We live in a materialistic and consumeristic world. "Buy this, but that" messages are everywhere and are unavoidable. So how does consumerism impact our relationships? And what does the Gospel have to say about that?
Jeff Jantzi
Jeff is the Lead Pastor at The Gathering Ottawa and preaches most Sunday mornings.
CONNECTED: Judge Me Not
You were created for connection! Meaningful, honest connection and spiritual friendship. And yet, for many of us, we feel so lonely, isolated & disconnected instead. Why is that? If God created us for connection, why is this sense of connection so hard to actually experience in life? Listen/Watch as Jeff talks about how judgmentalism kills community and how the Gospel can change our judgmental hearts.
CONNECTED: Me, Myself & I
How individualism kills community and what the Gospel has to say about that.
The Crowd and The Apostles
Are you just a member of the crowd, or are you actually following Jesus?
“Reach Out Your Hand” Mark 3:1-6
One of the things the religious crowd hated most about Jesus was that he always seemed to care more about people than he did about the rules. People’s needs always seemed to trump the religious laws and rules of the day. What does this reveal to us about the person of Jesus Christ? What does this show us about the Gospel? Join us next Sunday as Jeff continues to walk through the Gospel of Mark by looking at the story of Jesus healing a man with a deformed hand on the Sabbath.
Fasting and the Sabbath
Jesus always takes things deeper. He always goes to the root issue. Listen as Jeff unpacks Mark 2:18-28, where Jesus is confronted about both "fasting" and the "Sabbath" but responds by confronting the religious heart attitudes behind people's beliefs. "People matter more than the rules"
“Sick People Do”
A lot of people think that being a Christian is all about be a good, moral person. A person who follows all the rules and does all the right kinds of things. But is that really what Christianity is all about? Is that really why Jesus came? To make us "good, moral people"? Listen as Jeff Jantzi teaches from Mark 2:13-17.
Jesus Calls Levi (Matthew)
13 Then Jesus went out to the lakeshore again and taught the crowds that were coming to him. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Levi got up and followed him.
15 Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) 16 But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?”
17 When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
“I Am Willing!”
Far too often, Christians find themselves preoccupied with who's "in" and who's "out". With who God accepts and includes and who He doesn't. But what about Jesus? Was this something he seemed preoccupied with? Was this something Jesus seemed to worry about?
Join us this Sunday as we look at the radically inclusive life and message of Jesus by focusing on Mark 1:40-45.
Jesus Heals a Man with Leprosy
40 A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said.
41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” 42 Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed. 43 Then Jesus sent him on his way with a stern warning: 44 “Don’t tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.”
45 But the man went and spread the word, proclaiming to everyone what had happened. As a result, large crowds soon surrounded Jesus, and he couldn’t publicly enter a town anywhere. He had to stay out in the secluded places, but people from everywhere kept coming to him.
“Everyone is Looking for You”
Jesus was a busy guy. As we read through the Gospel of Mark, it's clear that he had a lot on the go. Preaching in the Synagogue, healing people, casting out demons, investing in his disciples... and yet, despite his busy life, Jesus never seemed stressed out or anxious about any of it. Why is this? Have you ever wondered about that? What makes him so different from us?
Miracles! Mark 1:21-34
What do the miracles of Jesus show us about the character of Jesus? And what do they reveal to us about his message? Join us to find out.
