In Jesus' day, the religious people had many traditions that they believed would bring them favour with God. In this passage in Mark's gospel, Jesus identifies the real barrier between God and man that no tradition can overcome - the monster within.

Obeying God isn't always easy, but as Pastor Gilbert shares from his own experiences we see that there is always a blessing that comes when we choose to do things God's way.

As followers of Christ we believe that Jesus obeyed God's law perfectly and was without sin. So why is it that religious people kept accusing him of breaking the rules?

 Jesus came to establish a new kingdom, but it isn't a kingdom ruled by the rich, the powerful or the "high-born". Mark also begins to show that a the Son of God, Jesus had true authority over both the physical and spiritual worlds.

This week we begin a new series looking at the Gospel of Mark. As we study this account of the life of Jesus, we see him portrayed as the kingly Messiah as well as the suffering servant of Isaiah 53.