WIWO: Mark – Episode 20: Authority and Conflict

Reading: Mark 11:27-12:27 Context: Why do religious leaders question Jesus’ authority, and how does His parable of the tenants answer them? The battle is on for the role of the authority of the truth. The religious leaders had comfortably held that position, but that was under threat because of Jesus. They went out of their […]

KMCD 23: Mission, Partnership and the Kingsman

Previously, we explored what partnership means for the Kingsman — built around purpose, honest in contribution, humble in interdependence, and sustained by covenant rather than contract. Those four principles were drawn from the breadth of Scripture. But there is one passage that puts all of it in motion. One account where you see what those […]

WIWO: Mark – Episode 19: Triumphal Entry and Temple Cleansing

Reading: Mark 11:1-26 Context: What is the significance of Jesus’ manner of entering Jerusalem, and what expectations does this fulfil? Zechariah 9 includes a prophecy of a Messiah who would enter Jerusalem riding on a colt that had never been ridden before. Jesus fulfils that prophecy in this episode. The greetings He gets from the […]

KMCD 22: Partnership and the Kingsman

The path of the Kingsman is never meant to be travelled on his own. What guidance does God give for the partnerships that help? It is worth asking the question carefully, because the word gets used in ways that can do a lot of damage if left unexamined. People talk about partnership in business, in […]

WIWO: Mark – Episode 18: The Way of the Cross

Reading: Mark 10:32-52 Context: How does Jesus’ detailed third passion prediction demonstrate His conscious choice to suffer? I imagine. He is with His disciples and He’s outlining what will happen to Him. He’s deliberate. He’s not in a rush. This is what will happen. It’s not a matter of identifying it in terms of what […]

KMCD 21: The Kingsman Works it Out

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or […]

WIWO: Mark – Episode 17: Marriage, Children, and Wealth

Reading: Mark 10:1-31 Context: How do Jesus’ teachings on divorce reflect God’s original design for marriage relationships? Divorce is alien to God. His original design was that those who married would be married for life. Divorce was a response to rebellious hearts that didn’t want to take on the original design. Going back to God’s […]

KMCD 20: Depth of Fellowship and The Kingsman

There’s a word that gets used so often in Christian circles that it has almost lost its edge. Fellowship. We say it after the service. We name rooms after it. We schedule it into the diary. But I’ve been in enough of those rooms and enough of those schedules to know that what we call […]

WIWO: Mark – Episode 16: Humility and Service

Reading: Mark 9:33-50 Context: What prompts Jesus’ teaching about greatness and service in God’s kingdom? The lads are quarrelling before they reach the crib. He asks them why they’re arguing. They keep shtum, as if you can do that with a man who knows. The nature of their quarrel is about who is the greatest. […]

KMCD 19: Resurrection and The Kingsman

The Kingsman lives in the present, but he does not live from the present. That distinction matters more than it might first appear. Paul lands at the end of 1 Corinthians 15 not with a conclusion but with something closer to a war cry. He has spent the entire chapter building the case for resurrection […]