Sermons by Steve Kaptain

Sermon text: Mark 12:13–17; Mark 12:28–34 Jesus showed that the real issue in life is not politics or rules, but what we love most. Because we bear God’s image, our lives belong to Him, and the greatest commandment is to love God completely and love others as ourselves. When we return our love to God instead of lesser things like comfort, our hearts begin to come back into order and we move closer to His kingdom.

Sermon text: Mark 11:1-33 This passage is about the King arriving in Jerualem and exercising his authority. The crowds celebrate Him at first, but when He inspects the temple and the fig tree, He exposes a deeper problem—things look alive on the outside but are not producing the fruit God desires. Instead of reacting with fear like the religious leaders, Jesus invites His followers to trust God through prayer, forgiveness, and faithful obedience. His authority is fully revealed at the…

Sermon text: Mark 10:13-31 Jesus shows that the kingdom is not earned through performance but received through dependence. Adult eyes see risk, limits, and what we lack, but childlike faith sees Jesus and trusts His invitation. When we exchange our false identity for our secure identity in Him, we can open our hands and participate in what God is already doing.

Sermon text: Mark 10:1-12 In this passage, Jesus refuses to settle for loopholes and instead calls us back to God’s vision of shalom—relational wholeness rooted in creation, covenant, and trust. This teaching confronts our tendency to manage anxiety by seeking quick relief through control, distance, or cutoff, especially when relationships become costly. Rather than softening the truth, Jesus allows the weight of brokenness to remain, inviting us to surrender our anxiety and submit to God’s restoring work. The cross assures…

Sermon text: Mark 9:30-50 Formation, Fellowship, and the Way of ShalomJesus reshapes His disciples by undoing their pursuit of greatness and redefining identity around fellowship rather than achievement. Through strong yet protective words, He warns that unchecked influence can harm fragile faith and fracture community, while calling His followers into a refining, cross-shaped formation. This passage reveals that true discipleship leads not to status or control, but to shalom—a community marked by humility, care for the vulnerable, and a peace…

Sermon text: Mark 9:14-29 Moving from Performance to Prayerful Dependence…Ministry can be sincere, active, and still fall flat when it quietly shifts from dependence on Jesus to reliance on experience or technique. True authority is not generated by confidence or performance, but received through prayerful dependence—even when faith is honest and mixed with doubt. When prayer becomes our posture rather than a method, we discover that authority flows not from what we do for God, but from staying connected to…

Sermon text: Mark 9:2-13 Jesus reveals His glory to Peter, James, and John, then commands them to wait before speaking. This message explores how God often gives revelation not to be explained immediately, but to be carried faithfully through uncertainty and suffering. As we walk between the mountain and the cross, we learn that waiting is not denial, but formation—and that Jesus Himself bears the full weight of glory before we ever do. Header image by Levi Meir Clancy on…

Sermon text: Mark 8:27-29 Jesus has been revealing who He is through authority, power, and presence, but the deeper question has always been whether we are willing to follow Him as He truly is. These early moments show that amazement, correct belief, and proximity are not the same as trust, surrender, or clarity. As the story turns toward the cross, we are invited to move from partial sight and cautious faith into wholehearted allegiance, trusting Jesus even when the path…