Posts with the category “the-beautiful-upset-s2”

INTRODUCTION: The following is a guide to help facilitate discussion between you and the person you’re studying with or with your Connect Group. Feel free to add, subtract, or change questions to fit the conversation, and pray for the Spirit to lead in all things.OPEN:  Where in your religious and spiritual journey, have you seen people or organizations ‘miss the point’ of the gospel and that whic...  Read More

COMPASSION OVER COMPLIANCEMark 3:1–6 (NLT) "Jesus went into the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus’ enemies watched him closely. If he healed the man, they planned to accuse him of blasphemy. Jesus said to the man with the withered hand, 'Come and stand in front of everyone.' Then he turned to his critics and asked, 'Is it legal to do good...  Read More

THE LORD OF THE RESTMark 2:23–28 (NLT) "One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples began breaking off heads of grain to eat. But the Pharisees said to Jesus, 'Look, why are they breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?' Jesus replied, 'Haven’t you ever read in the Scriptures what King David did when he and his companion were hungry? He went into the ho...  Read More

DINNER WITH THE WRONG PEOPLEMark 2:13–17 (NLT) "Then Jesus went out to the lakeshore again and taught the crowds that were coming to him. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax collector’s booth. 'Follow me and be my disciple,' Jesus said to him. So Levi got up and followed him. Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many ta...  Read More

THE AUTHORITY TO REWRITE EVERYTHINGMark 2:6–12 (NLT) "But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves, 'What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!' Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, 'Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man "Your sins are forgiven," or "Stand up, pi...  Read More

THROUGH THE ROOFMark 2:1–5 (NLT) "A few days later Jesus returned to Capernaum, and the news of his arrival spread quickly through the town. Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them, four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn’t get to Jesus because of the crowd,...  Read More

INTRODUCTION: The following is a guide to help facilitate discussion between you and the person you’re studying with or with your Connect Group. Feel free to add, subtract, or change questions to fit the conversation, and pray for the Spirit to lead in all things.OPEN:  If you knew you only had one year left to live, what are some of the things you’d want to do in the time you had left?SCRIPTURE R...  Read More

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THE WILDERNESS IS NOT A MISTAKEMark 1:12–13 (NLT) "The Spirit at once compelled Jesus to go out into the wilderness, where he was tempted by Satan for forty days. He was among wild beasts, and angels took care of him."We have this subtle, toxic idea that if we’re doing things right, life should be smooth. If we hit a season of brutal isolation, mental pressure, or relentless difficulty, our first ...  Read More

STANDING IN THE WRONG LINEMark 1:9–11 (NLT) "One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, 'You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.'"Imagine if you walked into a rehab clinic, sat down in a ...  Read More

THE ANTI-INFLUENCE IN THE DESERTMark 1:4–8 (NLT) "This messenger was John the Baptist. He was in the wilderness and preached that people should be baptized to show that they had turned to God to receive forgiveness of their sins. All of Judea including all the people of Jerusalem went out to see and hear John... His clothes were woven from coarse camel’s hair, and he wore a leather belt around his...  Read More

WHERE THE STORY REALLY BEGINSMark 1:1–3 (NLT) "This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. It began just as the prophet Isaiah had written: 'Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way. He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, "Prepare the way for the Lord's coming! Clear the road for him!"'If you’ve ever sat through a 45-minute movie intro where ...  Read More

We began our first season of The Beautiful Upset in the middle of Mark’s Gospel. Which is an odd place to begin a story. Usually, you meet the characters before joining them halfway down the road.But we did it on purpose. In Mark 8, Jesus begins to speak plainly about his suffering, rejection and death. His disciples have come to believe he is the Messiah. Now they must discover how little that wo...  Read More