Moonday Night @ First B Oct 24

In one paragraph

Monday night's study opened a brand-new series working through the Gospel of Mark. The preacher walked through the first thirteen verses, giving the congregation an overview of the whole book before settling into what those opening verses actually show about Jesus, John the Baptist, and the Holy Spirit. Mark wrote his gospel to Roman Christians living among many gods, so he skips a birth narrative...

Read together

1. Isaiah 40:3 quoted as the prophecy about a messenger preparing the way for the Lord, fulfilled by John the Baptist
2. Mark 1:1-13 the main passage read and discussed, covering John the Baptist, the baptism of Jesus, and the temptation in the wilderness
3. Matthew 4 mentioned as giving a more detailed account of how Jesus resisted temptation by the word of God
4. Luke 4 mentioned alongside Matthew 4 as a more detailed account of Jesus resisting temptation
5. 1 Corinthians 10:13 paraphrased: no temptation has seized you except what is common to everybody, but God is faithful and will help you resist
6. 1 Timothy 1:17 quoted as a closing benediction: all honor and glory to God forever and ever, the eternal king, the unseen one who never dies, he alone is God

Talk about it

1. Mark opens with the punch line right away: 'This is the good news about Jesus, the Messiah, the son of God.' Why do you think Mark skips the birth story and genealogy and jumps straight to that declaration? What does that tell us about what he most wanted his readers to know?
2. John the Baptist was, as Pastor Ray put it, 'kind of a strange dude,' yet all of Judea was showing up to hear him. Tim made the point that it was the message that was attractive, not the messenger. Has there been a time in your own life when a message reached you despite, or even because of, the unlikely person who delivered it?
3. John's baptism was one of repentance, preparing people's hearts for Jesus. But John promised that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit. What difference does it make in your daily life that you have the Holy Spirit as comforter, guide, and helper rather than only water baptism and a call to repent?
4. Jesus was tempted in every way that we are, yet he resisted by using the word of God. Blake pointed out that this was absolutely crucial, because if Jesus had not resisted, he could not have been the perfect sacrifice. Where do you find it hardest to reach for Scripture when you are being tempted, and what might help you get there?
5. Mark ends his gospel abruptly, with the women running away in fear rather than telling anyone the good news. The video described this as Mark intentionally leaving the reader to wrestle with the question: is this crucified Jesus really the Messiah? Where are you in that wrestling right now, and what has moved your faith forward or held it back?