Posts with the tag “mark”

THE FORGOTTEN REPEATMark 8:1–4 (NLT) "About this time another large crowd had gathered, and the people ran out of food again. Jesus called his disciples and told them, 'I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will faint along the way, because some of them have come a long distance.' His disciples...  Read More

THE GHOST ON THE WATERMark 6:47–50a (NLT) "Late that night, the disciples were in their boat in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on land. He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. He intended to go past them, but when they saw him walking on the water, ...  Read More

THE MATH OF EXHAUSTIONMark 6:30–31, 37, 41 (NLT) "The apostles returned to Jesus from their ministry tour and told him all they had done and taught. Then Jesus said, 'Let’s go off by yourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.' He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat... But Jesus said, 'You give them something to eat...  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:  Share with the group a time in your life when you were incredibly startled, whether by a friend, an animal or insect, or some oth...  Read More

DON'T BE AFRAID; JUST BELIEVEMark 5:38–42 (NLT) “When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw much commotion and weeping and wailing. 39 He went inside and asked, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.” 40 The crowd laughed at him. But he made them all leave, and he took the girl’s father and mother and his three disciples into the room where...  Read More

EVIL ON ITS KNEESMark 5:6–13 (NLT)  “6 When Jesus was still some distance away, the man saw him, ran to meet him, and bowed low before him. 7 With a shriek, he screamed, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In the name of God, I beg you, don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had already said to the spirit, “Come out of the man, you evil spirit.” 9 Then Jesus demanded, “What ...  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:  What’s a story or book you remember from growing up that you loved? What was it about that story that drew you in?SCRIPTURE READI...  Read More

THE QUIET, UNSTOPPABLE KINGDOMMark 4:26–34 (NLT) "Jesus also said, 'The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he doesn’t understand how it happens. The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf appears, then the heads of wheat form, and finally the grain ripens. And as soon as the grain is...  Read More

LIGHT THAT CAN'T BE HIDDENMark 4:21–25 (NLT) "Then Jesus asked them, 'Would anyone light a lamp and then put it under a basket or under a bed? Of course not! A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light will shine. For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!' Then he added,...  Read More

INSIDERS AND OUTSIDERSMark 4:10–12 (NLT) "Later, when Jesus was alone with the twelve disciples and the others who were with him, they asked him what the parables meant. He replied, 'You are permitted to understand the secret of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables for everything I say to outsiders, so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled: "When they see what I do, they will learn nothing. Whe...  Read More

THE SEED THAT SEEMS WASTEDMark 4:1–9 (NLT) "Once again Jesus began teaching by the lakeshore. A very large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat and sat in it while all the people remained on the shore. He taught them many things by telling stories in the form of parables, such as this one: 'Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across his field, some see...  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:  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

THE SERVANT SHAPE OF THE MISSIONMark 10:45 (NLT) “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”Mark 10:45 is only one sentence long, but it contains the entire direction of Jesus’s life. He speaks it in the middle of an argument about status. James and John are maneuvering for the best seats in the kingdom, the other disciples are ang...  Read More

The Victory We Couldn’t ImagineINTRODUCTIONThe 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.OPENING QUESTIONWhat is something you used to believe that has changed or you no longer believe? Think as f...  Read More

THE MESSAGE THAT REWRITES EVERYTHINGMark 16:6-8 (NLT) "The angel said, 'Don't be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn't here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.' The women fled f...  Read More

THE WOMEN WHO WOULDN'T STOPMark 16:1-5 (NLT) "Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus' body. Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb... As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were sho...  Read More

THE WOMEN WHO STAYEDMark 15:42-47 (NLT) "This all happened on Friday, the day of preparation, the day before the Sabbath. As evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea took a risk and went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body... Meanwhile, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph were watching and saw where his body was laid."Here's something you might have missed in the chaos of the crucifixion: ...  Read More

THE BREATH THAT CHANGES HISTORYMark 15:37-39 (NLT) "Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, 'This man truly was the Son of God!'"Death is usually quiet. The movies get this wrong, people don't die with dramatic speeche...  Read More

THE DARKNESS THAT COVERS EVERYTHINGMark 15:33-34 (NLT) "At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock. Then at three o'clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?' which means 'My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?'" Darkness at noon is wrong in a way that makes your skin crawl. The sun should be at its brightest, shadows should be short and sha...  Read More

The Weight We Cannot CarryINTRODUCTIONThe 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.OPENING QUESTIONHave you ever been in a place that you strongly felt the presence of God or a deep sense of holi...  Read More

THE LOVE THAT OUTLIVES OUR FAILUREMark 14:47–50 (NLT) “Then all his disciples deserted him and ran away.”There’s a moment in the Gospels that can feel almost too human to sit with: the disciples, every last one, run. Not just Judas with his kiss, not just Peter with his sword, but all of them. The whole community Jesus poured Himself into slinks away into the dark. If you’ve ever loved people who ...  Read More

THE KISS THAT BREAKS THE HEARTMark 14:43–46 (NLT) “As Jesus was speaking, Judas appeared… Judas had given them a prearranged signal: ‘You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss.’”A kiss is never just a kiss, not in Scripture, not in the ancient world, and honestly not in ours. In the first century, a kiss could communicate deep loyalty. Disciples kissed rabbis as a sign of resp...  Read More

THE FAILURE JESUS DOESN’T HOLD AGAINST YOUMark 14:37–42 (NLT) “Then he returned and found the disciples asleep. He said to Peter, ‘Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour?’”There’s something painfully honest about this moment in Gethsemane. Jesus doesn’t ask His disciples to cast out demons or preach a sermon or perform some heroic act. He asks them to stay awake and be present with Him, but they...  Read More

THE PRAYER WE KNOW BUT RESISTMark 14:35–36 (NLT) “‘Abba, Father,’ he cried out, ‘everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.’”This is the prayer most of us know by heart but struggle to pray with honesty: “Your will be done.” Sometimes praying can feel like gravel in the mouth, hard and uncomfortable. It’s easy to pray ...  Read More

THE WEIGHT OF SAYING YESMark 14:32–35 (NLT) “He took Peter, James, and John, and he became deeply troubled and distressed. He told them, ‘My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death.’”Before Jesus ever carries the cross, He carries the weight of choice. Gethsemane is where the real surrender happens, not on Golgotha, but here, in a quiet garden, late at night, when no one is watching.I thi...  Read More

The Entrance We Didn’t See ComingINTRODUCTIONThe 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.OPENING QUESTIONHave you ever met someone famous? A musician, an athlete, an actor, an author? What was i...  Read More

THE ROOT WORK OF PRAYERMark 11:20–25 (NLT)“The next morning as they passed by the fig tree he had cursed, the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots.”If you sit with this passage long enough, one phrase rises to the surface: from the roots. Mark could have said the tree died. He could have said it withered. But he adds that small detail, roots first. Underground first. The hidden place f...  Read More

THE TREE WITH PROMISE BUT NO LIFEMark 11:12–14 (NLT) “He noticed a fig tree in full leaf a little way off… but there were only leaves because it was too early in the season for fruit. Then Jesus said to the tree, ‘May no one ever eat your fruit again!’”I remember the night we landed in Rome—9:37 p.m., jet-lagged, starving, wandering the streets looking for anything open. We found a family-run rest...  Read More