Category: Learn to read the Bible

Mark 6:6-13 – Learn to read the Bible #21

Posted on by Phill Sacre

I’ve just published the next part of the Learn to read the Bible series on Mark’s Gospel. This week we are looking at Mark 6:6-13, where Jesus sends out the Twelve disciples.

For those who are coming to this new, the idea behind this series is not for me to simply explain everything to you, but rather to give you things to think about yourself. This is about training you to read the Bible for yourself, rather than just giving you all the answers!

See this page if you’d like a few pointers for how to use these videos. Don’t forget to pray!

You can read the passage online here (although I’d suggest it’s better in a physical Bible). You may also want to have a pen and paper handy to jot down notes and things you want to look into more.

Key points from Mark 6:6-13

  • Jesus sends out the disciples, he gives them authority over impure spirits and they preach. So the disciples are sent out to do and continue what Jesus was doing. Spend some time thinking about our own lives and how Jesus sends us out into the world on his mission.
  • Jesus tells them not to take anything with them. This says a lot about what they were to trust in – not possessions, or money, but a simple trust in God. This speaks into our world which is obsessed with material things! Think about what we trust in – are we trusting too much in material things?
  • Jesus says to stay with a house that accepted them, but to move on (‘shake the dust off your feet’) from a place which rejected them. It shows a close association of Jesus with his disciples – when people accepted them, they accepted Jesus; when people rejected them, they rejected Jesus. How does this help us think about presenting the gospel? Does it give any encouragement?
  • The disciples preached that people should repent – a message which was core to Jesus. Our lives should look something like his – even if we don’t do the same amazing miracles! Our message is the same. How can our lives proclaim that message, whatever we do for a living?

Take a few moments to re-read the passage, think, and pray.

Looking for more?

You can see the rest of the videos in this series on the this page. If you’d like a more focussed series teaching the Christian faith, check out the teaching programme.

You might also want to see the previous episode in the series on Mark 6:1-6.

Share this:

Mark 6:1-6 – Learn to read the Bible #20

Posted on by Phill Sacre

I’ve just published the next part of the Learn to read the Bible series on Mark’s Gospel. This week we are looking at Mark 6:1-6, where Jesus goes back to his home town.

For those who are coming to this new, the idea behind this series is not for me to simply explain everything to you, but rather to give you things to think about yourself. This is about training you to read the Bible for yourself, rather than just giving you all the answers!

See this page if you’d like a few pointers for how to use these videos. Don’t forget to pray!

You can read the passage online here (although I’d suggest it’s better in a physical Bible). You may also want to have a pen and paper handy to jot down notes and things you want to look into more.

Key Points from Mark 6:1-6

  • In verse 1, we are told that Jesus is back in his home town. This comes up again in the passage, so we should pay attention to it.
  • Jesus goes to teach in the synagogue on the Sabbath, and the people are amazed. But unlike the time we’ve seen this before (Mark 1:22), the people don’t accept Jesus because they know him and his family.
  • It’s still the same today: people find it difficult to relate when someone changes. This is especially true when someone becomes a Christian. Can you think of any examples in your own life, or people you know of?
  • It also says something important about how we relate to Jesus. We need to see him as more than just a human being, and see him as the Son of God.
  • Why do you think Jesus couldn’t do many miracles, because of the people’s lack of faith? Was it because Jesus didn’t have the power? Or is it because the people didn’t believe in Jesus – and so his miracles couldn’t demonstrate who he really was? (Does that say something about Jesus’ miracles?)
  • The question is – do we see Jesus rightly, as the Son of God? Is there something preventing us from seeing who he is? – Maybe pray for ourselves and our friends and family, to come to see who Jesus really is.

Take a few moments to re-read the passage, think, and pray.

Looking for more?

You can see the rest of the videos in this series on the this page. If you’d like a more focussed series teaching the Christian faith, check out the teaching programme.

