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Collinwood Church of Christ, 101 4th Avenue N, Collinwood, TN (2026)

09/06/2026

Mark 16- Luke 1

It’s interesting that in the Bible, angels usually don’t get a name. In fact, it’s very rare. So rare in fact, I bet you can’t name three angles in the Bible. So in Luke chapter 1, it’s significant that we are specifically told the angel’s name: Gabriel.

Why Gabriel? Well, there’s definitely a connection if you run the references back. Gabriel is the angel in the book of Daniel who appears to explain what is going to happen and God’s plan for what is coming. Now, in Luke, Gabriel shows up again to announce that the time has come!

A lot of times in the Old Testament, these kinds of revelations are made by “The Angel of the LORD.” Many Christian scholars have understood The Angel of the LORD to be an appearance of Christ before His incarnation. Look at some of those passages and you can see why. When the miraculous birth of Samson is announced to his parents, it is The Angel of the LORD who makes the announcement, and they understand that they have encountered God (Judges 13:21–22). At the burning bush, The Angel of the LORD appears to Moses, and yet the One speaking from the bush is identified as God (Exodus 3:2–6).

But now something has changed. The announcement to Mary about the birth of Jesus is to be made. It is by somebody other than Himself.

Gabriel, the angel who centuries earlier spoke to Daniel about what God was going to do, is now sent to announce that God is doing it. The pre-incarnate work of Christ is finished. The next time we see Him, He won’t appear as The Angel of the LORD. He will be lying in a manger. 100% God and 100% human.

Pretty beautiful.

Keep reading.

09/06/2026

GOOD MORNING

09/05/2026

Mark 14-15

There’s an incredible irony in Mark. He has spent much of the book developing what people often refer to as the “Messianic Secret,” where Jesus repeatedly tells people not to tell others who He is. He tells the demons not to make Him known (Mark 3:12), tells Jairus’s family not to tell anyone what happened (Mark 5:43), tells the man who was healed not to tell anyone (Mark 7:36), and even after Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus warns the disciples not to tell anyone about Him (Mark 8:30).

To the reader, this can seem strange, and there has been a lot of debate and speculation about why Jesus does this. Although there may be more to it, it seems pretty apparent that Jesus is controlling the timing. The full story isn’t ready to be told yet.

Then Mark pulls off this beautiful literary turn.

After chapter after chapter of Jesus saying, “Don’t tell,” we finally arrive at the cross. Jesus dies, and a Roman centurion standing in front of Him declares, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:39)

What an emotional payoff! The secret is out.

And who says it? One of the men participating in His ex*****on. A Roman soldier. One of the people who killed Him recognizes that Jesus is the Son of God.

And, incredibly, he was also one of the people Jesus died for.

Keep reading!

09/04/2026

“What an idiot I was!”

Have you ever had that moment when you think back on something you did, finally make the connection, and realize what an immature or ignorant statement you made? You just want to crawl under the table!

In today’s Bible reading, in Mark 13, they are leaving the temple when one of the disciples says to Jesus, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”

So impressed with the skill and artistry of the builders who built that temple! Wow!

And he’s saying this to the One who made the stones.

Sitting on the Mount of Olives, looking across the valley, under a sky God created, talking to the Son of God, the Creator, according to John 1, and saying, “Look how impressive this thing is we built!”

You want to see something impressive? Jesus Christ can show you something impressive…

But sometimes we can’t quit trying to show Him what we can do long enough for Him to show us what He has done.

We are like a three year-old, who can’t stop being impressed with ourselves long enough to be vaguely aware of how impressive our parents really are. Completely unaware of what they’re able to achieve and accomplish for our betterment because we have to force them to watch us almost do a somersault.

Keep reading in that section, and you’ll see what God can do.

Chapter breaks are a real stinker here. Just a few verses earlier, in Mark 12:43, Jesus is the one saying, in effect, “Look.”

The disciples say, “Jesus, look at this beautiful, magnificent building!”

Jesus says, “Look at this poor widow. She gave everything she had.”

She is beautiful and impressive.

They were impressed by massive stones.

Jesus was impressed by a tiny offering from a faithful heart.

Maybe we need to rethink “impressive.”

Keep reading.

09/03/2026

Mark 9–10

(The Bible reading for today is Mark 11–12, but since that was the subject of yesterday’s post, let’s pick up something from chapters 9–10 today.)

There’s an interesting word in Mark 10:14: Indignant: feeling or showing anger or annoyance at what is perceived as unfair or wrong.

In verse 13, people are bringing little children to Jesus so that he can bless them, but the disciples rebuke them. Then verse 14 says: “When Jesus saw this, he was indignant.”

The disciples were trying to limit people’s access to Jesus. In their honor culture, children had little social status of their own. Apparently, the disciples thought Jesus was too important to be bothered by them.

That makes Jesus indignant!

But then the same word shows up again in the very same chapter.

James and John ask Jesus if they can sit at his right and left in his glory. When the other ten hear about it, Mark 10:41 says: “They became indignant with James and John.”

That’s almost funny! Almost.

