Daily Bread Pastor Mike Anderson 2026

Click Here to Read of Listen to Mark 7 That Which Defiles When the Pharisees and teachers of the law had come from Jerusalem, they confronted Jesus' disciples about not washing their hands before they ate. This is one of the many laws from the Old Testament that the Pharisees had added countless more regulations.  “There had grown up a great body of traditions; traditions which in the first place were intended to be interpretations of the law, and applications of the law to local circumstances; traditions which in the second place became interpretations of traditions, and applications of traditions; and the traditions in the third place, which were interpretations of interpretations of interpretations of traditions!” (Morgan)  A really strict Jew would do this not only before the meal, but also between each course. And the rabbis were deadly serious about this. They said that bread eaten with unwashed hands was no better than excrement. One rabbi who once failed to perform the...

Click Here to Read or Listen to Mark 6 A Prophet Without Honor After Jesus delivered the Gerasene demoniac and healed Jairus, the synagogue ruler's daughter, he left this area and went to his hometown of Nazareth. He went into the synagogue and taught like a visiting rabbi would. It must have been quite an experience for those who saw Jesus grow up as the "son of a carpenter" teaching with such wisdom. I got to preach in the congregation I grew up in, and it was very meaningful to me, my family, and the congregation. I was a "son of the congregation".  But Jesus' hometown was not so sure about all of this,. They asked,  Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. We get insight into Jesus' family size and make up. Curiously absent is any mention of Joseph, but we see four brothers mentioned, and learn the fact that Jesus had more than on...

Click Here to Read or Listen to Mark 5 Jesus Restores a Demon-Possessed Man We have already seen how Jesus' power and authority is not only over sickness, diseases, nature, but also over the spiritual forces of darkness. I.e. demons. After calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus and his disciples went over the other side of the lake to the land of the Gerasenes. There is some confusion over the name and the place. The most likely answer is to the country of the Gerasenes: i.e., Gerasa, a Greek town thought to be the same as the similarly-named Kersa on the east shore of Lake Tiberias. This is just five miles from Capernaum, where Jesus had previously been, so it makes sense. However, the Dictionary of the Bible favours Gadara, on the Yarmuk river about six miles south-east of the Lake of Galilee, so this remains a possibility. - Dr Oliver Tearle  Mark says that as Jesus came onshore, a man with an "impure spirit" met him. Later, we learn this man was demon-possesse...

Click Here to Listen to or Read Mark 4 The Parable of the Sower Jesus' favorite teaching method was parables. Parables take an earthly analogy, which illustrates a spiritual reality. The word "parable" in the Greek literally means "to throw alongside" , or to make comparisons between two or more ideas. The parable of the Sower is one of the most popular parables Jesus taught.  As we have seen the crowds came from far and wide to witness and experience Jesus' healing miracles. Now the people were pressing in on him, so he pushed out onto the Sea of Galilee and began to teach them about the kingdom of God.  In this parable a farmer sowed seed, and three of soil conditions kept the seed from multiplying and bearing fruit. The three conditions were the hard path, which did not receive the seed at all. The shallow soil, which received the seed but it never took root. Though it sprung up it quickly it had no root so when the sun scorched the plant it withered qui...

Click Here to Read or Listen to Mark 3 Jesus Heals on the Sabbath Once again Jesus is healing on the Sabbath. Since was the Sabbath was an area that was overseen strictly by the Pharisees, they got very nervous about Jesus' intrusion into this arena. Yesterday Jesus' disciples were eating in the grainfields on the Sabbath and they rebuked him. He concluded,  “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” On this Sabbath a man with a "withered hand" was in attendance at the synagogue. Most people assume this was a paralyzed hand, or what we might call "neuropathy". Whatever the case it was pretty serious because everyone knew about it. Jesus didn't intend do heal him privately so he says,  "Stand up in front of everyone.” Obviously Jesus meant it to be a "teachable moment" for all. And he asked them,  “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kil...

Click Here to Read or Listen to Mark 2 Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man As Jesus made his way to Capernaum, the crowds got wind of it, and they all appeared at a home where he was teaching. There room was packed and the people were jammed in front of the door to listen to him. Four men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. When they realized they could not come in through the front door, they dug a hole in the roof and lowered the man down.  "When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” You might ask why Jesus is talking about forgiveness, when the man needs physical healing?  The teachers of the law were also wondering about the same thing. They started muttering to themselves, "How can he be talking about forgiving people's sins. This is blasphemy!" Jesus knew what they were thinking so he asked, "Which is easier to have the man take up his mat and walk or to forgive his sins." Yet, Jesus knew what the...

Click Here to Read or Listen to Mark 1 We begin the gospel of Mark. Mark is the shortest gospel at 16 chapters, whereas Matthew is 28. Luke is 24, and John is 21. Most commentators believe Mark is the earliest gospel written, sometime between 60-70 A.D. Mark does not seem to know about the Fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, like the other gospels do. Most believe the author is John Mark, who accompanied Paul on one of his missionary journeys, and then had a falling out with him for refusing to go on another one.  Some of the characteristics of Mark's gospel is it is fast moving going from story to story. Mark frequently uses the term " immediately ". Mark is focused on the kingdom of God being near and manifesting itself through Jesus' signs and wonders. Mark had a significant connection with the apostle Peter, who was likely the source of his writing.  John the Baptist Prepares the Way Mark starts out by saying, "The beginning of the good news of Jesus the Messiah, t...