You might also want to see the previous episode in the series on Mark 5:21-43.

Share this:

Mark 5:21-43 – Learn to read the Bible #19

Posted on by Phill Sacre

I’ve just published the next part of the Learn to read the Bible series on Mark’s Gospel. This week we are looking at Mark 5:21-43, where Jesus heals a sick woman and raises a dead girl.

For those who are coming to this new, the idea behind this series is not for me to simply explain everything to you, but rather to give you things to think about yourself. This is about training you to read the Bible for yourself, rather than just giving you all the answers!

See this page if you’d like a few pointers for how to use these videos. Don’t forget to pray!

You can read the passage online here (although I’d suggest it’s better in a physical Bible). You may also want to have a pen and paper handy to jot down notes and things you want to look into more.

Key points from Mark 5:21-43

  • This passage is unusual because it has two healings. Are the two events related? I think Mark intends for us to see that they are – e.g. the girl is 12 years old, and the woman has been suffering for 12 years.
  • One of the things we need to look out for when we read the Bible is repetition – often things which are repeated are significant.
  • Something repeated in this passage is touching – significant given all the social distancing we’ve been having to do over the last 12 months! Might be worth spending some time thinking about how touch can be used to bring help and healing.
  • The woman who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years would have been “unclean” – you might like to look up some background about what made someone clean or unclean. She would have been isolated from the community and from God.
  • Lots of people were pressing around Jesus – it wasn’t the physical touch which healed the woman, but her faith. Maybe we could think about our own faith – what would we have done in that situation? Would we have had that kind of faith in Jesus?
  • The second thing which comes up again is faith – Jesus says “don’t be afraid, just believe”. It speaks to how confident Jesus was in God and his power!
  • Jesus takes the child’s hands. Touching a dead body is something else that would make you unclean – but cleanness flows from Jesus to the one he touches. Jesus is not made unclean, instead the girl is made clean.
  • Think about our faith and trust in Jesus: do we have the kind of faith that we need to come to Jesus and ask? Can we bring to him the things that we can’t do ourselves?

Explore Further: You might be interested in this post I wrote a few years ago on this passage.

Take a few moments to re-read the passage, think, and pray.

Looking for more?

You can see the rest of the videos in this series on the this page. If you’d like a more focussed series teaching the Christian faith, check out the teaching programme.

You might also want to see the previous episode in the series on Mark 5:1-20.

Share this:

Mark 5:1-20 – Learn to read the Bible #18

Posted on by Phill Sacre

I’ve just published the next part of the Learn to read the Bible series on Mark’s Gospel. This week we are looking at Mark 5:1-20, where Jesus heals a demon-possessed man.

For those who are coming to this new, the idea behind this series is not for me to simply explain everything to you, but rather to give you things to think about yourself. This is about training you to read the Bible for yourself, rather than just giving you all the answers!

See this page if you’d like a few pointers for how to use these videos. Don’t forget to pray!

You can read the passage online here (although I’d suggest it’s better in a physical Bible). You may also want to have a pen and paper handy to jot down notes and things you want to look into more.

Key points from Mark 5:1-20

  • Jesus goes into a region of the Gerasenes. Sometimes it’s helpful to have a bit of geographical background – it might be helpful to look up some information on this area to explain a bit about what happens in the story.
  • The Spirit is called an ‘Impure’ Spirit, which we saw before in Mark 3:20-35. Being pure and impure involved being different to other nations – one of the differences being, not eating meat of pigs.
  • Being demon-possessed wasn’t good for this man – it goes to show what being under the power of evil does for someone.
  • The demons beg Jesus not to send them out of the area. Why do you think the demons ask this? Is it because the people in this area in some sense welcomed them and didn’t want God / Jesus? Think about areas local to you – can you think of anything like this, and pray for them?
  • The demons are sent into the pigs. Was Jesus making the point that the people were wrong and shouldn’t have had the pigs? Is this why the people react so strongly against Jesus? Spend some time thinking about times when you have seen this reaction to you or others who are trying to do what God wants.
  • Jesus tells the man to tell what the Lord had done for him, and people are amazed. Think about how God can use the testimony even of one person for good. Isn’t that an encouragement for us to tell people what God has done for us!

