Mark Driscoll Audio

Sinners assume they can’t change, religious people assume they can change themselves, and spiritual people want to change but open themselves to any force or power to do so. You do need to change and you do need another power to change you, but it must be the power of the Holy Spirit—which is what empowered Jesus’ life. Repent, receive the Holy Spirit, become a new person, and live a new life.

One of the core values of Mars Hill Church is complementarian relationships. Pastor Mark explores what this means practically by answering three important questions with Scripture, starting in the beginning: what is God’s intent for men and women (Genesis 1–3), what is God’s intent for men and women in the church (1 Timothy 2–3), and what is God’s intent for men and women in the home.

Pastor Mark preaches through 1 Corinthians 15:1–11 on gospel-centered theology, one of the core values of Mars Hill Church. Just as for Paul, our theological convictions lead to hard work empowered by the Holy Spirit. We believe that the gospel is most important, Jesus is alive and he saves from sin and religion, and God’s grace results in making disciples and planting churches.

This documentary gives a glimpse at the ups and downs of the early years of Mars Hill Church. It’s a story that includes didgeridoos during offering and one-dollar bills in the tithe—but more than that, it’s a story of how God was incredibly faithful to a group of people who had no idea what they were doing, except that they were committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ and to serving his church.

The resurrected Jesus teaches and commissions his disciples before he returns to heaven. Because Jesus is alive, because the Bible is true, and because we believe the gospel—the good news that Jesus died for sin and rose for salvation—we should witness and worship. Luke’s great biography of Jesus’ life closes with Jesus’ people worshiping him—literally kissing his nail-scarred feet.

Jesus’ first priority after he physically rose from death was to teach people the Scriptures that are all about him. Just like the men walking to Emmaus, we are all spiritually blind until God opens our eyes. We see six ways in which all of the Old Testament is connected to Jesus: events, titles, prophecies, Christophanies, types, and like service. The book that God wrote is all about Jesus.

Pastor Mark preaches at the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem, the site that could be where Jesus was buried, temporarily. No one knows exactly where Jesus was buried—because he’s not there. Nobody is in Jesus’ tomb. He is alive; this fact is the bedrock of the Christian faith. Without the resurrection of Jesus, Christianity does not exist. If Jesus is dead, we are dead; if Jesus is alive, we are alive.

Nothing is as important as this: Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. Jesus was brutally murdered by us, but also for us. On the cross he became our substitute, our sin was imputed to him, and he became cursed, which was more difficult to bear than even his physical suffering. Like those who were present on that day, you can respond in passive unbelief, active unbelief, or belief.

In this special episode we bring you Pastor Mark Driscoll’s session, “Ministry Marriages,” from the NewSpring Leadership Conference, held at NewSpring Church in Anderson, South Carolina, in September 2011. He shares true stories of renowned ministers and missionaries, painting a heartbreaking picture of what it looks like when marriage and family are sacrificed in worship to the idol of ministry.

Jesus is arrested, blindfolded, beaten, and blasphemed. He’s asked a series of questions, all of which boil down to one issue: is he the only God? Knowing that he will be crucified, Jesus declares himself to be the only God in three ways: he says he is the Christ, the Son of Man, and the Son of God. Some of you have been told Jesus never said he was God. He did. That’s why he was put to death.

On Mars Hill’s fifteenth birthday, we examine a sobering text of Scripture and lessons to learn from the life of Judas. Judas was no victim. Judas’ desire was to betray Jesus, and Satan came and empowered that desire. The Bible doesn’t tell us why Judas did what he did; “Could I do the same?” Each of us must humbly, soberly pray for God’s grace to not be a Judas.

Jesus is in absolute agony, sweating blood, as he prays honestly with the Father. Every sin is like a drop into a cup. We pour the sin in. God, at the end of this life, pours out commensurate wrath. Yet Jesus submits his will to the Father’s; he exchanges places with us on the cross and drinks every single drop of cup of the wrath of God. The cross is where the love of God is most clearly seen.

On his way to the cross, the Scriptures give Jesus confidence, courage, and clarity. When life gets hard, go to the book that God wrote. God wants us to receive and consider the whole book (or tota sola Scriptura), and to connect all of it to Jesus. Jesus does this when he recalls Isaiah 52–53—written 700 years prior—and shows how it promised his coming, his crucifixion, and his resurrection.

Jesus knows who will fail him, and when, where, and how. He knows that all of us will fail him, even the best among us—including Peter, the senior leader of Jesus’ disciples. After Peter fails Jesus, he weeps bitterly and repents quickly, as should we. The good news is Jesus fails no one. He restores his friendship with Peter and then encourages him to tell his story in order to strengthen others.

Jesus’ disciples argue over who is the greatest, but Jesus doesn’t rebuke their desire, he redirects it. He redeems the pursuit of greatness, showing the difference between worldly and godly greatness. True, godly greatness is simply service. Are you selfish or a servant? When we live a life that glorifies God and serves others, we receive joy in this life and eternal rewards in the life to come.