Mesa Outpost Online

With Easter just over the horizon, the team discusses the resurrection in Mark 16. This is our last podcast in the series, but also our final episode as Lindsey and Brett wrap up their years of ministry with Chi Alpha. We’re grateful for everyone who has listened and participated in our podcast adventure.

This week, we discuss Mark 15 and the cross. It’s such a huge and important topic, and we wrestle to do it justice. So join us as we approach the heart of God at the foot of the cross.

For this Favorite Things episode of Mesa Outpost Online, Taylor, Brett and Andy discuss some of their favorite video games and what made them great. We recognize not everyone is a gamer, so we've included a few links about the various games we discuss. If you're lost and looking for context, hopefully you can find out a bit more here:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stardew_Valley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroes_of_the_Storm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factorio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ori_and_the_Blind_Forest https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VI https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VII https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nier:_Automata https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Rock_Galactic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal_(series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_(2012_video_game)   Thanks so much for listening and we'll see you next week!

The whole team is together again to discuss the last supper and communion as well as Jesus’ journey through Gethsemane.

The team takes the evening to share what they are most thankful for.

This week, we have a series of moments where Jesus confronts the various forces of the world that ancient Israel had come to consider unclean.First, we see Jesus going to a neighboring gentile region known as the Gerasenes or Decapolis. Here he meets a man possessed by impure spirits. Mark 5:6-136 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.Right away, we see Jesus working with a gentile who wandered among the tombs of the dead, both strong images of impurity and the unclean. He is possessed by many unclean spirits who named themselves after the armies of Rome, itself a stand-in for the desire to rule, conquer, kill and steal.All of these forces come to a single moment of begging to Jesus for permission to flee and never return.What does it mean for us that Jesus has power over both spiritual forces of darkness, but also human institutions of oppression? Mark 5:25-2925 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. Bodily discharges, especially bleeding, were a common source of becoming ritually unclean. It’s important to note that if a clean person comes into contact with someone who is unclean, they too become unclean. But here, Jesus overcomes not just her sickness, but her ritual impurity and makes her clean as well.How should our lives change if we accept that the ministry and presence of Jesus makes us clean? Mark 5:35-4235 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”36 Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 But they laughed at him.After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished.  In many ways, death was the ultimate source of becoming ritually unclean and not even death could counteract the new-creation power of Jesus the Messiah. There’s an interesting moment, however, where Jesus says, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” Just before this, we had the woman who was bleeding with enough faith to touch Jesus and be healed, even without his direct intervention. Our faith obviously matters to God, so how do we obey the command of Jesus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe"?

This week, Brett, Lindsey, Andy, and Taylor discuss the parables found in Mark 4. We may have gotten a bit carried away with the alliteration; hopefully, our predilection for a preponderance of parlance doesn’t leave you perturbed, but precipitates a penchant for a plethora of parables.

In this bonus episode, we discuss our favorite Bible verses and how they help us understand the heart of God. Burk"Let love and faithfulness never leave you;    bind them around your neck,    write them on the tablet of your heart."Proverbs 3:3 (NIV)AndyElijah flees to Horeb after the confrontation on Mt. Carmel1 Kings 19Brett “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."John 15:5 (NIV)Lindsey"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,    his mercies never come to an end;23 they are new every morning;    great is your faithfulness.24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,    “therefore I will hope in him.”Lamentations 3:21-25 (NRSV)Taylor"But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."2 Corinthians 12:9-10

The guys discuss trusting God with the future while maintaining a godly understanding of community.

Mesa Outpost

Good News, Everyone! (Part 2)Brett, Lindsey, Burk, Andy, and Taylor discuss what it means to speak with authority and why healing seems to be a fundamental component of Jesus' ministry!Mark 1:16-20If we're going to be completely honest, what are the things that would be most difficult to walk away from if Jesus called us after him?How do we prepare ourselves to say yes if and when that happens?Mark 1:21-28This notion of authority bookends this passage. Jesus teaches with authority and works miracles with authority. Quite unlike the teachers of the law, who would often hedge with "As Moses said…" or "as Rabbi so-and-so would say…"Obviously, we believe that as Christians, we have the same Spirit of God that Jesus had, but we often pray with timidity or fear and hedge our words, much like the old teachers of the law.What does it mean to speak or pray with authority? How do we grow in our ability to act with authority?Mark 1:29-34We often think that Jesus came to teach moral philosophy and then die on a cross and rise again, but healing was obviously an important part of his ministry. What do these miracles mean for us today?Mark 1: 40-45One of several times Jesus says to tell no one. Here, however, we see it at the tail end of a variety of healings, none of which were given a similar injunction.Sometimes, when we pray for God to do something miraculous, we feel compelled to take big steps of faith in response: eat some of this, quit taking that, no longer follow the doctor’s orders. But here, we see Jesus order the leper to go to the authorities to verify the healing to ensure that he is able to return to society in a proper way.Why? What is this all about?Features the song Vienna Beat by Blue Dot Sessions, available under CC BY-NC 4.0.

Features the song Vienna Beat by Blue Dot Sessions, available under CC BY-NC 4.0.

We're talking about some of our favorite things in this bonus episode: movies and why we love them.Brett: V for VendettaBurk: The Empire Strikes BackLindsey: The Return of the KingAndy: Bladerunner 2049Features the song Vienna Beat by Blue Dot Sessions, available under CC BY-NC 4.0.

James 5: Brett, Lindsey, Taylor, Burk, and Andy discuss the tension between pursuing wealth and seeking the kingdom of God and what it means for the prayers of a righteous person to be "powerful and effective."Features the song Vienna Beat by Blue Dot Sessions, available under CC BY-NC 4.0.

James 4: Brett, Lindsey, Taylor, Burk, and Andy discuss "unanswered" prayer, godly correction, and why our motivations matter.Features the song Vienna Beat by Blue Dot Sessions, available under CC BY-NC 4.0.

James 3: Brett, Lindsey, Taylor, Burk, and Andy discuss "taming the tongue" and how the biblical wisdom of peacemaking differs from zealous actions that are driven by selfish ambition.Features the song Vienna Beat by Blue Dot Sessions, available under CC BY-NC 4.0.

James 2: Brett, Lindsey, Taylor, and Burk discuss why James speaks so strongly against favoritism, particularly in the church.  Andy is gone because he just got married!Features the song Vienna Beatby Blue Dot Sessions, available under CC BY-NC 4.0.

The staff of Mesa Outpost discuss James 1. Brett hosts while Lindsey nerds out about language and history. Andy and Burk share what it means to persevere in suffering.Features the song Vienna Beat by Blue Dot Sessions, available under CC BY-NC 4.0.