Mark 1:23-28, NIRV

Jesus Drives Out an Evil Spirit

²³Just then a man in their synagogue cried out. He was controlled by an evil spirit. He said, ²⁴“What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are. You are the Holy One of God!”

²⁵“Be quiet!” said Jesus firmly. “Come out of him!” ²⁶The evil spirit shook the man wildly. Then it came out of him with a scream.

²⁷All the people were amazed. So they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching! And with so much authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits, and they obey him.” ²⁸News about Jesus spread quickly all over Galilee.

Message:

Have you ever seen a person who says one thing, but then acts differently from what they said? (Allow children to answer.) A person’s words and actions should match. If someone promises to do something for you but doesn’t do it, that promise is no good. Or if you tell someone that you love them but don’t act like you love them, then what good are your words?

Today’s Bible story from Mark’s Gospel tells us about a time when Jesus had been teaching some people. Jesus' words impressed the people very much. Then Jesus did something to show the people that his words and actions matched.

What did Jesus do? In his day, some people were said to have evil or “unclean” spirits living in them. These spirits made them do crazy and awful things. Everyone believed that if a person could drive away those evil spirits, that person must be enormously powerful. That’s exactly what Jesus did. He made an unclean spirit leave a man. Then the people knew that Jesus’ actions were as powerful as his words.

Let’s add some words to our poem as we continue to continue to become a person of God. So far, our poem sounds like this.

In the beginning, there was no shape for the earth’s covering.
But God’s Spirit was hovering.
It was dark. And God named the darkness “night.”
God wanted more, so God separated the darkness from the light.
The light was named “day,” as God thought it should.
When God saw this, God said, “This is good!”
Samuel heard a voice. Was it a dream? Who could it be?
When it woke him, he said, “Here I am; you called out to me.”
I wonder how you know when God might be calling out?
Be still, listen, and don’t shout.
Listen to God for what you need to do.
God spoke to Samuel, but what is God saying to you?
On the shores of Galilee.
Jesus said, “Follow me.”
I will follow him here and there.
I will follow him everywhere.
Leading others to Jesus, like the brothers
Shows the love of God, as we “fish” for others.
For I do love him,
The Great I Am.

Today we will add,

Actions speak louder than words; that is true,
But in following Jesus, it is both “to say and to do.”
When both are done, trust is a huge part,
Then God’s love is both seen and felt from our heart.

When we meet good people whose actions match their good words, we know we can trust them. We can also trust Jesus who always showed that it is both what we say and what we do.

Prayer:

Jesus, you are the Holy One of God. Teach me, as you taught others so long ago. Help me to trust in all your words. Help me to trust in all your actions. Amen.