Take a few moments to re-read the passage, think, and pray.

Looking for more?

You can see the rest of the videos in this series on the this page. If you’d like a more focussed series teaching the Christian faith, check out the teaching programme.

You might also want to see the previous episode in the series on Mark 4:35-41.

Share this:

Mark 4:35-41 – Learn to read the Bible #17

Posted on by Phill Sacre

I’ve just published the next part of the Learn to read the Bible series on Mark’s Gospel. This week we are looking at Mark 4:35-41, where Jesus calms the storm.

For those who are coming to this new, the idea behind this series is not for me to simply explain everything to you, but rather to give you things to think about yourself. This is about training you to read the Bible for yourself, rather than just giving you all the answers!

See this page if you’d like a few pointers for how to use these videos. Don’t forget to pray!

You can read the passage online here (although I’d suggest it’s better in a physical Bible). You may also want to have a pen and paper handy to jot down notes and things you want to look into more.

Key points from Mark 4:35-41

  • They get into a boat: remember where we’ve seen boats before – some of the disciples were fishermen. They would have known their way around boats and the lake!
  • A furious squall came up, and the disciples were scared: it says something about how bad the storm is!
  • Think about the kind of storms you face in your own life – what causes you to be scared?
  • Jesus simply speaks and instantly the wind dies down and it becomes completely calm. It’s amazing – it speaks about Jesus’ power and authority.
  • Why does Jesus rebuke the disciples for having no faith? Do you think they should have known better by this point? What does that say about us and our own circumstances?
  • The disciples were terrified. How would you feel if you were in the same situation, and someone had calmed a storm simply by speaking?
  • We’re left with the question “Who is this?” – that’s the question we all need to answer. How we answer that question will affect the rest of our lives.

Take a few moments to re-read the passage, think, and pray.

Looking for more?

You can see the rest of the videos in this series on the this page. If you’d like a more focussed series teaching the Christian faith, check out the teaching programme.

You might also want to see the previous episode in the series on Mark 4:26-34.

Share this:

Mark 4:26-34 – Learn to read the Bible #16

Posted on by Phill Sacre

I’ve just published the next part of the Learn to read the Bible series on Mark’s Gospel. This week we are looking at Mark 4:26-34, two short parables about the Kingdom of God.

For those who are coming to this new, the idea behind this series is not for me to simply explain everything to you, but rather to give you things to think about yourself. This is about training you to read the Bible for yourself, rather than just giving you all the answers!

See this page if you’d like a few pointers for how to use these videos. Don’t forget to pray!

You can read the passage online here (although I’d suggest it’s better in a physical Bible). You may also want to have a pen and paper handy to jot down notes and things you want to look into more.

Key points from Mark 4:26-34

  • This is a continuation of the line of thought Jesus began in the parable of the sower. (You might like to refresh your memory about what the Kingdom of God is!)
  • The parable of the growing seed (v26-29): what is the main point Jesus is making? You might like to think about what it’s like to grow plants from seed. Can you make it grow? What point is Jesus then making about God’s kingdom?
  • The second parable of the mustard seed (v30-32): what is the main point Jesus is making about the mustard seed? The smallest thing can grow into the biggest thing. Christianity has grown from one man to being the world’s largest religion.
  • It’s an encouraging thought – maybe you could just spend a moment reflecting on those parables and taking some encouragement from them!
  • Jesus spoke in parables “as much as they could understand” (v33). Have you found that the Bible has made more sense to you as you’ve grown in understanding?
  • Jesus explained everything to his disciples. Why? Maybe because he wanted them to teach everyone what the parables meant – but when you grasp who Jesus is, the parables really start to make sense on their own.

