Samuel has taught Israel not to look to human appointed judges. His mother spoke of the Lord being the true hope of Israel, and of the king he will send. But the elders of Israel, along with the people, have
Run, run, as fast as you can
The apostles bring back a report to Jesus on the state of Israel. Now they need some quiet to rest and talk. But when Jesus takes them away from the populated centres, a huge crowds runs to join them. In
Tale of the unexpected
Jesus needs to stretch the faith of his disciples to strengthen and prepare it for the trials ahead. They really need to grasp that he means what he says about God’s kingdom. So he decides on a trip across the
Parables aren’t forever
In public, Jesus uses confusing parables but privately he explains his kingdom to his team. This technique, however, is only for these early days. So he assures his disciples that in the future, after the darkness of the cross, the
Four-way split (HCTW 10)
He Changed The World – for an introduction to this series of talks, please click the title. Mark 4:10-20Using the player above you can listen to/download the talk, which also includes the Bible being read out. Once you’ve listened, take
Muffled voices
As Jesus’ popularity grows, he has to take care with the crowds since they could easily try to fit him into their expectations and ideas rather than listen to his teaching about God’s will. So Jesus uses parables to find