Have you experienced setbacks in life? How did they turn out? Our study this quarter is based on the Gospel of Mark. Early in life Mark experienced an enormous setback. He persisted and ended up at the center of the work of the early church. Guided by the Holy Spirit he wrote the Gospel of Mark. What a comeback! Let's plunge into the story of Mark and discover how his life got back on track and how he starts his gospel!...
In the United States we have days when we encourage parents to take their children (I would guess one at a time) to work so the children will learn about what their parents do during the day. That is how our study this week feels to me. Mark started his gospel by declaring that Jesus was the Son of God, and then gave us supporting evidence from the Bible. Mark then added endorsements from John the Baptist, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit! Next Mark takes us to witness what Jesus is doing as He begins His ministry. A "This is God and see how He spends His time." Sounds great to me, so let's dive into the Gospel of Mark and spend a day with Jesus!...
How do you react to criticism? The Bible tells us that paying attention to criticism makes us wiser. Proverbs 15:31-32. Lately, I've been receiving unexpected criticism from visitors to my in-person teaching of these lessons. Trust me when I say these criticisms have been very odd and insulting. And most had nothing to do with what I was teaching. Our study this week is about a series of stories which start with criticisms and insults directed at Jesus. It makes me smile in light of my recent experiences. Let's dive into the Bible and see what we can learn about turning criticism into compelling instruction!...
Do you enjoy learning a secret? It makes you special, right? An insider. In our study this week Jesus tells His disciples that they have "been given the secret of the kingdom of God." Mark 4:11. Doesn't it seem strange that the gospel should be a secret? Isn't this an oddity like Jesus telling the leper to be quiet about his healing and the demons to stop revealing that Jesus is God? Let's dive into our study of Mark to discover the secret about why Jesus describes His messages as a secret!...
There are miracles and then there are miracles! Recall our study two weeks ago when Jesus healed the paralyzed guy to prove that He could forgive sin? Miracles like that invite charges that they might be faked. What about miracles that cannot be faked? Miracles showing that the fundamentals of nature are under Jesus' control? That is part of Mark's continuing proof that Jesus is God. Let's jump into our study of the Bible and learn more!...
Those who regularly read these studies know that I frequently cite Deuteronomy 4:2 which instructs us that it is just as wrong to make up rules and claim God requires them as it is to tell people they do not have to follow the rules that God gives. Our study this week is in part a fuller explanation of that point. In Mark 7 Jesus gets into an extended discussion about rules with the Pharisees, but as we have seen before, Jesus' arguments seem illogical until we drill down deeper. Let's start drilling into God's word!...
Mark gives us proof after proof that Jesus is the Messiah. He is God. Now Mark changes his focus. His goal now is to teach us that God came to die. That seems so outrageous that the disciples could not believe it. We have a phrase in English, "He could not wrap his mind around it." That is the situation here: the disciples could not come to terms with Jesus dying. Are we like the disciples? Are there aspects of our Christian understanding that need to be changed in ways we can hardly believe? If so, we need to walk with the disciples as they come to realize the incomprehensible. Let's plunge into our study of the Bible and learn more!...
Have you listened to a Bible teacher and thought, "That makes no sense. That must be wrong!" Part of being open to the Holy Spirit is being willing to accept the teachings of the Bible. The problem is often the "parable" issue that we discussed recently. Jesus often teaches in ways that are difficult to understand unless you take the time to study and learn what He is really saying. This week we look at two teachings of Jesus which caused His disciples to essentially say, "You must be kidding. How can that be true?" Let's dive into these complicated teachings and see what we can learn!...
Do you like a book with twists and turns? Mark's account now takes another turn. Recall he started out with proof that Jesus is God. Then Mark turned to the shocking truth that Jesus would die and be raised to life. All that time Jesus repeatedly told those He healed to keep it a secret. He told His disciples to keep His future a secret. Now, the time for secrets has ended. Jesus determines that the time has come for Him to boldly show who He is. And He is doing it in Jerusalem! Let's jump into the text of Mark and join Jesus in the big revelation!...
If you are reading this, very likely you believe that God exists, Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect life on our behalf, paid our debt for sin through His death, and rose to eternal life so that we can follow Him to heaven. What else is there to believe? What other issues might strain our trust in God? One major issue is the Second Coming of Jesus. Every generation believes that He will come in their lifetime. But that belief is being strained by the fact that all the prior generations were wrong. Let's dive into the Bible and see what Mark has to teach us about trust and the Second Coming of Jesus!...
How do you react to stress? I've almost never been under the stress of a situation in which my life was at stake. My stress has been connected with the courtroom and public speaking. A little stress is good for presentations. An enormous amount of stress can be paralyzing. In our study this week, Jesus' disciples go from a pleasant dinner to the stress of thinking they might be killed. Jesus knows that He will be killed, yet He handles the stress confidently. Let's jump into our study of Mark and learn more!...
If you ever doubt Jesus' love for you, consider our study this week. Jesus suffered for you everything that humans fear: embarrassment, humiliation, pain, suffering, desertion, and death. What happened to Him is horrific. While Jesus' suffering as a human is terrible, Jesus' suffering as God is unfathomable. Let's take a painful look at what our sins caused Jesus....
You are about to study the best news ever! Jesus rose from the grave! Jesus promised His disciples in Mark 14:25 that He would not drink "the fruit of the vine" until He was in "the kingdom of God." The implication was that He would drink it with His disciples when they were back together, but this time in heaven! He promised He would be back, and now we get to study the exciting news that Jesus rose from the grave! Let's jump into our study of Mark!...
We are starting a new series of studies on the Gospel of John! GoBible.org has a study on the Gospel of John that I wrote twenty years ago. Our study this quarter is different. Instead of going chapter by chapter, we are going to study the themes we find in John's gospel. Why would we do that? In John 20:30-31 John explains why he included in his book only some material. His purpose is to encourage the reader to believe that Jesus is "the Son of God," the Messiah, so that by this belief the reader could "have life in His name." In this first lesson we turn our attention to the "signs," the miracles that point us to the conclusion that Jesus is God. Let's plunge into our study!...
