South Fellowship Church

And Then What Happened? | Mark 4 | Week 4

We are in this series going through the Gospel of Mark.  Today we're taking chapter 4, which is the longest chapter so far (about 40 some verses).  I'm going to ask you to read the first eleven verses with me.  Again Jesus began to teach by the lake.  The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge.  He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said:  "Listen!  A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.  Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil.  It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.  But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.  Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.  Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times."  Then Jesus said, "Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear."  When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables.  He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you.  But to those on the outside everything is said in parables."   
We're going to take a look at parables today.  I was going to call this "The Perplexing Problem of Parables."  Instead we're calling it "How to Hear a Who."  Let's bow our heads.  Our dear Heavenly Father, what a great God you are!  Lord, I've loved singing these songs that focused in on you.  Jesus, because you're alive, we're alive today with hope, with future, with eternity in mind.  How great is that?!   Lord, open our eyes, open our ears.  Join us together, make your word come alive.  Would your Spirit teach us now.  I praise you, in the name of Jesus.  Amen...

And Then What Happened? | What's the Point? | Mark 3 | Week 3

If you don't know me, my name is Aaron Bjorklund.  I am the Creative Arts Pastor and that means I'm usually up here leading singing.  Today I have the privilege of bringing the Scriptures and I'm really excited about that.  Over the past three weeks, we've started a series through the gospel of Mark entitled "And Then What Happened?"  I love this title for the gospel of Mark, because it sort of encapsulates how the gospel of Mark feels when you read it.  The gospel of Mark is sort of the highest pace, highest energy kind of gospel we have of the account of Jesus's life.  Mark is so excited to share with us what it looks like for the kingdom of God to unfold in time and space, and he's just riled up.  So he curates all these stories of what it looks like for the kingdom to unfold, and then he says, "And this happened and immediately this thing happened and then this thing over here happened and this happened."  And the natural question for us is alright, Mark, we get it.  And then what happened?  
Pastor Larry shared with us in week one that we're going to be looking at gospel to find out what it looks like for the kingdom of God to unfold in time and space.  We're going to look at it through the lens of 'Who Jesus is / What Jesus does / What Jesus invites us into.'  That's what Mark is trying to teach us.  What Jesus does is really important to Mark.  He's all about showing us, not that Jesus just talks the talk but that Jesus walks the walk.  Ultimately, in this gospel, what does Jesus invite us into.  We'll pick up the story in Mark 3 today.  But before we begin, I'd like to pray.  Father God, I thank you so much for the gift of your Word.  I thank you that you are so concerned with leaving your church with directions on how we are to engage the situations of life.  That you gave us not only the revelations of your Scriptures, but, Jesus, that you came.  You came in flesh and blood to show us what it looks like to inaugurate a kingdom, to restore creation, to restore humanity.  Lord, would you open our eyes as we look at your Scriptures this morning, and would you teach us exactly what you want us to learn so that we can become a little bit more like you, Jesus, because that's what this world needs.  It doesn't need more words, it doesn't need so many of the other things that concern us, it needs us to look a little bit more like you.  That's my desire, Lord.  Would you make that happen?  Would you take your Word and press it into our hearts, we pray?   In your beautiful name.  Amen.

And Then What Happened? | What Jesus is All About | Mark 2:13-17 | Week 2

Good to see all of you today.  We're going to continue our series in the Gospel of Mark today.  Last week, Larry gave us a panoramic view of chapter one. Today, I'm going to give us a snapshot of a particular element in chapter two.  Before we look at this text, I'm going to ask you to join your hearts together with me in prayer.  Father, thanks so much for your provision, your care, your grace in our lives.  Lord, we want to thank you for the salvation that you provided for us in the Lord Jesus.  Thank you for the grace and the guidance you give us every day.  Lord, I thank you for your Church; when she's filled with your Spirit, she is the hope of the world.  I thank you so much for South Fellowship, the ministry that this church has in this community, in this city, and around the world.  Lord, I thank you for every person that's here today, and I thank you that I have the privilege to worship here and now to share from your Scripture.  So Lord, as we look into your word, we ask now that by your grace and your Spirit, you would show us who you are, what you're about, and what that means for us.  Father, we ask all of this in the great and glorious name of Jesus and for our sake.  Amen.
Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is one of the most famous buildings in the world.  According to the best records, construction on the cathedral began sometime between 1160 and 1163 and was finished about 200 years later. Of greater significance, it served for over eight centuries as one of the finest examples of Gothic medieval architecture ever devised and built. But as you know, last April a section of the cathedral caught on fire, undermining its infrastructure and causing the majestic spire to crumble in a heap. When Notre Dame was built its beauty, majesty, and ministry made it the wonder of all of Europe. But now, after catastrophe, it needs to be saved, restored and made right. And that serves as a metaphor for the condition we find ourselves in today... 

