Knowable Word

Helping ordinary people learn to study the Bible

Copyright © 2012–2017 DiscipleMakers, except guest articles (copyright author). Used by permission.

How to Discuss the Sermon in Your Small Group

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Jon Flobrant (2015), public domain

Sometimes the best solution is the obvious one.

My small group at church was between books. We finished Isaiah and were about to begin Luke, but we needed a topic to fill a gap. Since we meet on Sunday nights and attend the same worship service on Sunday mornings, I realized the answer was staring me in the face. We could discuss the sermon!

A few people in my group had experience with sermon discussions. They knew this wasn’t just a repetition of the preacher’s outline. This was good, hard work. Like strong hands kneading dough, God can use discussions like this to press the application of his word deep into the lives of his people.

Why Discuss the Sermon?

The preacher isn’t the only one with sermon work to do. He studies, prays, and prepares, but the folks in the pews have a job too.

We need to listen carefully and weigh the sermon against Scripture. We’re also called to apply the Bible, and this is where a small group discussion can be helpful.

Consider the benefits of having a conversation about the sermon.

People who anticipate a discussion like this are more likely to pay close attention during the sermon. This greater engagement naturally leads to greater spiritual blessing.

The small group will focus on application, and when several people work hard to apply the sermon together, powerful things can happen. You might see connections or sense conviction you hadn’t noticed on your own. A friend might mention needs in the church or the community that would be an ideal outlet of application.

Think of the benefits to your church if your small group members were diligently discussing the sermon and applying the Word preached! It would mean quite a transformation.

How to Lead a Sermon Discussion

It doesn’t take much to lead a sermon discussion in your small group or Sunday school class. With a little preparation and some good questions, you’ll be ready to go.

  1. Announce it. Let your group know your plans to discuss the sermon. This will encourage them to listen carefully and take notes in preparation.
  2. Apply the sermon yourself. To lead a good discussion, be sure to prepare yourself. Listen to the sermon, think about the connections and implications, and pray for insight and conviction from the Spirit. Bring some personal applications to share in case the group discussion slows down.
  3. Read the Bible passage. If your group meets directly after the worship service, this might not be necessary. But if your group meets hours or days later, reading the Bible passage will start your discussion with the proper focus.
  4. Ask open-ended questions. Begin the discussion by asking for broad takeaways from the passage or sermon. This gives an opportunity for people to share what God is teaching them. Conversations that drift into criticism of the preacher aren’t usually productive, so be prepared to steer the conversation back to the Bible.
  5. Ask application questions. Here is the heart of the discussion. Most of the work of observation and interpretation should be completed by the preacher during the sermon. Your small group provides a great setting to go deep on application. Ask your preacher to write two or three application questions for the congregation to consider; these can be printed in the bulletin along with the sermon outline. Use these questions as starters, but follow the conversation naturally into other areas of application. (You might need to remind your group about the two directions and three spheres of application.)
  6. Ask about obstacles to application. We can dream up all the applications we wish—putting them into practice is the difficult part. Once the group discusses a few concrete applications of the passage, ask what might get in the way of the changes you’re proposing.
  7. Pray! Real change in our lives doesn’t happen because of a sermon, an insight, or a small group discussion. We need the Holy Spirit’s powerful, transforming work to help us glorify God. Before your small group adjourns, be sure to commit your applications to God.

If you use your church’s sermon to propel your small group into the Bible, you’ll have lots of time to wrestle through applications. As you’re confronted with ways you need to change and encourage others to change, it won’t be easy, but it will be worthwhile.

Thanks to Peter for his help in preparing this article.

6 Principles for Understanding the Case Laws of Exodus

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When Yahweh thundered from heaven, without Moses’ mediation, he immortalized the Ten Commandments. So we teach them to our children, we picture them in stained glass, and we bring them to bear on public life. Christian interpreters legitimately differ on the best way to apply the Sabbath commandment (Rom 14:5), but it is widely acknowledged that the Ten Commandments contain the moral will of God in summary form.

