The Kingdom of God is at hand - Mark 1:14-28

One thing I really enjoy is browsing in bookshops. I’m quite annoyed right now that books are not deemed “essential items” – that’s a contradiction in terms for me! Anyway, what I often notice in bookshops when I’m looking at the Christian books, is that much of what you find on the shelves concerning Christianity and Jesus is pretty grim. The Jesus that many of the contemporary popular Christian books are selling is a Jesus who is your life coach, a Jesus who will improve your marriage and help you better manage your finances, a Jesus who will grow your influence, get rid of your problems, and give you power. He’ll help you live your best life now. In essence, he’s just another accessory in your busy life, another add on, like your gym contract, or your time share in the berg, or the sports club you belong to – helpful, perhaps enjoyable – but just one of many options in your hectic upper highway life.

The problem is that this is not the Jesus we find in Scripture. The Jesus we read about in the Bible is not an accessory to life, but is true life himself. He does not offer to improve your life, but to save it from hell. He does not ask us to consider him, but instead to repent and believe in him.

In this morning’s passage from Mark’s Gospel, we will get to see more of this Jesus. We will see that because his kingdom is at hand, we need to repent and believe in his gospel.

Preacher: Rev. Antonio Coppola