Back to School

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Back to School</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Whats So Amazing About Jesus?"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id85.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Following Christ Now and Then"><U><B><IMG SRC="008151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="13"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> Previous/Next Sermon</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.stanbaker.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biblical and Theological Studies"><U><B>Biblical and Theological Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Ministry"><U><B>Ministry Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Notes"><U>Sermon Notes</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal"><U><B>Personal</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>“Back to School with the Disciples,” Mark 8:1-30</B></div> <div> <B>Berean Bible Church, August 20, 2000am</B></div> <bR> <div> School is almost back in session; the problem with school is that you have to keep going back! It’s true also that life learning and Christian growth do not happen automatically or quickly. Learning and growing as a follower of Christ takes time. It is over time that we experience Christ more and more; we learn how to put off wrong habits and replace them with positive habits, how to serve Christ and others, how to adjust to things we can’t control, how to handle the difficult times of life with trust in God.</div> <div> Mark 8.1-30</div> <bR> <div> <B>I. The Process of  Learning Takes Time (illustrated by the disciples)</B></div> <div> A.. 8.1-10, The feeding of 4000 was a repeated lesson, Mk 6. They did not get it all the first time (vs. 4, “where are we going to get food for these people,” they asked).</div> <div> B. 8.11-21, the Pharisees asked for a sign but did not get one (vss. 11-13). They demonstrate unbelief, no faith. Their purpose was to test, their tone argumentative. In 8.14-21, Jesus warns the disciples about the “yeast of the Pharisees and Herod,” that is, unbelief as it was demonstrated by the Pharisees (vss. 11-13). Jesus then challenged the disciples with questions, suggesting that they must learn to look to him for their needs, illustrated by their lack of adequate bread.</div> <div> C. 8.22-26, Jesus’ two-stage miracle (it wasn’t a mistake the first time) illustrated the progression to clear understanding (like kind of being able to see, to seeing clearly) on the part of the disciples.</div> <div> D. 8.27-30, Peter’s confession of who Jesus is, the Christ, the Messiah, the Deliverer, revealed that he (and evidently the other disciples) finally understood who Jesus was!</div> <bR> <div> <B>II. Three Principles from the text:</B></div> <div> A. Jesus teaches with patience because of his grace.</div> <div> If you have failed, don’t give up.  If others have failed, be patient with them</div> <div> B. Life learning takes repeated exposure. It is like learning to play the piano; you have to keep at it.</div> <div> It is not merely academic, head knowledge. So even if you have all the right answers, no matter what level you are at, you haven’t arrived!</div> <div> C. The key is understanding and accepting who Jesus is. Pharisees did not accept him for who he really was (the expressed unbelief). But the disciples accepted him, even before they had a full understanding. Have you accepted Christ for who he is, the Deliverer of humankind from it’s rebellion against God, for those who trust in him to do so?</div> <bR> <div> <B>III. Application: Persist in the process of learning and growing in Christ.</B></div> <div> A If you are a new believer – choose to grow, read the Bible, pray, spend time with believers who can encourage you. God expects your life to change. It might seem hard, but he offers the power.</div> <div> B. If you are a long-time believer – don’t be stagnant, don’t be content to stay where you are. And it is not too late to get started if you never really grew in Christ from the beginning.</div> <bR> <div> Learning Takes Time; therefore, keep at it in the process of growing in Christ. Jesus loves you, but he wants to take you from where you are and develop you into becoming like him. Commit yourself to him as he leads you through the process of learning and growing with him.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> copyright, 2000, Stanley Baker</div> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> </tr></table></body>