The Master Calls His Followers

 Pastor’s Pen…

In his book Good to Great, business authority Jim Collins uses the metaphor of a bus to make the point that, for a business to succeed, the most important thing is to get the right people in the right places before planning strategy or tactics.

Many centuries earlier Jesus came to a point in His ministry where He selected the men He would disciple and train to carry out His mission of spreading the Gospel and making disciples worldwide.

Ironically, by today’s standards, the men He chose would not be considered qualified for such an enormous task. As I point out in my book Master Discipleship Today, (pp. 61, 62) these men were lacking in background, education and vocational aptitude, and had leadership and even emotional deficiencies. Yet these were the men chosen by the Master to carry out the most important mission ever entrusted to human beings-- carrying the message of everlasting life to a world under the bondage of sin and death.

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We appreciate those who help sanitize our facilities for services each Saturday morning in preparation for Sunday worship as well as those who make it possible for us to ‘live-stream’ on Facebook at 10:45 each Sunday morning, and to post each Sunday’s message on our website (www.fccwylie.org) on Sunday afternoons. 


If you haven't come out to worship with us recently, we sure love to have you! We continue to hold our Sunday services with all safety protocols and pre-service sanitizing in place. No Sunday school yet, and the nursery is not available.  We will continue following the protocols as outlined by GA-18 guidance.  Face masks, social distancing, no physical contact. We use bulletins printed untouched by human hands, with songs, etc. printed therein, and pre-packaged communion elements. Offering plates are located at the rear, or giving can be done online at www.fccwylie.org.


If you still feel uncomfortable attending, feel free to join our live stream on Facebook, at 10:45 AM, which includes communion and the worship hymns. Or the message is available each Sunday afternoon on our website. (www.fccwylie.org)


The Master Calls His Followers                                                                            Mark 3:7-35

  • Activities in Galilee (7-12)

    • Withdrawal
    • Ministry summary 
  • Appointment of the 12 disciples (13-19)
    • Preliminary observation
    • Appointing the Twelve 
      • To be with Him
      • To be sent out to preach
      • To be given power and authority
    • The Twelve identified 


  • Accusation regarding Beelzebub the prince of demons (20-30)
    • Reactions to Jesus’ ministry 
      • The multitudes
      • His own people
      • Religious leaders from Jerusalem 
    • Responses and explanation by Jesus
      • His irrefutable logic
      • His example
      • His conclusion: The unpardonable sin! 


  • Invitation to join Jesus’ family (31-35)
    • The demand of His relatives 
    • The perspective of Jesus 
    • The concluding explanation 


Applications: 

…Don’t judge ministry success by popularity, crowds or external factors

…Give yourself to discipling people, and choose those you will disciple carefully  

…Even your relatives can be wrong!

…Satan is the ‘strong man’—but Jesus is stronger!

…Understand the so-called ‘unpardonable sin

…Obedience is the mark of genuine Christ-followers 


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Prayer items: 


Shirley’s brother is much better!


John Royal is also much better—he will fill the pulpit for me on Feb. 15


Kay Holley- continued recovery following knee replacement surgery


Donna Hancock, recovering from spinal surgery 

Feel free to contact me with urgent prayer requests, and I will include them in my weekly ‘Pastor’s Pen’ texts

                                                             *******

RADIO THIS WEEKEND: The COVID 19 crisis and the resulting economic chaos have left our lives with significant uncertainty. This weekend on Encouragement Live, Christian life coach Brad Smithart of the Master Life Coach Training Institute joins host Don Hawkins to discuss how to embrace the uncertainties of life today. Encouragement Live can be heard at 7:05 PM central time on American Family Radio (www.afr.net) and on theworshipchannel.org.  Re-broadcast Sunday 9 pm on The Worship Channel.

May our Savior’s grace and peace continue to encourage you as you trust in Him during these challenging times.

Don Hawkins, D. Min.                                                                                                                          Interim Pastor

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