The people present at this past Tuesday's lifegroup expressed an overwhelming desire to spend more time reading their Bible. The obvious answer was to say, just pick it up and read it. However, to many, especially me, this is an overwhelming task. Where do I begin? My day is hectic enough now I have been shamed into reading my Bible, when do I find time?
Stephanie shared with us a Bible reading strategy their Sunday night group has started and seems easy enough that even the busiest of us should be able to participate. The idea is that we pick a book of the bible, break it down, and discuss it amongst each other as we go. The assignments are short and hopefully the pressure to participate in the discussion will keep us accountable and intellectually stimulated enough to keep participating. We, being a young group, added the twist of putting it on a blog. It makes communication and discussion much easier and all of us are on the internet at some point during our day so we should have no excuse not to participate.
Our first assignment is:
Mark 1: 1-8 (NIV)
1The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2It is written in Isaiah the prophet:
"I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way"[b]—
3"a voice of one calling in the desert,
'Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.' "[c]
4And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7And this was his message: "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8I baptize you with[d] water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
Footnotes:
Mark 1:1 Some manuscripts do not have the Son of God.
Mark 1:2 Mal. 3:1
Mark 1:3 Isaiah 40:3
Mark 1:8 Or in
Discuss
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
For me, John the Baptist is one of the most convicting characters in the Gospels. To me, he exemplifies BOLDNESS as a Christian (although he was never called by that title) better than any other in the gospels. He told it like it was. He devoted his entire life to spreading the word about Jesus. He defended the right and rebuked the wrong, even to the point of death because of Herodias, via Herod. If you get a chance, do a little more outside study on JB, I think you won't be disappointed.
ReplyDeleteBG
What stands out to me is the importance that is placed upon showing that God will do what he says he will do. The first thing he does is point back to the old testament and say, see here I told you he was coming but wait there is more to come. From just these few passages I get the impression that John the Baptist had a larger than life personality and was someone that people were just drawn to.
ReplyDeleteJohn the Baptist also sets an example for us (not the locusts and wild honey part), but that we know Jesus is coming back. He made sure to preach and tell others this to prepare them for His coming. I have heard so many people say that with the state of the world now they are feeling an urgency to tell everyone they can. The verse says that the people "went out to him". Wow! Why can't we do this?
ReplyDeleteI'm with Brooks- What an awesome man John the Baptist was! God sent the best person to lay the ground work for Jesus.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that the author put in detail what John wore and what he ate. It's as if the author was saying- "I was there-this really happened!"
A couple of things I found interesting when researching these verses…
ReplyDelete1) It was customary with princes and kings in that time when going on a journey or visiting a new place to send messengers or heralds on before to make ready for the reception. Jesus did this with John the Baptist but differently than the kings and princes of the earth, in a way that emphasized his divine origin as the entire book of Mark does.
2) John the Baptist was six months older than Jesus. They both began their ministries around the age of thirty. At thirty years of age the Levites were required to enter on their mission service in the temple.
3) Camel’s hair was the sackcloth that the poorer classes wore and was worn in affliction and humiliation. Several varieties of locusts are boiled, roasted or fried, sprinkled with salt, and eaten by poorer classes to this day. I think including these details of his dress and food showed that he lived a life of self-denial, completely devoted to his mission to "prepare the way for the Lord."
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete