JACKSON — A new book published by Union University Press explores themes from the Gospel of Mark as preached in a series of chapel sermons by Union employees.
Recognizing and Responding to the Messiah: Sermons on the Gospel of Mark, edited by Ray Van Neste and Justin Wainscott in Union’s School of Theology and Missions, includes chapters from nine different contributors drawn from sermons they preached in chapel in the spring semester of 2023.
“Chapel is an important part of our life together at Union University, giving us an opportunity to gather twice a week as a community to hear from God in his Word and respond to him,” the editors write in the preface. “These services remind us of our grounding in Scripture and of the centrality of Jesus Christ to our lives.”
For several years in the spring semester, Union has dedicated certain chapel services to specific books of the Bible. In his introductory sermon, Van Neste, dean for the School of Theology and Missions, said Mark’s gospel is intended to elicit two questions from its readers: “Who is this Jesus?” and “How should we respond to him?”
“Our hope is that this work might encourage other Christians as these sermons hold up the glory of Jesus, his instruction and his saving work,” Van Neste and Wainscott write. “We also hope it will be a resource for other preachers as they prepare to preach through the Gospel of Mark.”
Contributors to the book include Matthew Albanese, Frank Anderson, Joe Ball, Michael Garrett, Bradley Green, Robert Lane, Hal Poe, Reginald Taylor and Van Neste.
The book is available for purchase at amazon.com. B&R
