Category: Lessons

Fulfilling Old Testament Prophecies

• Lesson 8 for the week of November 16 to November 23

Relevant Verses: John 5:17, 20, 36–40, 46, 47; 8:12–30 Theme: The Father’s Testimony Leading Question: Have you ever waited for something important to happen and it felt like a life time? Healing on Sabbath (John...

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Blessed Are Those Who Believe

• Lesson 7 for the week of November 9 to November 16

Relevant Verses: John 8:54–58; 12:1–8; 19:4–22; 20:19– 31 Theme: Signs Faith versus Blessed Faith Leading Question: What do you need to believe? The tension between signs faith and belief without having seen is a curious...

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More Testimonies About Jesus

• Lesson 6 for the week of November 2 to November 9

Relevant Verses: John 1:32–36; 3:25–36; 5:36–38; 6:51–71; 7:37–53 Theme: The Scandal of Jesus Leading Question: Have you ever felt offended by something Jesus asked you to do? The miracle of the loaves and fish is...

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The Testimony of the Samaritans

• Lesson 5 for the week of October 26 to November 2

Relevant Verses: John 4 Theme: The Witness of the Samaritan Woman Leading Question: Does a personal relationship with Jesus always feel good and comfortable? There could be no character more opposite to Nicodemus than the...

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Witnesses of Christ as the Messiah

• Lesson 4 for the week of October 19 to October 26

Relevant Verses: John 1; 3 Theme: Witnesses of the Messiah Leading Question: How comfortable are you with being a permanent bystander or witness for someone else? There came a man sent from God, whose name...

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The Backstory: The Prologue

• Lesson 3 for the week of October 12 to October 19

Relevant Verses: John 1:1-18 Theme: The Power of the Word Leading Question: What image does “the Word was God” convey for you? The prologue is the most profound statement about Jesus’ identity in the New...

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Signs of Divinity

• Lesson 2 for the week of October 5 to October 12

Relevant Verses: John 6:1–15, 26–36; 11 Theme: Signs of Divinity Leading Question: What persuades you about Jesus as a divine being? Nowhere in the New Testament is Jesus presented as more thoroughly human and more...

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Signs that Point the Way

• Lesson 1 for the week of September 28 to October 5

Relevant Verses: John 2:1–11; 4:46–54; 5:1– 5:1–47 Theme: Follow the Signs Leading Question: When was the last time you felt a subtle nudge to do something? There are signs everywhere, from the traffic signs that...

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The Risen Lord

• Lesson 13 for the week of September 21 to September 28

Opening Question If Jesus rose from the dead as the Gospel of Mark says, what impact does that have on us today? Introduction The good news of the resurrection is recounted briefly in Mark, but...

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Tried and Crucified

• Lesson 12 for the week of September 14 to September 21

Opening Question Is the cross an appropriate symbol for Christianity? Introduction Passion literature requires suffering, but not necessarily death. Jesus both suffers, and then dies in the Gospel account of Mark. The scenes are difficult...

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Taken and Tried

• Lesson 11 for the week of September 7 to September 14

Opening Question Why do we sometimes distrust the court system to act justly? Introduction Chapter 14 of Mark begins with Jewish leaders plotting to take Jesus out, and ends with Him in handcuffs and facing...

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The Last Days

• Lesson 10 for the week of August 31 to September 7

Opening Question If you could know your whole future, would you do so? Introduction The future always captures our imagination. We worry about our own future and legacy, about our world and its sustainability, about...

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Jerusalem Controversies

• Lesson 9 for the week of August 24 to August 31

Opening Question Would you rather live with no controversies or with them? Introduction Dr. Shepherd notes how this section adds controversies at the close of Jesus’ ministry that parallel the beginning of his ministry. The...

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Teaching Disciples: Part 2

• Lesson 8 for the week of August 17 to August 24

Opening Question If you could request any gift from God, what might it be? Introduction As this lesson completes chapter 10, we also complete the three major chapters on discipleship in Mark. We learn more...

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