It is an incredible notion to consider that Jesus would involve regular, “not so special” people to join Him in the mission to reach the world with the Gospel. In choosing the twelve apostles, Jesus shows that everybody is better than somebody when it comes to spreading the Gospel. From this point on in the Gospel of Mark, it is not longer just Jesus actively extending the Kingdom through word and deed, it will also be a group of people (the Apostles) who will be equipped and empowered to herald the good news of the Gospel that the Kingdom of God has come in Jesus.

Mark provides a brief respite from all the action in his book affording his readers an opportunity to react to all that has been offered thus far in showing that Jesus is the Son of God. He shows two incorrect ways of reacting to Jesus. In light of those incorrect reactions, we should examine our lives and see how we are reacting to Jesus—the Son of God.

There is a global expectation that religious people do good things. But what happens when a religion turns toxic? How can you know? Today we will consider how Israel was supposed to be a blessing to the nations and yet, because their belief system went toxic, it became the basis for the motivation to plot the murder of Jesus.

Every religion has some primary belief, some core commitment that gives the religion its identity, its distinctive – the thing that sets it apart from all other religions. From Roman Catholicism to Islam to Mormonism and on, every religion has some distinctive. Today, we will discover what Jesus thinks of religious standards as He redefines what it means to “keep the Sabbath.”

What I am trying to say is how good is good enough?” Those were the words uttered in growing desperation from a teenager I was sharing the Gospel with. It is the “cut n’ dry” and “bottom-line” mentality that reveals all of humanities fundamental problem – “How ‘spiritual’ is spiritual enough for God to approve of or accept us?” Let’s talk about that.

Our society is splintered across political, moral, racial, ethnic, and religious viewpoints. Given this amount of diversity, where do we start with sharing the Gospel? Today, we will discover that when you pull away all the social constructs and related messaging, you will be left with the most important of all issues – who is God and how are we to relate to Him? Let’s think about that.

Throughout our study of Mark’s Gospel so far, Jesus has demonstrated his authority over several things: over Satan during the temptations, over demons during a deliverance and over disease and illness. In today’s story Jesus declares and demonstrates an even more remarkable authority. The Jesus we encounter in the scripture today demands we examine how his authority impacts our lives.

Given all the brokenness around us, where does helping others start and where does it stop? In other words, how does a person maintain their own health while helping others find theirs? Today we will discover how Jesus says “no” to some people in order to say “yes” to even more people. We will also discover the danger of enjoying what Jesus offers while rejecting what Jesus commands.

It had been a long day. Jesus taught and expelled an “unclean spirit” in the synagogue (1:21-28) then healed Simon’s mother in-law in the afternoon (1:29-31) and then spent the evening healing everyone from sickness and those who were oppressed by demons (1:32-34). What Jesus does next will give us a unique insight into how He “recharges” and discerns the Father’s will. Let’s talk about that.

The following words tumbled out of a man attending a Bible study on the love of Jesus: “Jesus sure has a funny way of communicating love to me.” The man would go on to express various heartaches in life in which he felt no comfort from Jesus. As a matter of fact, he was wondering if the love and nearness of Christ was even true. Let’s talk about that.