Living Room Liturgy

And Then What Happened? | Mark 1 | Week 1

 Years ago, I rekindled a childhood love for storytelling, and got into screenwriting.  I wrote a number of different things, from short films, web series, sitcom pilots, and most recently, a feature film script.  In fact, my friend Michael and I wrote a sitcom pilot that made it into the top 10% of an international screenwriting competition.  Pretty wild, huh?  One lesson I learned was to start the scene as late as possible, and to get out of the scene as soon as possible.  A great example of this comes from one of the greatest underdog stories of all time: "Tommy Boy."  Tommy’s family is gathered for a huge wedding celebration, because Tommy’s father, Tom Callahan, got married that day to a beautiful younger woman.  While at the reception party, Tommy’s dad collapsed.  Tommy ran over to him, and we see the camera tighten on Tommy’s face.  The next shot widens to reveal Tommy and many others in a cemetery, burying his father.   A bad screenwriter does what’s called exposition---they add a bunch of filler material that’s really unnecessary.  For example, they might have kept the scene going with a 911 call, waiting for the ambulance, and more.   Good writers write just enough to reveal what’s important, what helps the reader understand the characters and move the story forward, and nothing more.  They take the reader or viewer through snapshots that tell a larger story, and leave us wondering what’s next.
We’re starting a brand new series today called "AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED?"  And that’s exactly what we are going to do for the next 14 weeks.  We’re going to journey together as a church community through the Gospel of Mark.  We could almost call this the ADD gospel, because it moves so quickly from one thing to the next.  I was talking with a friend this week, and he said, “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but are you a little bit ADD?”  I laughed and said, “Absolutely, it’s one of my superpowers!”  Mark moves very quickly also.  In fact, he consistently uses words like 'immediately' and phrases like 'a little while later' to move the story forward.  It’s a story that has all of the elements of an incredible story: Character development.  Conflict.  Power struggles.  And redemption...

Navigating an Unknown Road | Ecclesiastes 9:1-12

Let's bow together.  Father, thanks for everything you provide for us, day by day, week by week, month by month, and year by year.  Lord, as you know, the way we count time we're entering into a new year and new decade, so we pray for your wisdom, your grace, your guidance.  Lord, I thank you for every person who's here today.  Lord, wherever we're at, I pray that you might minister to us in a special way.  Now, Lord, give us ears to hear your word, minds that are attentive, and hearts that are receptive to you and your Spirit.  We ask all of this in the great name of Jesus.  Amen.
Given that it’s a new year and a new decade, there are a number of people and pundits who are trying to predict what the future will bring. It doesn’t matter whether it involves politics, or the stock market, or the Broncos, lots of people are making predictions about what’s going to happen in 2020 and beyond. But it’s always a dangerous business to try and predict the future, because it almost never turns out the way people thought. To illustrate the point, over the past 50 years various individuals and groups have ventured forth with their visions of the future and I’d like to share just a few of them with you...

Advent | Embrace Immanuel | Matthew 1:18-25 | Week 4

Advent | Rejoice In Messiah | Matthew 11:2-11 | Week 3

We're in the third Sunday of Advent.  I've got to tell you, I'm a big Christmas guy.   As you can tell, I've been a pastor for a long time and it seems like whenever we come to the Advent season, I thought I was preaching Advent sermons, but I was really preaching Christmas sermons four times.  Advent is a series of four weeks preparing ourselves for Christmas, yes, but it had a much broader perspective.  It was looking forward to the Coming.  Back in the day when they depended on agriculture, the harvest would have been taken in, but they would wonder if they'd taken in enough harvest to last them until Spring.  So there was a sense of uncertainty, a little bit of tension.  The early church instituted this season of Advent as a time for people to reflect as the days got shorter, and shorter, and shorter.  To reflect that there is a Coming of One who has light that would bring more and more and more.  There is hope that we have.  So, we come to this third week of Advent.  The days are going to get shorter.  It's cold out.  This is Advent.  Welcome to Advent.
As we look at this passage in Matthew, I'm asking God to make it come alive for you.  He's made it come alive for me and I don't want to get in the way of making it alive for you.  Let's bow our heads in a word of prayer and ask God to enlighten us.  Let's pray.  Father, I thank you.  I thank you that you're here.  I thank you that you're here and this is your Word---you've revealed yourself to us in this Word.  You want us to understand it.  You want us to wrestle with it.  Lord, make it come alive to us.  Jesus, thank you so much.  Thank you so much that you entered our world, that you made all of this possible.  Thank you, Spirit, that you are here right now to empower this Word to become real to us.  Lord, may the words that I say not get in the way of your work.  Thank you, God.  I pray this in Jesus's name.  Amen...

Advent | Turn Toward Peace | Matthew 3:1-12 | Week 2

We’re in our second week of journeying through Advent together.  In case you missed last week, Advent is the time in the church calendar where we look forward to the return of Jesus--that time between His resurrection and ascension and His glorious return---before we take a look back at his first coming.  Advent is all about waiting well.  We also talked about how millions of followers of Jesus around the world are studying these exact same passages. Last week, we worked through a text in Matthew 24 that seems like it’s about the end of the world, and we learned that Jesus is calling all of us to be awake and watchful as we wait on Him, to journey with Him and to experience Him in every moment of our lives. 
Today we’re going to start the first of two weeks looking at the life of John the Baptist.  This morning we’re going to look at the beginning of his ministry.  Next week, Pastor Dan is going to lead us through a look at his time in prison---John's time in prison, not Pastor Dan's.   Go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Matthew 3.  We’re going to walk together through the first twelve verses... 

Advent | Wake Up to Hope | Matthew 24:36-44 | Week 1

Hello, everyone.  My name is Larry Boatright, and I’m one of the pastors here. So glad to see you all!  Wow. That’s a festive passage of scripture, isn’t it! [Matthew 24:36-44] Sure puts me in the Christmas spirit.  I’ll concede that it’s a strange, ominous passage.  Who’s with me?  You might be wondering, “Uh, it’s December. We sang Christmas carols today. It’s Christmas time.  Why are we starting an Advent series with a passage that looks like the end of the world?" I’m so glad you’re wondering that too!
Now, maybe you grew up in a tradition that followed the church calendar.  I didn’t, but someone introduced me to it a number of years ago, and it had a massive impact on my formation.  The church calendar has been around for centuries, and the practice of following a specific text during a specific season has its roots deep in Old Testament history.  In fact, some scholars believe that Jesus, when He got up in the synagogue and read from the scroll of Isaiah, was reading the prescribed text of the day, which just so “happened” to be about Him!