St Marcus Mke Sermons

This week we'll be studying 1 Corinthians 7:1-16 as we worship under the theme "Understanding Sex & Marriage." There is not a single more candid, practical section in the Bible for addressing human sexuality, temptation, romantic relationships, and what to do about all of it. While these conversations sometimes make me highly uncomfortable, they always tend to bear so much fruit. God's design for human sexuality, as well as the way he talks about intimacy with Him, its amazing!

As we observe Independence Day Pastor Jeske will take us through his message “You Don’t Have to Like the King to Support the King,” which is based on Daniel 1:1-7.

1 Corinthians 6:1-11 Christianity is nothing if it isn't forgiveness. So what would does it say to the world if two Christians cannot resolve their conflicts without taken it to a secular court? Christians are not necessarily the most talented, most beautiful, or most intelligent, but we  should absolutely be leading the world in skills of conflict resolution - patience, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

This week we'll be studying 1 Corinthians 5:1-13 as we worship under the theme "Different From The World." Paul has talked about pride (self-righteousness, boasting, identity) for 4 chapters. Now he's going to teach on a manifestation of that pride: an incident of unrepentant sexual immorality in the church and the church's tolerance, even pride, of it. This chapter is one of Scripture's great teachings on self-discipline and church discipline.

Join us for our annual Juneteenth worship, celebrating our freedom in Christ, our diverse membership in a diverse neighborhood, and our compelling mission in the city. You will hear an original poem by Ron Kelly, traditional spirituals, gospel music by the Distinctively Different Quartet, and a Bible study on living our freedom from Galatians 5.

This week we'll be studying 1 Corinthians 3:16-4:7 as we worship under the theme "The End of Self." As Paul helps shepherd a messy church in Corinth from a distance, he's eventually going to give them practical guidance on issues like sexuality, marriage, abuse of freedoms, lawsuits, worship, spiritual gifts, etc. But he's addressing the underlying issue first - i.e. PRIDE manifesting itself in self-righteousness. The church in Corinth needs to empty themselves of pride. They need a new perception of self that comes from viewing themselves only through the lens of Jesus' cross. They need to find their identity only in Christ. In this section, Paul teaches the freedom of losing yourself in Christ.

Sermon: Matthew 7:21-29 WHAT KIND OF LIFE ARE YOU BUILDING? I.   The Sand of Self Will Let You Down II. The Rock of Christ Will Hold You Up...Forever

This week we will be studying 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 as we worship under the theme "The Counterintuitive Kingdom." The divisions that existed in the Corinthian Church, and our world, are the result of a failure to look properly at the cross of Jesus. The cross of Jesus says that we are ALL sinners that can be saved only by the grace of God. Any differences in intelligence, wealth, beauty, past indiscretions, or otherwise, from the best to the worst of us, are all negligible in the realm of salvation. And either you believe that due to the cross, or the cross is offensive to you in its weakness and foolishness. That line is the only EITHER/OR that will exist for all eternity.

WE NEED THE SPIRIT'S HELP Based on Romans 8:18-27

NEW SERIES: Messy Christianity Summary: The Church in Corinth is considered by some to be Paul's "troubled child" of a church plant. They are saved by Jesus and gifted by the Spirit, just like any of the other churches he worked with, but they also seem to struggle to greater degrees with worldliness. They are great examples of being fully justified, but not yet fully sanctified. And it's MESSY. But Paul uses tremendous pastoral tact, clarity, & wisdom in guiding them. And particularly in a post-Christian culture, we should expect that our church will deal with messiness too.  This week we will be studying 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, and worshipping under the theme "The Culture of Celebrity." Whereas the Eastern World has long been considered a "collectivistic" society, the modern Western World is characterized by radical individualism. While it has brought important rights to the "individual" it has also left many feeling alone, failures in a performance-based, accomplishment-driven society. As a result, we

Worship with us on this Pentecost Sunday! Pastor Jeske’s message “We Need The Spirit’s Control” is based on Romans 8:5-11.

This week we will be studying Acts 15:22-35, and worshipping under the theme "THE JERUSALEM COUNCIL: Pentecost Implications." This coming weekend is Pentecost - a week where we celebrate the fact that God the Holy Spirit does not elevate any one human culture above another, but his family boundaries stretch over all nations, languages, colors, and cultures. Based on the past week of social disharmony and tragedy, it's important for Christians to ask how we're currently doing at portraying a light to the world, i.e. a Spirit-given culture that supersedes any earthly culture. The Early Church struggled with cultural superiority too, repented of it, received the grace of Jesus Christ, and then became a more beautiful version. We're looking to be that light to the world too. 

LOOK FOR YOUR KING I.  He's in Heaven, Ruling All Things for Us II. He's on Earth, Doing All Things through Us   Based on Ephesians 1:16-23

This week we will be studying Acts 19:23-41, and worshipping under the theme "THE RIOT IN EPHESUS: The Power and Weakness of Idols." In this account, we actually don't hear any Christians speaking. We only see the secular society in Ephesus responding to Paul's preaching of Jesus & the Resurrection, speaking about how this world's gods can't compare. Paul's message incites a city-wide rebellion. From this we learn how passionately the world defends its false gods and what to expect when we legitimately bring the culture-shaping truth and love of Jesus Christ into the world. We also find motivation to let go of our own idols to which we often  clutch too dearly.

Join us for worship for the sixth Sunday of Easter! Pastor Jeske’s message “The Resurrection Changes Everything” is based on I Thessalonians 4:13-18.

This week Pastoral Assistant Ron Kelly will be lead us in a message from Ephesians 2:1-10. This text is essential in understanding the manner of salvation - by grace, not by works. That message runs counterintuitive to a flesh that encourages us to feel like we are the center of the universe. It runs counterintuitive to the spirit of a society that tells us we can do ("work") anything we put our minds to. The manner of the gospel is something this fallen world rages against. So we remind ourselves of a truth that is alien to this world.

Mother’s Day is our theme for this morning, please join us in worship! Today’s message is titled “Adoptive Mothers are God’s Heroes Too” and is based on 2 Chronicles 22:10-12.

This week we'll be studying Acts 17:16-34 under the worship theme of "PAUL'S SERMON IN ATHENS II: Witnessing to a Post-Christian World." That's right  we're bringing it back for a second straight week. I mentioned last week that Acts 17 may very well be the single most helpful text in the Bible for figuring out how to evangelize in 2020 America. If you care about witnessing as a Christian in 2020, you must wrestle with Acts 17. The highly educated, pluralistic, hedonistic philosophers that Paul meets in Athens are about as close a biblical equivalent to America's cultural moment as one can find.  The Athenians need Law & Gospel, but they need it applied in a  away that resonates to their worldview. In particular, this week we're going to learn the art of convincing someone they're already worshipping an Unknown God. We're also going to see the importance of repeatedly pushing people back towards the Resurrection as the focal point of any evangelistic conversation.  

We focus on Jesus as the Good Shepherd in our study this morning. Pastor Jeske’s message is based on John chapter 10 - “THE GOOD SHEPHERD REALLY DOES CARE FOR HIS SHEEP.”

This week we'll be studying Acts 17:16-34 under the worship theme of "PAUL'S SERMON IN ATHENS I: Witnessing to a Post-Christian World." Acts 17 may very well be the single most helpful text in the Bible for figuring out how to evangelize in 2020 America. The highly educated, pluralistic, hedonistic philosophers that Paul meets in Athens are about as close a biblical equivalent to America's cultural moment as one can find.  The Athenians need Law & Gospel, but they need it applied in a way that resonates to their worldview. So we're actually going to spend 2 weeks seeing how Paul teaches us to do that.