Church Announcements & Prayer

• Pastor Martin: Update to Danny on the November 11 surgery.
• Ceasefire: The ceasefire is being held, but not all the dead have been returned. Please pray for peace and for the families affected.
• Women’s Bible Study: Wednesday, 9:30 AM.
• Mid-Week Bible Study: Wednesday, 7:00 PM.
• Youth Group: Wednesday, 6:30 PM. Opportunity for 4th & 5th graders to attend if we have volunteers.
• Kick off your Christmas with VCC — Merry Mystery: A family event for all ages. Nov 29, 2025 — 2:00–4:00 PM. Cookies and hot chocolate.

PRAYER: Please pray for Pastor Martin, Danny, the families affected by conflict, our Bible studies, youth ministry, and the Merry Mystery outreach.

Recap — Mark 2:1–12

Last week we examined Mark 2:1–12, where Jesus returned to Capernaum and a multitude gathered to hear Him preach, to be healed, and to see demons cast out. People came from Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem and brought a paralytic for healing. Jesus first declared the man’s sins forgiven. The scribes and Pharisees accused Jesus of blasphemy, asserting that only God can forgive sins. Jesus perceived their reasoning in His spirit and, using the Messianic title “Son of Man” (Daniel 7), demonstrated His authority to forgive sins — showing He is the Anointed One from God, fully God and fully man. The healing revealed Jesus’s true mission objective.

Mark 2:13 — Teaching by the Sea

[Mark 2:13 NKJV] 13 Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them.

Jesus remained in Capernaum by the seashore. This resembles Luke 5:3, where He got into a boat to preach, and Mark 4:1, which records Jesus teaching from a boat by the seashore. The sea served as a natural amplifier for His voice.

Mark 2:14 — The Calling of Levi (Matthew)

[Mark 2:14 NKJV] 14 As He passed by, He saw Levi the [son] of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.

Most Bible scholars conclude Levi and Matthew are the same person; Levi likely changed his name to Matthew after being called. Tradition associates Levi/Matthew with the tribe of Levi, but there is no direct biblical proof. In Luke’s genealogy of Jesus (tribe of Judah), the name Levi appears twice (Luke 3:24 and 3:29). The Greek name Maththaios (Matthew) means “gift of Yehweh.”

Mark 2:15 — Jesus Dines with Tax Collectors and Sinners

[Mark 2:15 NKJV] 15 Now it happened, as He was dining in [Levi’s] house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him.

The first act of service Matthew performed after following Jesus was to open his house to Jesus, His disciples, other tax collectors, and sinners. Matthew invites these outcasts to meet Jesus personally. Although they had likely heard about Jesus, tax collectors and sinners were treated as social and religious outcasts — one step down from people with leprosy.

Mark 2:16 — Pharisees’ Criticism

[Mark 2:16 NKJV] 16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?”

The scribes and Pharisees likely intended to sow dissent among the disciples and dampen the momentum of Jesus’ ministry. God is a God of order and unity, not chaos and division.

[Romans 15:4-6 NKJV] 4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. 5 Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, 6 that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[Jeremiah 32:38-41 NKJV] 38 ‘They shall be My people, and I will be their God; 39 ‘then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. 40 ‘And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. 41 ‘Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.’

[1 Corinthians 1:10 NKJV] 10 Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and [that] there be no divisions among you, but [that] you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

We are called to be like-minded in Christ, not simple-minded. Growth in Christ continues; we increase in knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. Spiritual discernment helps us see the schemes of the devil and pray against them.

Mark 2:17 — Jesus’ Purpose

[Mark 2:17 NKJV] 17 When Jesus heard [it], He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

The Pharisees missed Jesus’ point because of their pride and self-righteousness; they did not see their own need for the Physician.

[Psalm 14:1-4 NKJV] 1 To the Chief Musician. [A Psalm] of David. The fool has said in his heart, “[There is] no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good. 2 The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God. 3 They have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; [There is] none who does good, No, not one. 4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, Who eat up my people [as] they eat bread, And do not call on the LORD?

These words are repeated in Psalm 53:1–6.

[Romans 3:23 NKJV] 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

The scribes and Pharisees were astonished and appalled that Jesus ate and drank with tax collectors and sinners. They treated such people as they would treat lepers — excluded from synagogue and social life. Yet Jesus’ ministry reached out to the lost.

God’s Heart of Forgiveness

Although the Pharisees studied the Scriptures daily and memorized the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms, the Word did not penetrate their hearts. God is ready to forgive.

[Psalm 86:5 NKJV] 5 For You, Lord, [are] good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.

[Isaiah 55:6-7 NKJV] 6 Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.

[Joel 2:12-13 NKJV] 12 “Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” 13 So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He [is] gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.

[Isaiah 42:1-6 NKJV] 1 “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One [in whom] My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. 2 He will not cry out, nor raise [His voice], Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. 3 A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. 4 He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law.” 5 Thus says God the LORD, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, And spirit to those who walk on it: 6 “I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles.

Bigotry in any form is demonic. It does not come from God—whether directed at ethnic minorities, religious groups, or at God’s chosen people, the Jews. We are to love the lost, not hate them. We do not condone sin, but we must never be judgmental in a way that withholds the gospel.

[1 John 4:1-21 NKJV] 1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the [spirit] of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. 4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak [as] of the world, and the world hears them. 6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. 7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son [as] Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. 17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us. 20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God [must] love his brother also.

At Valley Christian Church, we do not shun sinners. All people are welcome. We do not condone or affirm sin, but we will never be judgmental in a way that prevents the presentation of the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ — the full counsel of God.

The Gospel Reminder

[Romans 1:16-17 NKJV] 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

[Romans 10:8-11 NKJV] 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

This is the very reason we take communion. Like baptism, we observe it in remembrance of the work of the Cross.