do to help someone.
Even though a full on revival is happening in Capernaum, Jesus knows there are other people who need to meet him. He chooses to move forward so that a social outcast can experience the power of God and meet Jesus face to face.
This week we see four friends carry their paralyzed friend onto a roof and lower him on a mat right in front of Jesus. Jesus' response is to prove that he can forgive sins buy healing the paralyzed man. Do you have friends who you desperately need to get in front of Jesus so they can be forgiven? How can you do that in practical ways?
Do you know why its so crazy that Jesus invited Levi to be one of his closest disciples? Tax collectors were Jews who betrayed their own people and sold out to foreigners. Traitors, rejected by Jews and not roman enough for the Romans…Of all the people Jesus could have picked, he picks THIS GUY? I think this section of Mark really shows us Jesus’ character through WHY he would pick Levi.
The Fosbury Flop was a whole new way to approach the high jump in the 1968 Olympics. In a similar way, Jesus ushered in a whole new way of approaching God the father. The Old Covenant was replaced with the New Covenant and the New Covenant is so much better!
Are you in the crowd or the called? How can you take an honest look at your life to discern where you land? I pray Jesus uses this video to convict and/or encourage you to join the called.
This week I want to give you a tool to help you live out being in the called group and sharing Jesus: Ledged, Liar, Lunatic or Lord. Those are the only options. Is Jesus a legend, just some made up fairytale? Or perhaps he knew he was just a man, but was history’s best con man getting people to believe he was God. Or if neither of those are right, maybe he really believed he was God’s son but wasn’t – making him just like any other mentally disturbed person who has made such claims. However, if none of those three makes sense, then it leaves just one option left: That Jesus truly is God’s son and Lord of all.
Jesus talks about the 4 different soils we are as people. He gives some fairly clear indicators to help identify which soil you are. Join us today as we try to place ourselves and grow to be good soil for the gospel.
