Throughout the gospel of Mark, one always comes up with these incidents where Jesus acts in a certain way, and yet the disciples remain somewhat disbelieving and want not yet sure of who this person is. And certainly this is one of the incidents where we see that, but Mark has that as one of the elements that he builds throughout his gospel in the sense of saying that faith is a very challenging part of our lives.

Good morning everyone. We welcome Kiah and Caleb here today to become new members of the Christian community. They have already been blessed by God with the gift of life. They’ve been blessed by the gift of loving parents and godparents. And today we will be receivers of the blessings which they already are. So welcome and welcome guests and family members and everyone else here today is welcome to Brooklyn Heights and a nice, heat wave that we’re in here.

It may sound like a truism that in every age in history there are a number of great crises, and in every great crisis, great leaders emerge that capture the imagination of people and lead them out of the crisis. Certainly, the Second World War would be one of those moments of crisis, and certainly for the people of Great Britain.

One of the more prominent expressions and focuses within the gospel of Mark is the Kingdom of God. You might remember at the very beginning of Mark’s gospel, after he says he’s going to tell the story of Jesus, the Son of God. The first words that Jesus utters, is repent and believe. The kingdom of God is at hand.