Take a few moments to re-read the passage, think, and pray.

Looking for more?

You can see the rest of the videos in this series on the this page. If you’d like a more focussed series teaching the Christian faith, check out the teaching programme.

You might also want to see the previous episode in the series on Mark 4:21-25.

Share this:

Mark 4:21-25 – Learn to read the Bible #15

Posted on by Phill Sacre

I’ve just published the 15th part of the Learn to read the Bible series on Mark’s Gospel. This week we are looking at Mark 4:21-25, “a lamp on a stand”.

For those who are coming to this new, the idea behind this series is not for me to simply explain everything to you, but rather to give you things to think about yourself. This is about training you to read the Bible for yourself, rather than just giving you all the answers!

See this page if you’d like a few pointers for how to use these videos. Don’t forget to pray!

You can read the passage online here (although I’d suggest it’s better in a physical Bible). You may also want to have a pen and paper handy to jot down notes and things you want to look into more.

Key points from Mark 4:21-25

  • This is not an easy passage to understand! In times like this, it’s often helpful to put it into context. Think about what Jesus was saying in the previous section. How does this passage relate to it?
  • What does Jesus say is “hidden” in the previous passage? How do you think that relates to having a light and not keeping it under a bowl, and things hidden being disclosed?
  • Think about how we reveal the gospel to others, how it is shown in our lives. Do we keep the gospel hidden or do we show it?
  • “Consider carefully what you hear” – what is “heard” in the parable of the sower? How does that help you to understand what Jesus means here?
  • Do you think Jesus is saying that God will respond to us in the way that we respond to the gospel? If we hear the message gladly and believe, God will receive us with gladness. If we reject the gospel, God will reject us.
  • What implications does that have for you, and for those you know? How can we be praying to help us and others be those who hear and believe the gospel?

Take a few moments to re-read the passage, think, and pray.

Looking for more?

You can see the rest of the videos in this series on the this page. If you’d like a more focussed series teaching the Christian faith, check out the teaching programme.

You might also want to see the previous episode in the series on Mark 4:1-20.

Share this:

Mark 4:1-20 – Learn to read the Bible #14

Posted on by Phill Sacre

I’ve just published the 14th part of the Learn to read the Bible series on Mark’s Gospel. This week we are looking at Mark 4:1-20, the Parable of the Sower.

For those who are coming to this new, the idea behind this series is not for me to simply explain everything to you, but rather to give you things to think about yourself. This is about training you to read the Bible for yourself, rather than just giving you all the answers!

See this page if you’d like a few pointers for how to use these videos. Don’t forget to pray!

You can read the passage online here (although I’d suggest it’s better in a physical Bible). You may also want to have a pen and paper handy to jot down notes and things you want to look into more.

Key points from Mark 4:1-20

  • The passage is basically in three sections: the first part (the parable), then Jesus’ explanation of why he talks in parables, then the explanation of the parable.
  • This is one of the few places in the gospels where Jesus directly explains what a parable means. So we should take this as helping us to understand parables more generally.
  • In the first part, Jesus tells the parable. If you did not have the explanation, how would you have understood it? If you find passages of the Bible that you don’t understand, what do you do?
  • In the second part, Jesus explains why he tells parables. What do you think is the difference between those who have the secret of the Kingdom of God, and those who don’t? Why is it a secret?
  • In the final part, Jesus explains what the parable means. He says the sower sows the “Word” – i.e. the gospel message that Jesus has been proclaiming. You might like to think about all the different reactions to the word. What is your reaction? What would you like it to be? What about other people? You could spend some time praying for yourself and for them.

Looking for more?

You can see the rest of the videos in this series on the this page. If you’d like a more focussed series teaching the Christian faith, check out the teaching programme.

You might also want to see the previous episode in the series on Mark 3:20-35.

