2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

1. Jesus performs great and wonderful ____________, but these are not an ____________ unto themselves.

2. We all seek for a Jesus who will perform for us on our terms, but He has come to ____________, to ___________, and to ____________.

3. Jesus does not desire to be known as the great ____________ of your ____________, but as your ____________ ____________.

Scripture Readings
Isaiah 40:21-31
1 Corinthians 9:16-27
Mark 1:29-39

Take It With You!

As we follow Christ from His baptism to His cross and empty tomb, it will be helpful for everyone to be reading through the Gospel of Mark daily. Here helpful tools will be offered to aid in your study.

Today [the racks at Christian bookstores] are stocked with way of using God for one's own health, happiness, and prosperity. There are Christian diet books, titles on the "Management Techniques of Jesus Christ," and analyses of Christ as the master salesman. Other books deal with more serious concerns, offering solutions for child-raising problems and improving society. Their covers make vast, excited claims, as if by following certain steps family problems will disappear, our bodies will do what we want, our financial problems will evaporate, we will solve our nations problems, grow the church, and live happily ever after...

Luther called this kind of self-aggrandizing, success-centered, power spirituality "the theology of glory." Of course its attraction is understandable. Naturally we want success, victories, and happiness. We will be attracted by a religion that offers such things. We want complete and understandable answers, evidence of tangible power, all conveyed by an impressive, well-run, and effective institution. Instead, God gives us a cross.

Gene Edward Veith, The Spirituality of the Cross, pg. 57 - 58