Jesus is indignant when people try to keep others away from him.

The disciples become indignant when somebody else might get a better position than they do.

There is only one other use of this Greek word in Mark. In Mark 14:4, 'some' become indignant when the woman pours expensive perfume on Jesus. They complain about the money being “wasted.” Maybe there is a pattern here. Maybe not. But it sure is interesting.

We get indignant about money and status.

Jesus gets indignant when people are kept away from him.

Jesus wants to lift people up in worth, while we have a tendency to push others down in an attempt to lift ourselves up. We become indignant when somebody gets ahead of us, but have very little indignation when somebody else is being kept down.

If we want to be Christlike, maybe we need to change what makes us indignant.

What was the last thing that made you indignant?

Keep reading!

09/02/2026

Mark 11 & 12

Jesus does some things that, if we’re honest, just seem crazy.

Yes, that sounds crazy. Just say it.

He walks by a fig tree and curses the fig tree! If you had superpowers, isn’t that a strange way to use them?

But if we’re honest enough to admit that we just don’t get it, then let’s look at it and see if we can. Between us just not understanding it and Jesus being crazy, I think the evidence is going to point toward there being something we’re missing.

First, let's look at the context.

In Mark, this cursing of the fig tree is actually split into two parts. They walk by the fig tree, it has leaves but no fruit, and Jesus curses it.

Then they go to the temple. This is where Mark records the temple cleansing. Jesus throws over the tables and tells them they have turned the temple into a “den of robbers.”

Then, in verse 20, they go back by the fig tree. It has withered from the roots!

Wait! What if these things are connected?!

When they went to the temple, it certainly wasn’t doing what it should be doing. People were buying and selling, and Jesus says that instead of being a house of prayer, they had turned it into a “den of robbers.” And now the religious leaders are looking for a way to kill him. It looks healthy and has leaves, but no fruit for God is being produced.

*What if this gives us the context for interpreting this really weird fig-tree episode?*

What if Jesus isn’t just cursing a random fig tree? Jesus has always spoken in metaphors and figures of speech. He constantly uses things around him as object lessons, a child, a coin, water, bread, seeds.

*What if that is exactly what he is doing now?*

The fig tree looks healthy. It has leaves. From the outside, everything looks right. But it isn’t producing fruit, and therefore judgment is coming.

Then Jesus walks into the temple. The temple looks healthy too. It is busy. People are everywhere. There is buying, selling, worship, sacrifice, activity. From the outside, everything looks right.

But it isn’t producing the fruit God intended.

And judgment is coming!

Wow!

That makes a whole lot more sense just by putting the fig tree back into its context.

*And maybe we shouldn’t stop reading there.*

Immediately afterward Jesus says, “Have faith in God.” Then he says that if someone says to *“this mountain,” “Go, throw yourself into the sea,” it will happen.

A number of scholars have suggested that “this mountain” may not simply mean any random mountain. Jesus is standing at Jerusalem, talking about the temple, and “this mountain” could very naturally call attention to the Temple Mount itself. If so, this is just ANOTHER warning about judgment is cooming!

But then Jesus moves immediately to prayer and *forgiveness*: “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them.”

And maybe that brings the whole thing right back around to us.

The problem with the fig tree wasn’t how it looked. The problem with the temple wasn’t how busy it was. It was the fruit it was producing.

Maybe the strange story about Jesus cursing a fig tree isn’t really about a fig tree at all.

Maybe it is a warning not just to Jerusalem and the temple, but to every one of us who can look religious without bearing the fruit God actually wants.

In verse 22 and following, Jesus talks about faith, prayer, and forgiving others.

Maybe it is a warning not just to Jerusalem and the temple, but to every one of us who can look religious without bearing the fruit God actually wants.

Leaves are easy. Fruit is harder.

Don’t just look alive. Bear fruit.

And keep reading!

09/01/2026

Mark 7–8

5, 5, 12, 7, 4, 7.

That would make a great Wi-Fi password for people who like biblical things.

Those are the numbers Jesus calls attention to in Mark 8:17–21. He asks the disciples, “Don’t you remember?” When he broke 5 loaves for the 5,000, they picked up 12 baskets. When he broke 7 loaves for the 4,000, they picked up 7 baskets.

There has to be something special about those numbers, right?

Well, maybe. This is an interpretation, not something Mark explicitly tells us, but many readers have noticed how well the numbers fit what is happening in these chapters.

Five would naturally make a Jewish reader think of the five books of Moses. The 5,000 are fed in predominantly Jewish territory, and afterward there are 12 baskets left over. Twelve is unmistakably a Jewish number, the 12 tribes of Israel. Jesus feeds Israel, and there is more than enough.

Then Jesus feeds the 4,000 in predominantly Gentile territory. Four can suggest the whole earth, the four directions, north, south, east, and west. He begins with 7 loaves and afterward there are 7 baskets remaining. Seven repeatedly represents fullness or completeness in Scripture. Again, everyone is fed, and there is more than enough.

