Eusebeia with Josh Kruger

Jesus shares more parables ("alongsides," riddles, stories) to illustrate the spread of the kingdom of God. And that spreading kingdom means even authority and power over storms. Jesus is revealed to be I AM, the one who has mastery over all creation. "Who is this?" the disciples wonder.  Indeed.

A Sower, Seeds, and Soils.  One of Jesus' most famous parables. The preaching of the gospel is akin to farming. And through it all we will be reminded, "Be rooted in Jesus.  He’s got Miracle Grow."

Was Jesus mentally deranged? His family thought so. Was Jesus demonic? The scribes thought so. Or was Jesus Lord? Mark thought so and tells us all about an interesting interaction Jesus had with different groups of people.  The journey thru Mark's gospel continues.

Jesus is the servant of Isaiah 40-66, we've seen again and again, the true Israel. Here Jesus more fully takes on the mantle of the true Israel, the new Jacob, by choosing twelve "sons" who will be the "patriarchs" of a whole new family. A new covenant family is being formed. Learn about who these twelve are and what Jesus is up to!

Jesus the Groom!  Jesus the Messiah!  Jesus the new David! Jesus the bringer of the new covenant! Jesus the Lord of Sabbath! Rich theme after rich theme this gospel throws at us. Mark continues to proclaim his good news about Jesus.

Jesus forgives sin and heals people. Jesus calls Himself the Son of Man. Radical! The presence of I AM forgives and heals a paralyzed man. How does all of this advance Mark's gospel as Jesus advances the kingdom of God mission?  Check it out.

Jesus proclaims and brings the good news of the kingdom of God. God's authority and reign are clearly demonstrated. I AM is coming into the land and moving creation toward being made new. We begin to see how Jesus will accomplish this.

Building on the introduction, where Mark urged us to think about Malachi 3-4 and Isaiah 40-66, the author then introduces us to John, the prophesied "Elijah." We see again and again who Jesus is and His calling as the Servant from Isaiah, the king from Ezekiel, and the presence of I AM, who has come to the promised land.  Good news! I AM reigns!  The kingdom is being established.

A new journey begins. The gospel according to Mark. The proclamation begun by Malachi and Isaiah is continued and fulfilled in John and Jesus. And Mark wants to tell us all about it. Check out this introduction to learn why understanding the opening context is so vital for understanding the rest of Mark's gospel.

I had the honor of teaching my church this past Sunday. Sharing the sermon with the podcast audience. How can we take God at God's word? We explore three ways: Bible, Church, Holy Spirit.  Check it out. And take God at His word.

Conclusion of the SHAPE series. "E" for Experiences. These dramatically shape the focus of S-H-A-P as we move forward. For positive or for negative our experiences have a dramatic effect on us. Then we explore combining all these into one and next step challenges for where to go from here. Check it out.

We explore the "P" of SHAPE: Personality. Who we are. The uniqueness of how we're wired is now applied to those Spiritual Gifts, Heart for Ministry, and Abilities that we've talked about. In this episode we're introduced to personality inventories and different ways to think about how we relate to ourselves and to others. This shapes our SHAPE!  Check it out.

We explore the "A" of SHAPE: Abilities. What we're born to do. Or what we learn to do over the course of our lives. Practical things that can serve God and help others. How can we use our abilities in the church and in the wider world? It's part of our SHAPE.  Check it out.

We begin to explore the "H" of SHAPE: Heart. Heart is who and what we care about. Certain groups of people. Certain causes. Ministry areas we are passionate about. Issues that get us stirred up. Certain people that really tug at our heart strings. When we combine our heart for ministry with the spiritual gifts we learned about in the last episode, then we begin to see more of who we are taking SHAPE. Check it out.

S.H.A.P.E. Part 2: Spiritual Gifts. We begin to explore the "S" of SHAPE: Spiritual Gifts. Why does God give us these gifts? What are they? What do we do with them? How should we use these gifts?  Let's explore Spiritual Gifts!

Introduction to S.H.A.P.E.  I have the honor of teaching a class in my congregation that uses Eric Rees' book "SHAPE."  In this introductory talk I introduce SHAPE and what it means in our lives.  This will set the tone for the next five podcast episodes that follow as we unpack who each one of us is created to be.

A standalone podcast episode in follow up to the "Prayers and Creeds" episode.  Here I share the final portion of the weekly prayer my congregation says. The prayer closes with, "Save me, forgive me, and lead me in Jesus' name and His authority. Amen." In this podcast episode we take a look at the need to be saved, forgiven, and led. We learn about the power of a name and authority. And finally why we say "Amen."

A standalone podcast episode. There might be one more that follows it. Here I share the a portion of the weekly prayer my congregation says. Part of that prayer includes a creed, which I will teach on at my church. This podcast episode explores several creeds, the reason behind the creeds, and how these are used as part of our Christian confession.

The Leadership series concludes. Theme seven is leadership that is faithful. Absolutely essential. Finish what was begun. Remain faithful with character and integrity to the end.  Otherwise if a leader has a mission failure or moral failure it can destroy everything the leader sought to build. And so we focus on Jesus, the faithful leader.