Yet we find greater divergence of opinion when we come to the case laws, the “Book of the Covenant” (Ex 24:7), immediately after the Ten Commandments. How are we to understand ancient slavery, the death penalty, goring oxen, five-fold restitution, road kill, wandering donkeys, and the festival in the month of Abib? As I scan the Exodus commentaries on my shelf, Exodus 21-23 is the section most often skipped or summarized in a mere page or two. Even the extensive tabernacle narratives get substantive attention, as interpreters love discussing how Jesus is the light, the bread, the living water, and the embodied presence of God. But the case laws?

Jan Buchholtz (2013), Creative Commons

Granted, Paul fills his letters with strong statements about the law: No one is justified before God by the law (Gal 3:11). Christ redeemed us from the law’s curse (Gal 3:13). You have died to the law through the body of Christ (Rom 7:4). God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do (Rom 8:3). You are not under law, but under grace (Rom 6:14). The power of sin is the law (1 Cor 15:56).

And sometimes Jesus is accused of breaking the law because of his love: touching a leper (Matt 8:3), eating sacred bread (Mark 2:26), breaking the Sabbath (Luke 13:10-17), and overturning fundamental principles of Old Testament justice (Matt 5:38-39).

So how should Christians of the 21st century understand the case laws in Exodus?

Guiding Principles

1. The law cannot save.

The laws given by God in covenant with his people had much glory. Yet the glory was temporary and fading; Moses veiled his face to conceal this fact (Ex 34:33-35, 2 Cor 3:7, 13). The law can give direction (Ps 119:105), but it cannot produce obedience or righteousness (Gal 3:11). Any attempt to turn bad people into good people through the coercion of law will fail. I’d prefer not to begin with what the law can’t do, but we need constant reminders of this fundamental impossibility.

2. Jesus and Paul validated the case laws.

I could point to the big law-statements Jesus makes, such as “not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Matt 5:18), but the impact of those statements is still disputed. So instead, I’ll remind you that Jesus and Paul assume the ongoing validity of the case laws, when they quote them to support their teaching or choices. We tend to skip over the fact, but Jesus affirms—in two Gospels—the death penalty for those who “revile father or mother” (Ex 21:17, Matt 15:4, Mark 7:10). And Paul quotes the case law from Ex 22:28 as normative Christian behavior in Acts 23:5. (Though I think he’s being cheeky and not a little mocking, showing he knows the law better than the high priest who ordered him to be struck. How could Paul not know which member of the council was the high priest?)

3. The case laws apply the Ten Commandments.

As you read the case laws, don’t get lost in their seemingly random nature, as though the case laws are time-bound, culture-bound, generational minutiae. Yes, they apply the principles of God’s moral will to certain people at a certain time in a certain cultural context. All the details will not be the same for all people everywhere. But don’t disregard them on that account. Instead, figure out which of the Ten Commandments is being applied, and figure out how it is being applied. This will give you wisdom to learn how to apply them in our context. For example, without the case laws, how would you know what counts as murder (manslaughter, etc.), and what doesn’t (just warfare, civil sentence, etc.)? How would you know what to do with an apprehended thief? What does it really mean to take God’s name in vain?

4. The case laws are particular applications, not universal principles.

This follows from point #3. Since the case laws are applications of universal principles, they are not themselves universal principles. This means they may have limited application in their canonized form. God has since revealed more about himself, so we may apply the principles of sabbath or tithing or restitution a little differently. But we should still learn from the case laws what it looks like to apply the Ten Commandments at all. Armed with such a template, and with the Spirit of God illuminating the rest of the word of God, we can figure out how to apply those commandments to our situation.

5. The case laws reveal God’s character.

All Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16). God’s word will carry out his purpose of creating worshipers (Is 55:10-12). We know God, in all his glory, through the things he has revealed (Ps 19:1-14). We miss part of what God wants us to know about himself if we skip the case laws or disregard them. In studying them, we’ll behold God’s great mercy and justice in action. Believe it or not, I’ve heard stories of people from non-Western cultures coming to faith in Christ by reading the case laws, as they had never seen such mercy and justice working in perfect harmony except through the cross.

6. The case laws reveal Jesus.

All the Law and the Prophets are about Jesus (Luke 24:27). When considering double restitution of what was stolen, we’re amazed at Jesus who gave everything for those who stole from him. When contemplating the freeing of slaves in their 7th year, we’re humbled by Jesus, who took on the form of a bondservant to become a priest forever. When we’re told not to exact interest from the disadvantaged, we can’t help but see Jesus, who became poor so we, through his poverty, could become rich. When we read about the Feasts of Unleavened Bread, Harvest, and Ingathering, we’re reminded that in Jesus we have a continual feast.