But Mark does not present these miracles as isolated events. He surrounds them with scenes that begin to show where this abundant provision is headed.

Before the first feeding, Jesus encounters a Syrophoenician woman, a Gentile. Their fascinating exchange is actually about food. Jesus speaks about the children being fed first and the dogs receiving the crumbs from the table. She essentially responds, “Yes, but even the dogs get the leftovers.” And Jesus grants her request.

That encounter is followed by Jesus healing a man in the Decapolis, another predominantly Gentile region. The story then moves toward the feeding of the 4,000, also in Gentile territory. In other words, Mark is not merely telling us that Jesus can multiply bread; he is showing us the widening reach of Jesus’ table.

And right in the middle of this movement, Mark 7:19 makes the remarkable statement that Jesus declared all foods clean! Uncleanness is no longer fundamentally about what goes into a person. The real problem comes from within, from the human heart.

So the second feeding miracle does not come out of nowhere. It is the culmination of a sequence in which Gentiles are welcomed, healed, and fed. The crumbs promised to the Gentile woman become a feast for thousands.

That helps explain why Jesus later makes the disciples remember the numbers. When he gets into the boat in chapter 8 and asks—

5 — 5,000 — 12
7 — 4,000 — 7

Mark wants us to notice.

Jesus has bread enough for Israel, with plenty left over.

Jesus has bread enough for the nations, with plenty left over.

Everybody can come to the table, and with Jesus, there is more than enough.

Everybody. Jesus can save you and there will be mercy leftover.

Keep reading.

08/31/2026

Mark 5–6

Why do the pigs run down the hill into the lake and drown after Jesus casts the “Legion” of demons out of the man? What is happening here? Was this man simply physically or mentally ill, or was this true demon possession?

Mark clearly presents it as real demon possession. The demons recognize Jesus, speak to him, call themselves “Legion,” beg him to allow them to enter the pigs.

But notice the context. What happened immediately before this?

Jesus and the disciples were in a boat when a furious storm came up. The disciples thought they were going to drown. Jesus rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” The wind died down and the sea became completely calm (Mark 4:39).

Then Jesus crosses that same sea and confronts Legion.

That connection is fascinating because throughout Scripture the sea and the deep are often associated with chaos, danger, and death. The Bible begins with God demonstrating His absolute authority over the waters, separating the waters and gathering the seas in Genesis 1. In Job 38:8–11, God describes the raging sea like a little baby that he swaddles. What terrifies us is completely under his control.

Then look at Mark 5. The demons enter the pigs, and the herd rushes down the steep bank into the lake and drowns.

The disciples had just been terrified that the lake would destroy them, but Jesus saved them from it. Now the demons are driven into that same lake.

That imagery continues elsewhere in Scripture. Luke’s account of Legion has the demons begging Jesus not to send them into “the Abyss” (Luke 8:31), and in the book of Revelation ultimately pictures Satan—the dragon—being defeated and cast into the lake of fire or the Abyss.

The point is that Jesus has authority over ALL of it. The storm obeys him. The sea obeys him. He can save us from it and destroy the demons in it. Revelation 21 one says there will be no more sea in heaven. No more death, fear, chaos or evil.

But maybe my favorite part comes at the end.

The man who had been possessed wants to get into the boat and follow Jesus. Instead, Jesus tells him, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you” (Mark 5:19).

So he does! He goes throughout the Decapolis, literally the region of the “Ten Cities” telling people what Jesus had done for him, and everyone was amazed.

That’s not hard to understand.

People who know they have been rescued by the power of God and saved from the demons tend to have something to talk about!

He simply told him: Go tell your friends and family what the Lord has done for you.

That’s a pretty good assignment for us too!

Keep reading!!

08/30/2026

Today’s Reading — Mark 2–4

It’s a little scary. An unpardonable sin! a sin that cannot be forgiven.

Mark 3:29 says, “Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”

What is that?

Thankfully, Mark tells us right here in the passage.

They are accusing Jesus of casting out demons by the power of a demon. Jesus responds with the famous illustration that a house divided against itself cannot stand. Ironically, the “house” in this illustration is not the house of God or the church—it is Satan’s house. His point is that Satan would not be working against himself.

So what is this “eternal sin”?

The context seems to define it. They see what Jesus is doing through the Spirit and attribute that work to Satan. And if verses 22–29 do not make it clear enough, Mark explains exactly why Jesus said this in verse 30:

“He said this because they were saying, ‘He has an impure spirit.’”

That is a huge clue! They saw Jesus casting out demons and accused Him of doing it through the power of an evil spirit.

It does not even appear that this is a sin we can commit in exactly the same way today. Should we be careful? Yes! But if you are terrified that you accidentally committed the unpardonable sin, this passage probably is not describing what you did. You did not stand in front of Jesus, witness Him casting out demons by the Spirit of God, and knowingly attribute that power to Satan.

These did, and rather than repent, they hardened themselves against what was right in front of them.

Keep reading. Read the context. It usually answers more of our questions than we expect.

Keep reading!

08/30/2026

Morning Worship

Collinwood Church of Christ

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