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The Promises Attached to Following Christ
(Mark 8:35-38)
After calling people to follow him, Jesus explained the results that would follow if they did. There are four "fors" in these promises. (3 Minutes/700 Words)
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The Cost of Following Christ
(Mark 8:34)
In our last post, we thought about the attractiveness of following Christ. Jesus is attractive. And he is the Christ. But the disciples needed to know what kind of Messiah he would be because the wrong view would lead to a wrong view of discipleship. (3 Minutes/800 Words)
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The Attractiveness of Following Christ
(Mark 8:34)
I must start today's article by reminding you of our place in the gospel of Mark. Mark had begun his book by revealing Jesus' identity: he is the Christ, the Son of God (Mark 1:1), and in the first eight chapters of his gospel, Mark shows us the beauty of Jesus' life. No one in the book had confessed Jesus to be the Christ, the long-awaited Messiah, the descendent of David, who would vanquish Israel's enemies and bring in an everlasting kingdom. (5 Minutes/1300 Words)
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Who Is This Man?Jesus Is the Christ Who Had To Die for Us
(Mark 8:30–33)
The whole book of Mark has built up to this moment. The first words of the book tell us Jesus is the Christ. But, as we read through Mark, we learn that no one knows. And now, finally, the disciples now. (6 Minutes/1500 Words)
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Who Is This Man?Jesus Is The Christ
(Mark 8:27-29)
As readers of Mark's gospel, we already know. Mark used his first words to introduce us to Jesus. His first words were: *"The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God"* (Mark 1:1). (8 Minutes/2000 Words)
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Be Shaped by Jesus' Power
(Mark 8:16-21)
While Jesus warned the disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod, the disciples worried that they had no bread. They'd only brought one loaf with them, and they assumed Jesus was rebuking them for their oversight. I really try not to pick on the disciples, but... (3 Minutes/800 Words)
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Be Shaped by Jesus’ Style
(Mark 8:11–15)
It seems ironic that the Pharisees wanted Jesus to perform a sign from heaven right after he miraculously fed four thousand people. They didn't want a miracle—they knew Jesus was capable of those—but a sign from heaven, or a sign from God, testifying to Jesus' identity. They didn't realize that his presence was a sign from heaven, for he had stepped out of glory to minister to humankind. (3 Minutes/700 Words)
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Be Shaped by Jesus' Compassion
(Mark 8:1-10)
If this episode sounds familiar, it's because Jesus has already fed a large crowd of five thousand earlier in Mark (6:30-44). And there are many similarities between this miraculous feeding and the first—a deserted setting, Jesus' compassion on the crowd, the dividing of bread and fish, and leftovers of bread. But there are also many differences between the two episodes. (5 Minutes/1300 Words)
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You Are Called to Be His Disciple
(Mark 1:16-20)
Now we come to the location which the first half of Mark's book centers around, the Sea of Galilee. In those days, and sometimes in the Bible, it was also referred to as the Sea of Tiberias, the Lake or Sea of Gennesaret, or the Sea of Chinnereth. (10 Minutes/2900 Words)
Read moreI must start today's teaching by reminding you of our place in the gospel of Mark. Mark had begun his book by revealing Jesus' identity: he is the Christ, the Son of God (Mark 1:1). And in the first eight chapters of his gospel, Mark shows us the beauty of Jesus' life. No one in the book had confessed Jesus to be the Christ, the long-awaited Messiah, the descendant of David, who would vanquish Israel's enemies and bring in an everlasting kingdom.
Read more