Launching a New Ministry

Intro

Good morning and welcome to Countryside Vineyard! For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Joe Fager, one of the pastors here.

This morning we’ll be in Mark 1:21-22.

And this passage is really Mark’s intro to Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. Here we see how he starts his ministry, where he starts his ministry and the results of his ministry.

And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. 22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.

Sermon in a Sentence

When Jesus shows up, everything changes—His urgency disrupts our delay, His presence transforms our gatherings, and His authority demands our obedience.

I. His Urgency Exposes Our Delay (v. 21a)

Mark 1:21 ESV

21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching.

Mark 1:21 NIV

21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.

Teach two versions

“If you’ve got the NIV in front of you, it says something like, ‘They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.’ Now, I want you to write something in your margin — right after that comma, write the word ‘immediately’. Because the Greek text includes it: euthys — ‘immediately.’ Mark uses that word over 40 times in his gospel. He’s trying to show us something about Jesus’ pace — heaven’s pace.”

Explain the significance:

The NIV sometimes smooths out repetition for readability, but in this case, it accidentally removes something Mark emphasizes deliberately.

Other translations (ESV, NASB, CSB, KJV) preserve it — and that word matters because it reveals something about Jesus’ nature and mission.

He doesn’t drift into ministry; He moves into it.

And his urgency / immediacy exposes our slowness / delays...

“Every time Jesus moves immediately, it exposes how slow we are to respond.”

And when you read the Bible, delay almost always brings trouble.

Lot’s sons-in-law thought they had time — delay cost them their lives (Genesis 19). Israel delayed entering the Promised Land — and turned an 11-day trip into a 40-year detour (Numbers 13–14). Saul delayed obeying God — and lost the kingdom (1 Samuel 15). Jonah delayed — and almost took a whole ship down with him (Jonah 1).

But when people obey right away?

Philip runs to the chariot and a man meets Jesus (Acts 8). Ananias goes immediately and Saul becomes Paul (Acts 9). Peter steps out of the boat and walks on water (Matthew 14).

Delay kills obedience. Delay kills opportunity. Delay kills blessing.

And every time Jesus moves immediately, it confronts the places in me where I’ve delayed because I was afraid… uncertain… or just comfortable.

Repeat: When Jesus moves, He reveals how slow we’ve become to obey.

II. His Presence Transforms Our Gatherings (v. 21b)

“So Jesus moves with urgency — and now we watch where that urgency takes Him.

Mark says, ‘Immediately on the Sabbath, He entered the synagogue…’

The very first place Jesus goes is a public worship gathering.

And that’s fascinating, because the synagogue wasn’t part of the original Law.

The only worship space God commanded was the Temple. But God also told His people, ‘Teach these words to your children.’

So when the Temple was destroyed, the Jews still felt this holy responsibility:

‘We have to meet. We have to worship. We have to hear the Scriptures.’

So during the exile, they formed the synagogue —

If at least ten Jewish families lived in a town, they met every Sabbath to read Scripture and worship God.

A simple, human-built space…

And Jesus embraced it.

Luke tells us it was His custom—His habit—to go to synagogue every Sabbath.

And His followers carried that rhythm forward until it became what we now call the church.

So no — the idea of gathering is not new. It’s ancient. It’s sacred.

But Mark isn’t giving us a theology of church structure.

He’s showing us something much bigger:

When Jesus shows up, the ordinary becomes holy.

A simple room becomes sacred space. A regular gathering becomes a place of encounter.

And here’s where this gets personal for us today:

I think we’ve forgotten who walks into the room when we gather.

We take for granted that Jesus is here with us.

The God of the universe — in all His majesty and wonder — walks into this room… and sometimes we treat it like a social club.

Any given Sunday, while Troy or Angie is praying, there are conversations across the room.

During worship, our minds drift. We think about lunch, schedules, anything but the One who made us.

During the reading of the Word, we scroll, wander, or treat the moment like it doesn’t matter.

And church — hear my heart —

We need to honor the Lord when we come together. This place needs to be a whole lot more holy, and a whole lot less common.

And part of why we’ve lost the fear of the Lord today is because we’ve forgotten how to be holy.

God still expects holiness from His people. First Peter says, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’ Hebrews says, ‘Without holiness no one will see the Lord.’

But we often walk into God’s house with unrepentant sin in our hearts… and sing as if everything is fine.

We forget that God sees everything. Psalm 94:9 says, ‘He who formed the eye — does He not see?’ Hebrews 4:13 says we are “naked and exposed” before Him.

And God doesn’t want a performance on Sunday morning —

He wants a broken and contrite heart. (Psalm 51:17)

He wants honesty. He wants repentance. He wants truth in the inward parts.

And think about Exodus 19.

God comes down on Mount Sinai — and the people don’t yawn through worship.

The mountain shakes. There’s thunder. Lightning. A thick cloud. A trumpet blast from heaven.

And the people tremble.

They say, ‘Moses, you talk to God for us. We’re afraid we’ll die if He speaks to us.’

God wasn’t trying to scare them away — He was showing them His holiness.

He was saying:

‘My presence is not common. My name is not casual. My glory is not something you handle lightly.’

Israel wasn’t wrong to tremble.

They were finally seeing God as He truly is.

And church — if a mountain shaking under God’s feet made them tremble… how much more should the presence of Jesus — the One greater than Moses — move our hearts today?

Not a fear that drives us away — but a fear that pulls us close.

Scripture says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10).

Scripture says He shares His secret counsel with those who fear Him (Psalm 25:14).

Isaiah 66 says God sets His eye on the one who trembles at His Word.

Proverbs says the fear of the Lord brings life, confidence, and a fountain of strength.

Acts 9:31 says the early church walked in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

Awe and intimacy always go together.

And yet — we’ve grown casual.

Not because we don’t love Jesus… but because we’ve forgotten who He really is.

John Bevere tells a story about preaching to Christian leaders in Brazil.

He said the room felt cold — distracted, casual, like nobody cared.

Until the Holy Spirit nudged him to confront the irreverence.

And the moment he did… the fear of the Lord fell, and the presence of God filled that room.

Jesus honors our gathering.

Let’s make sure our gathering honors Jesus.

Let’s be a people who recognize when the King has walked into the room — and give Him the reverence He deserves.

Because when Jesus shows up… everything changes.”

III. His Authority Demands Our Surrender (v. 22)

Mark 1:22 — “They were astonished… for He taught them as one who had authority.”

“So Jesus steps into the synagogue, and when He opens His mouth, everything changes.

Mark says the people were astonished.

Not entertained. Not impressed. Not inspired.

Astonished.

Why?

Because Jesus taught with authority — not like the scribes who quoted rabbis and traditions.

Jesus doesn’t quote anybody.

He speaks as the Author of the story. He speaks as the One who wrote Scripture. He speaks as the King.

And the King does not offer suggestions.

He issues commands.

Jesus says over and over again in the Sermon on the Mount:

“But I say to you…”

And what He says cuts right to the heart.

• “But I say to you… anyone who is angry with his brother is already guilty.”

(Matthew 5:22)

Not murder. Not violence.

Anger.

Jesus sees the anger we hide. He sees the bitterness we carry into worship.

• “But I say to you… anyone who looks with lust has already committed adultery in his heart.”

(Matthew 5:28)

Holiness isn’t about what we avoid publicly — it’s what we entertain privately.

Jesus sees the thoughts. He sees the imagination. He sees the secret life.

• “But I say to you… let your ‘yes’ be yes.”

(Matthew 5:37)

Jesus confronts every half-hearted commitment. Every hollow promise. Every spiritual “maybe.”

• “But I say to you… love your enemies.”

(Matthew 5:44)

He’s not asking for polite behavior.

He’s commanding supernatural holiness.

• “But I say to you… seek first the kingdom.”

(Matthew 6:33)

Jesus won’t take second place in a divided heart.

And then He gives the most terrifying statement of all:

**“These people honor Me with their lips,

But their hearts are far from Me.”** (Matthew 15:8)

Church — this is Jesus speaking.

This is the King diagnosing the soul.

This is what His authority reveals:

He sees what we bring into worship. He sees what we try to hide. He sees behind the mask. He sees through the motions.

He sees the casual attitude we bring into His presence.

He sees the sin we refuse to repent of.

He sees the heart that sings loud but lives far away.

He sees everything we talked about in Point 2 — and He addresses it with His own voice.

And when Jesus speaks with this kind of authority, it does something you can feel.

It exposes you.

It strips away your excuses.

It reveals the truth about you that you didn’t want to face.

It crushes your pride.

And if we ended the sermon right here…

we would be left feeling guilty before the Lamb.

Because this is what preaching is intended to do.

It shows us who He is… and it shows us who we are.

And apart from grace — that weight is unbearable.”

Closing Movement – Response

And listen — that’s good.

But here’s the part you cannot miss:

Conviction isn’t the end of the story. Conviction is the beginning of freedom.

God never shows us our sin to shame us — He shows us our sin so He can save us.

John says,

‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us… and cleanse us…’ (1 John 1:9)

Notice the words: faithful. just. forgive. cleanse.

That is the heart of God.

And maybe you’re here today and you realize, ‘I’ve been far from God. I’ve been casual with Him. I’ve gone through the motions. I’ve sinned and ignored it. My heart is not right.’

Good.

Because here’s the gospel — the real gospel — not the watered-down version we hear so often today:

Jesus didn’t come to make bad people nice. He came to make dead people alive.

He died on the cross to pay for your sins. He rose from the dead to give you new life.

And He calls every one of us to do one thing:

Repent and believe the gospel. (Mark 1:15)

Turn from your sin. Turn from running your own life. Turn from being your own lord.

And turn to Jesus.

That’s not punishment. That’s mercy.

You don’t clean yourself up first — you come to Him broken, and He does the cleansing.

And if you’re feeling that tug in your heart — if something in you is saying, ‘I need to get right with God’ — that’s the Holy Spirit calling you to life.

And listen… this isn’t just for unbelievers.

Some of you are saved, but you’ve drifted. You’ve gone casual. You’ve ignored sin. You’ve lost reverence.

And Jesus is calling you back too — not to condemn you, but to restore you.

The Bible says, ‘Return to Me, and I will return to you,’ says the Lord. (Malachi 3:7)

So yes — feel the conviction. But don’t stop there.

Take the next step. Come home. Come clean. Come close.

Because Jesus didn’t come to crush you. He came to save you.

And He is here right now — in this room — ready to forgive, ready to cleanse, ready to restore, ready to make you new.