sermon – John Markum

Sermon Recap: Don’t Look Back, week 2

Posted on January 15, 2025January 15, 2025 by johnmarkum

This past Sunday, as we continued our Don’t Look Back series, we cross-examined two seemingly unrelated stories in Jesus’ ministry: the rich young ruler (Luke 18:18-27) and the paralytic man by the pool of Bethesda (John 5:2-9).

From these stories, we learned that our past experiences have the power to shape our identity and restrict God’s work desires to do in our lives, whether those experiences are marked by success or suffering. Through examining the contrasting encounters of the paralytic man and the rich young ruler with Jesus, we discover that both achievement and adversity can become spiritual shackles that prevent us from moving forward. The problem with our past is that it often becomes a matter of identity. Many people define themselves by past trauma or achievements, accepting limiting labels that cage them. The solution lies in agreeing with our heavenly Father about who He says we are – loved, forgiven, and made new in Christ. Breaking free requires total surrender, dying to self, and trusting that God’s way is better than our own. God works in the present as the great “I AM”, not the “I WAS”. He can use anyone regardless of their past and is not limited by our mistakes or successes. The challenge is to identify what parts of our past we need to surrender, what labels we’re clinging to, and whether we’re ready to fully trust God with our future rather than remaining defined by our past.

In summary,

Both success and struggle can become shackles.
The problem with our past is a matter of identity.
Total surrender is required for victory over our past.

You can catch the entire service on our YouTube channel here.
And you can download our 5-Day Devotion based on the message here.

Blessings,
Pastor John

Sermon Recap: Don’t Look Back, week 1

Posted on January 6, 2025January 6, 2025 by johnmarkum

As we kick off 2025 at Life Valley Church, we begin with a new series entitled, Don’t Look Back. Following Jesus demands a radical reorientation of our lives, centered on three fundamental requirements: self-denial, daily cross-bearing, and wholehearted following. This path directly challenges our culture’s emphasis on self-fulfillment and personal autonomy, calling believers instead to submit every area of life to Christ’s leadership. Just as athletes exercise strict self-control to win their prize, disciples must discipline themselves to follow Jesus faithfully. The call to take up our cross daily represents a complete dying to self, allowing Christ to live through us in every aspect of life. In first century Judaism, it was a common blessing to tell a new follower of a Rabbinical teacher, “May you be covered in the dust of your rabbi!” The idea was that disciples would follow their rabbi so closely that they would be covered in the dust from their teacher’s feet. Similarly, authentic discipleship today should be evident in how closely we walk with Jesus, with our lives clearly reflecting His character and priorities. This requires identifying areas we’re still trying to control, examining what influences are shaping us, and taking concrete steps to submit every aspect of our lives to Christ’s leadership.

Read Luke 9:23-25 for further insight from the sermon…

How do we pursue Jesus in 2025:

Deny yourself.
Take up your cross daily.
Follow Him.

You can find the 5-Day Devotional here.

You can find the entire service on our YouTube channel here.

Blessings,
Pastor John

Dear Edgewood…

Posted on June 27, 2013 by johnmarkum

Today I’m back in my office at Edgewood from being in San Jose for the past week. I’m here preparing for the message I’ll preach this weekend – my final message as a pastor of this amazing church. Ironically, it was nearly 5 years ago to the day that I preached for the first time at Edgewood. Befitting, that I should be concluding my ministry here at the same time.

There are so many things I want to say to each of you that I find it difficult deciding where to begin. For five years you have loved me, encouraged me, honored me, and taught me at least as much as I ever taught you. I’ve seen so many of you come to Christ during my time here. I estimate that I have had the privilege of baptizing somewhere over a hundred of you into our church family, and more importantly, into obedience as a follower of Jesus. I’ve preached hundreds of times to you. And I’ve seen faithfulness in you that any pastor would love to see in his church family. You’ve listened, learned, grown, and taught me a great deal about my journey in the process.

In less than a month, my family and I will say goodbye and move to San Jose, CA. Leaving you is painful for me, to say the least. May you continue in the things that God has worked in your life, and years from now, I pray that we will continue to celebrate what God is doing in the Quad Cities, the South Bay, and around the world. Though a 2,000 mile gap will soon exist between us, my heart still beats for this place and this family of friends and believers who have been so good to us for the past five years.

So about this weekend…

I’m preaching for the final time before we leave. It’s been over a month since I last preached here at home to you. So most of you already know that I have no intentions of holding back or pulling punches. But I am far less interested in impressing you as I am in blessing and challenging you to reach your full potential in Christ. Among many things that I am praying for God to do this weekend, I am asking Him to draw people to Himself – to allow me the privilege this last time, to be part of seeing Him use this church to impact people’s stories for eternity. And that’s where you and I come in.

Please don’t miss this weekend! I want to preach God’s Word over you one last time. But also, don’t come alone! Bring someone with you who needs a touch from God. I’m very confident He plans on attending, and wants to do something in your friends’/family’s lives.

I’m not making this weekend about me. I’ve got far more important things to talk about than myself. So in advance, I want to tell you that you are a good church. You’ve been good to me and I wouldn’t have traded my time with you for any earthly delight. I’m a better pastor, leader, and follower of Jesus for having worked with you.

To the many of you who have been directly part of working with us in our Singles Ministry, Saturday night service, LifeGroups, and so on… look what God did! You were too good to try easy stuff – you did things that were worthwhile. And look how God blessed your faith! Look at what we got to see and do together!!! It still doesn’t seem real to me that we made it where we are now. But God has been gracious to us. And we got to play a part in His work of drawing people to Himself and making disciples. You are precious to me. And working with you has been the honor of my life. Some of you hold special, irreplaceable spots in our hearts. You know who you are. We couldn’t have made it without you. Not by a long shot! Thank you, friends.

If you don’t normally attend Edgewood, and especially if you don’t normally attend any church, join us this week. I believe God is going to do something greater in our lives than any of us could hope or ask for. I can’t wait to see you there!

Blessings,
Pastor John

PS – services are Sat. 5pm, and Sun. 8 & 10:45am