Share this:

Mark 3:20-35 – Learn to read the Bible #13

Posted on by Phill Sacre

I’ve just published the 13th part of the Learn to read the Bible series on Mark’s Gospel. This week we are looking at Mark 3:20-35, when Jesus is accused by both his family and the teachers of the law.

For those who are coming to this new, the idea behind this series is not for me to simply explain everything to you, but rather to give you things to think about yourself. This is about training you to read the Bible for yourself, rather than just giving you all the answers!

See this page if you’d like a few pointers for how to use these videos. Don’t forget to pray!

You can read the passage online here (although I’d suggest it’s better in a physical Bible). You may also want to have a pen and paper handy to jot down notes and things you want to look into more.

Key points from Mark 3:20-35

There were three key points to think about from this passage:

  1. Jesus’ family thought that he was out of his mind. This is often the case in families: if someone starts to believe in Jesus, it can cause tension or division within the family. Is that the case in your experience? Are you prepared for following Jesus to cause problems in your relationships?
  2. The teachers of the Law thought that Jesus was possessed by Beelzebul – Satan, the “prince of demons”. They essentially claimed that what Jesus was doing was evil. Sadly, this is increasingly common in our society: Christians are not just seen as weird but immoral. Is that something you have seen? Are you prepared to put following Jesus first, even though people might wrongly think of you as immoral? (Stephen McAlpine has just written a new book called Being the Bad Guys which you might appreciate).
  3. Jesus’ family try to use their influence over him because they are family. But Jesus says that his true family are those who believe in and do the will of God the Father. The spiritual family is just as real and even closer than the biological family. Do we see other Christians like that? Do we see fellow Christians as our true family? How can we love them and demonstrate being a family?

Looking for more?

You can see the rest of the videos in this series on the this page. If you’d like a more focussed series teaching the Christian faith, check out the teaching programme.

You might also want to see the previous episode in the series on Mark 3:13-19.

Share this:

Mark 3:13-19 – Learn to read the Bible #12

Posted on by Phill Sacre

I’ve just published the 12th part of the Learn to read the Bible series on Mark’s Gospel. This week we are looking at Mark 3:13-19, when Jesus calls the twelve disciples.

For those who are coming to this new, the idea behind this series is not for me to simply explain everything to you, but rather to give you things to think about yourself. This is about training you to read the Bible for yourself, rather than just giving you all the answers!

See this page if you’d like a few pointers for how to use these videos. Don’t forget to pray!

You can read the passage online here (although I’d suggest it’s better in a physical Bible). You may also want to have a pen and paper handy to jot down notes and things you want to look into more.

Key points from Mark 3:13-19

  • There were many people who followed Jesus. Here, Jesus calls twelve people to him to be with him so he could teach them and give them a special job to do.
  • What’s the significance of the number twelve? – you might want to look up the tribes of Israel. Do you think Jesus is making a statement about what he has come to fulfil?
  • He called the twelve to preach and cast out demons. Those are things that we’ve seen Jesus do already in Mark’s gospel. Our lives are supposed to look like Jesus’, and Jesus gives us tasks to do. What is God calling you to do? How can we preach the gospel and help other people be free from the sin and evil which affects them?
  • Jesus gave a nickname to James and John – the ‘Sons of Thunder’. Jesus had real, human relationships with people. He knows all about us as well – warts and all. Does it help to think that Jesus knows all about us and loves us (even if we need to change)?
  • Jesus called Judas Iscariot, who (as the text reminds us) “betrayed him”. Think about how God was working even here. God is able to work in our lives even before we know he’s working, or even when it seems like things go wrong. Think about that in relation to what’s going on in your own life right now.

Looking for more?

You can see the rest of the videos in this series on the this page. If you’d like a more focussed series teaching the Christian faith, check out the teaching programme.

You might also want to see the previous episode in the series on Mark 3:7-12.

Share this: