Sleeping Jesus

Harvest Pointe Methodist Church

He just wanted to help, man. I think we have an up and coming preacher, is what it sounds like to me. Hey, if you would turn with me to the gospel according to Mark, chapter four. The gospel according to Mark, chapter four. And as you know, in year b of the three year cycle of liturgical readings we're in, Mark.

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Mark is our main gospel. And so each year, your a, B, and C all have an emphasis. And so year a, Matthew B, Mark C, Luke, and all throughout all three years is the gospel of John spaced out. So it's kind of neat how they do that. And so, as we read through our readings each and every Sunday, we're going to get really in a.

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If you stay with us for three years, you will have read almost all of the gospels. Okay? Together, we all read it publicly from our mouth. And so this particular story here, when you find Mark four, if you would stand with me for our gospel reading this morning. This particular gospel is actually found in Matthew eight and Luke eight, as well as Mark four.

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So all three of the synoptics, you remember the synoptic just means similar gospels contain this story. They actually have this story. And so notice these words here as found in mark, chapter four, verse 35. When evening had come, Jesus said to his disciples, let us go across to the other side. And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was.

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Other boats were with them. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him up and said to him, teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? He woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, peace, be still.

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Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, why are you afraid? Have you still no faith? And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? Jesus, we thank you for your word.

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We pray now that your holy spirit would come among us and teach us, enlighten us, encourage us, rebuke us, and turn us to Jesus. We pray in your name. Amen. And you can be seated.

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Well, what a story. If you were to ever come into my office here you will see two pictures, paintings, I should say, that are on the wall. Big size paintings, both of them I purchased. And, you know, they weren't just cheap, either, because they're kind of big, and they're, of course, replicas. Okay.

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They're not original Rembrandt paintings. Okay? So don't think I spent, like, a lot of money on them somehow. A hundred in dollars or so, okay? But I got these big pictures from, like, art.com, and they're paintings, and both of them really mean something to me.

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But both of them came out of a very difficult season in my life, a time where I was in a storm, and I really didn't know if I was going to make it. I really didn't. I wondered about if I was going to drown. And both of these paintings in my office represent certain parts of that journey, parts of that season. And one of them is called Hope.

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And you've probably seen it before, and I've talked about it before, but you can imagine how that helps in the storm, hope, it's all dark, it's all dreary, but there's one little star at the very top of the painting, almost off the border of it. If you don't have a careful eye for the painting, you really won't even see it. It's just a little. One little star, but it's enough to give you hope. All right?

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And that's kind of the point of the painting. And then the other one is actually by Rembrandt, and it is Jesus on the stormy sea. And it's a very famous painting. In fact, if you can recollect the painting, maybe from art appreciation class or something, you'll know that it's the disciples in