Village Church Audio

The Jesus Scandals - 8: Our basic problem as human beings is idolatry. We love finite things as if they were themselves gods: money, sex, power, success, self-expression. We derive ultimate meaning and joy from these good things which have become ultimate things; our hearts themselves have become, as Martin Luther once said, "idol factories." In this sermon we explore the scandalous solution Jesus gives to this fundamental problem of idolatry. It is the greatest of all commandments, and is neither trite nor easy. We are to love God - above all else.

The Jesus Scandals - 7: Many politicians and advertisers try to get us to follow them by telling us our lives will be easier if we vote for them or buy their product. Jesus did the exact opposite. He said that following him would be hard, counter-intuitive, and costly. In this message we explore Jesus' three commands of discipleship: deny yourself, pick up your cross daily, and follow Me. He teaches that the only way to pursue a relationship with Jesus is to view ourselves as already dead, and to relate to Him not only as Saviour who forgives our sins, but Lord of our lives as well.

The Jesus Scandals - 6: Many in our culture believe that all paths lead to God; that all religions and world views are the same - just different paths to the same destination. Skeptics also doubt the reality of Heaven, saying it's just a neurotic fantasy. In this message we explore how Jesus' teachings interface and challenge these conclusions and how the innate desire for Heaven, which is hardwired into the human heart, points to its very existence.

The Jesus Scandals - 5: Jesus challenges both religious fundamentalists who disengage themselves from the world, and liberals who refuse to talk to people about their sin. He shows that a missional life is one that both compassionately loves and serves others, while at the same time does not hesitate to talk about difficult issues such as sin, hell and the gospel.

The Jesus Scandals - 4: Critics debate whether Jesus ever made the claim to be God. In this message we see that Jesus clearly did make that claim, and that it is one of the most controversial aspects of his life and ministry. We also explore how this claim intersects with present Western cultural movements with non-traditional and traditional beliefs in God and shows that Jesus wants to challenge us to redefine what we mean when we say the word "God".

The Jesus Scandals - 3: The biographies of Jesus (the Gospels) record Jesus doing upward of three dozen miracles in His life - each of them a scandal, both to his own day and ours, and for the same reason: "miracles just don't happen." This message explores Jesus' first controversial miracle, turning water into wine. The event asked and answered three basic questions: Who is Jesus? What did He come to do? and what is our response to be?

Where is God in the midst of trials and pain in our lives? Jesus says that He is journeying beside us. He enters in. He is not distant and aloof like the ancient Greco-Roman gods He is not casting it on us because of our sin like some teach today. He uses it to do two major things: bring Himself glory, and conform us into the image of Jesus. The story of Lazarus is a beautiful example as Jesus challenges the view of what part God has to play in our suffering. Pastor Mark shares from the week in which his father passed away.

The Jesus Scandals - 2: What is the Bible basically about? Is it about us; our problems, our lives, our story, or is it about Jesus? Jesus scandalizes his contemporaries by showing them that He is what the whole Bible is about. This forces them into one of two positions: reject Jesus and therefore disregard their sacred Scriptures or believe in Jesus and then understand their sacred Scriptures in a completely new way.

The Jesus Scandals - 1: Much of what we have thought and heard about connecting to God has been wrong. Case in point is the parable of The Two Lost Sons (The Prodigal Son) - one of Jesus' most popular stories but also one of the most misunderstood because there are two lost sons who need saving not one. They represent everyone who has every lived trying to ignore God through irreligion (younger son) or reach God through religion (older son) and Jesus' story is about their true condition as lost and how to truly come home.