holy war

It started small—too small, surely, to make a difference. The first skirmishes in the battle for humanity would be waged in a flyspeck fishing town north of nowhere. With just a few good men, the Light would launch its offensive to take back a world covered in darkness. Leading the way, heaven’s Champion would prove that God was not done fighting for his people.

Though it all started so small, the world would never be the same.

Part vi:
The war is real.  Whether you've realized it or not, you're in it. For some, there's no denying the war. Bombs have gone off in their lives. Shrapnel has damaged their souls. Heaven's champion comes to help and to heal. He rescues those trapped in pain and tends their wounds. more than this, heaven's champion calls and empowers others to help and heal at his side!

in mark chapters 5 & 6, we encounter real people needing jesus' help and healing. some receive god's gifts of grace. others resist and reject him. but still others pick up arms against the enemy and fight at jesus' side. how will you respond to heaven's champion?


Part i: august 8, 2021 - september 5, 2021
part ii: October 17, 2021 - october 31, 2021
Part iii: March 6, 2022 - April 10, 2022
part vi: august 14, 2022 - September 25, 2022
Part V: June 4, 2023 -

Pastor Jonathan Badgett, pastor Zach Masdon, & zach walsh

Part V

The Good fight

June 4, 2023

Jesus picked his battles wisely. He didn’t fight over every square inch of territory in his war with the darkness. But when he did fight, he fought well and for the right reasons: to set you from slavery to the enemy and to call you into his glorious kingdom! 

Your heart is the battleground—and the prize Jesus fought to claim!

Mark 7:1-23

pastor jonathan badgett

part VI

blown away

September 25, 2022

Did you ever think you had God’s plan figured out, only to discover later you were wrong? Perhaps you threw up your hands. Maybe you sighed in resignation, “God’s ways are not our ways.” The truth is, God’s plans may not be known but his aims are always clear.

Mark 6:45-56

pastor jonathan badgett

quarter master

September 18, 2022

 Battles may be won by strength of arms and good tactics, but even the strongest warrior gets tired and hungry. The direction of this war could turn if the enemy manages to cut our supply lines. We need someone keeping track of what we need—and then getting it to us!

Mark 6:31-44

pastor jonathan badgett

Man Down!

September 11, 2022

The good news of God's kingdom is both a blessing and calling: God's goodness and power are near! So, we must turn away from sin. John the Baptist faithfully proclaimed this message. And it got him killed. 

Mark 6:14-29

pastor jonathan badgett

Deploy!

September 4, 2022

When Jesus first deployed his recruits, he sent them to their neighbors—to homes and households in their own backyard. We may be tempted to think the war is best fought on an epic scale, a grand battlefield. But this is not the way Jesus sends us out.

Mark 6:7-13, 30

pastor jonathan badgett

green zone

august 28, 2022

In war, safe places can be hard to find. A "Green Zone" is a sanctuary from the conflict - a place the war can't reach you. Some want safety so much they pretend the war isn't real. They ignore God's call to faith in Jesus. They refuse to believe he is Heaven's Champion. 

Mark 6:1-6

pastor jonathan badgett

casualties of war II

august 21, 2022

Suffering is a fact of life. But some pain is more than we can bear. The bomb went off and destroyed what we hold dear. Overwhelmed, paralyzed, and confused, we are vulnerable to enemy’s attack. The power of darkness is strongest when we’re at our weakest. In this place, we cannot see how God could win.

Mark 5:21-43

pastor jonathan badgett

casualties of war I

august 14, 2022

When we're at war, everyone suffers - some less, some more. There are times when suffering comes not in an instant but builds over time. With each passing day, the light seems to dim. Hope seems further away. As we wait, we wonder, "Has God forgotten me? Will mercy ever come my way?"

Mark 5:21-43

pastor jonathan badgett

PARt III

sleeper agent

april 10, 2022

pastor jonathan badgett

Nobody could have imagined God choosing him. Of all the people he knew, no one was a less likely candidate… which is why he was perfect. He’d been as close to Hell as any of them, but had lived to tell his story. Now Heaven would use him to go places not even Jesus could reach.

Mark 5:1-20

secret weapon

april 3, 2022

With the war raging on between Jesus and the forces of evil, Jesus takes a moment to share with His followers some classified information. Not only is there a war going on between Jesus and evil forces, but a war is going on in the hearts and minds of every person as they consider the teachings of Jesus.

