It has been said tha the worst thing that can happen to a person is for everyone to ignore him. No one wants to be an outcast. Here is the story of an outcast and what Jesus did for him. The man was set free from his "stigma" by something referred to in the Greek language as "splagkna". This is the gut feeling of compassion that moved Jesus to willingness and involvement that resulted in a magnificant demonstration of God's power to bring total healing and freedom to a hurting man. Are you hurting? Have you realized that Jesus is compassionate and willing to get involved in your struggle. Do you see lost and hurting people around you? Are you compassionate or cold? Are you ready to get involved?

Thousands of magazines are sold each year which claim to have the inside scoop on some famous person's life or secret to success. The news media swarms like starving fish in a feeding frenzy to dig up some tidbit of personal information on an actor or actress, a candidate, or a rock star. People want to know about their private life. So how about you? How is your private life? The gospel of Mark gives us a glimpse into the private life of Jesus and we find him doing something that we often have a very hard time doing. When was the last time that someone was looking for you and caught you praying?

In this lesson we see Jesus as preacher, leader, teacher, warrior, and healer.  We find that the kingdom of God is not just a kingdom of words but a kingdom of deeds and power.  In our day people are still asking, "Is this kingdom real and, if it is, what good is it?"  This is the question we will seek to answer.

The most marvelous event in all of history was the coming of Jesus Christ. God invaded time and space in the person of Jesus Christ. Nothing before or since this colossal historical event has had so great an impact on life and history. All other events, summed together would not even approach the significance of the coming of Jesus Christ into the world. And this event took place just opposite of the way we expected.   The gospel of Mark tells of the life of Jesus in a rapid fire, vivid, picturesque account. He wastes no time getting to the heart of the message of good news about Jesus. But Jesus didn't just suddenly appear on the scene. God spent hundreds of years in preparation and the unfolding of his plan for the coming of the kingdom of God. God, throughout history was working in definite, unique, and deliberate ways to show us that he is God and that his hand cannot be mistaken for coincidence.