Rev. Kevin Murphy
Preparation Scripture: Genesis 9: 8-17, Psalm 25: 1-10, Mark 1:9-15
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” 12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry. 14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
As Jesus became baptized, you would expect a celebration as he was now recognized as the Beloved Son of God. But he, instead, was driven out of any sort of comfort zone and into the wilderness where he endured various forms of hardship for the next 40 days.
In this sermon Kevin challenges us to a similar experience. Instead of focusing on making the Church a more inviting comfort zone, we need to also focus on moving out of this comfort zone in order to bring aid and comfort to others through a variety of mission activities in our community and beyond. Although Jesus faced these challenges alone, we do not. Whatever the challenge on this journey, we have our God at our side. Together with God we should expect success as we are directed on this journey with him.
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