Mark 4:1-20

pastor jonathan badgett

classified information

march 27, 2022

With the war raging on between Jesus and the forces of evil, Jesus takes a moment to share with His followers some classified information. Not only is there a war going on between Jesus and evil forces, but a war is going on in the hearts and minds of every person as they consider the teachings of Jesus.

Mark 4:1-20

zach walsh

lines drawn

march 20, 2022

 It didn’t take long for folks to start taking sides in the battle between darkness and the Light. Even Jesus’ own family would join in with those opposing his mission. But his mission, like his message, was neither crazy nor evil. He came to overthrow the enemy and set his captive free.

Mark 3:20-35

Pastor jonathan badgett

a leader we can follow

march 13, 2022

Jesus is calling us, a group of common, diverse, and imperfect people, to join His mission of saving the world by following Him through devotion to His presence, declaring Him Lord in our words, and declaring Him Lord in our actions.

Mark 3:7-19

Pastor zach masdon

shots fired

march 6, 2022

Want to know what makes Jesus angry? When powerful people use their power to harm rather than help the hurting. In fact, it makes Jesus angry enough to go to war. And go to war he did, though doing so made those powerful people want him dead.

Mark 3:1-6

Pastor jonathan badgett

part II

rules of engagement

october 31, 2021

Rules are important. They keep us inside the lines and outside of trouble. God has set some of the rules for us. But who decides the rest? And how do we know when each rule applies? The short answer: Jesus! If we want to know the long answer, we’re going to need to spend more time with him.

Mark 2:18-28

Pastor jonathan badgett

Essential personnel

october 24, 2021

The kingdom advances! Now that Jesus has revealed his authority to forgive sins, the next stage of his mission becomes clear. He’s on the hunt for sinners—not to condemn and cast them out. No, Jesus is recruiting sinners—these essential personnel will help advance his kingdom here on earth!

Mark 2:13-17

Pastor jonathan badgett

jesus, the forgiver of sins!

october 17, 2021

When Jesus forgives the paralytic man of his sins, Jesus demonstrates His authority over sin by healing and restoring the paralytic man. The question now is “what do we do with this information? Do we disregard it like the Scribes, or accept Jesus as the Son of Man like the four men who brought their paralytic friend to Jesus?”

Mark 2:1-12

zach walsh

part I

rescued!

september 5, 2021

The leper was relationally isolated, tormented by his disease, and viewed as ritually unclean by the faith community, but heaven’s champion was moved with deep compassion for the leper’s hopeless situation. Jesus reached out and touched the man to set him free from his hopelessness. The healing that Jesus provides is comprehensive; He saves, He heals, He reunites, and He redeems!

Mark 1:40-45

Pastor zAch masdon

cleaning house

august 29, 2021

Nothing stands in the way of heaven’s Champion. There’s no challenge he can’t handle. No sickness so severe he cannot cure it. No pain is so deep he can’t heal it. No darkness so thick he can’t pierce it. When he marches, the gates of hell shudder. Those who march with him will witness his wonders.

Mark 1:29-39

Pastor Jonathan Badgett

showdown

august 22, 2021

No place on earth is immune to darkness—no place under the sun to hide away from heaven’s enemy. But with heaven’s Champion we need not fear! He is authorized by heaven to command the darkness and make it run. The safest place on earth is close to Jesus Christ!

Mark 1:21-28

Pastor Jonathan Badgett

battle plan

august 15, 2021

Every successful battle demands rigorous planning and a well-trained army. Heaven’s plan? No battle-scarred musclemen, mighty in deeds. No trained orators skilled in wisdom and wit. Just a few simple messengers with an even simpler message. Doomed from the start or destined for glory? Only heaven would decide.

Mark 1:14-20

Pastor Jonathan Badgett

invasion!

august 8, 2021

Who is Jesus and why did he come? As the opening of Mark’s Gospel makes clear, Jesus is the one sent from God to set his people free from darkness. He’s the champion of heaven—the hero of God’s story. His arrival signaled the end of the reign of darkness and the coming of God’s kingdom of light.

Mark 1:9-13

Pastor Jonathan Badgett