But we’ll either miss these things, or not understand how marvelous they truly are, if we don’t take the time to study the case laws.

Click here to see what I’m doing with this sample Bible study and why I’m doing it.

When Being “Christ-Centered” Goes Too Far

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Writing for Logos Bible software, Mark Ward summarizes an article from a recent theological journal, explaining the unhelpful extreme side of “Christ-centeredness.”

I think the swing [away from Christ-less moralizing] has done great good: American Christianity has indeed suffered under man-centered readings of the Bible which offer all law and no gospel, all duty and no delight, all rules and no relationship. And yet the ease with which I just tossed off those three slogans points to the pendulum problem: any time a movement reaches the slogan-generating stage, people will go trampling over necessary nuances to grab their party’s banners and wave them at their enemies. Pretty soon the pendulum picks up so much speed that it whooshes way past plumb.

Ward then summarizes a theological journal article which analyzes Psalm 15 and shows us how to read it in its original context. There ought to be a category in our thinking for “meaningful if imperfect obedience,” as we see on the part of Noah, Simeon, and others. Being Christ-centered does not mean we speak only of our sins and failures.

Check it out!

Table of Contents for Exodus Series

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In Exodus 5:2, Egypt’s Pharaoh asks a fateful question that the book of Exodus endeavors to answer in three acts: “Who is Yahweh, that I should obey his voice?”

  • Act I: Yahweh Demolishes the House of Slavery (Ex 1-15)
  • Act II: Yahweh Prepares to Rebuild (Ex 16-18)
  • Act III: Yahweh Builds His House in the Midst of His People (Ex 19-40)

I created a table of contents page for my series of sample Bible studies on Exodus. If you missed anything, or if you want to get a bird’s-eye view of the series, including what’s to come, check it out!

You can also find it anytime from the site’s menu bar: Hover over OIA Method, then Examples. Then click on Who is Yahweh: Exodus.

 

Not By Sermons and Books Alone

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Following up on last week’s “check it out,” John Piper was asked if he plans to write a commentary on the Bible. After saying no, he elaborates:

I suppose there is a kind of commentary that would put the emphasis on helping people find the meaning themselves. That’s the kind I would want to write if I wrote a commentary, because there’s a deep conviction behind this; namely, that over the long haul, strong Christians are created not by sermons and by books alone, but by a personal encounter with the word of God, the Bible itself.

Piper goes on to explain what sort of questions he’d like to see commentaries (and the people who read them) ask.

It’s a great, short answer to an excellent question. Check it out!

A Great Launching Question is Worth the Effort

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SpaceX (2016), public domain

If old shampoo commercials have taught me anything, it’s that you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

This advice isn’t just for job applicants. Your first moments with your Bible class or small group are critical as well.

A Great Way to Begin

Some teachers begin a class with a review. Others jump right into the passage.

But most skilled teachers use a softer opening. They create a transition period where people can settle, adjust, and get on the same page. Launching questions are great for this.

What is a Launching Question?

A launching question is asked at the beginning of a class or study. It launches the group toward your goal, gathering as many people on board as possible. (We’ve written about launching questions before, and Peter has provided some great examples.)

Much of the power of small groups (and smaller classes) lies in the interaction between the people. A good launching question encourages participation, showing that conversation is welcome, safe, and valued. The best questions are also linked to the topic or text of the meeting.

Common Mistakes with Launching Questions

I’ve seen and made lots of mistakes at the beginning of a Bible study. Most of these mistakes fall into four categories.

Too Heavy/Personal

Some questions ask for too much too soon. Someone who just sat down might not be ready to summarize Genesis or talk honestly about their sin. Asking a question that demands too much often results in silence, and nobody wants that!

In my small group we aim for honest conversations and personal applications of the Bible, but these discussions often happen toward the end of the study, not the beginning. I ask for more depth (both cognitively and emotionally) as the meeting progresses.

Disconnected

It’s easy to get people talking—sports, weather, or politics should do the trick. But if your interaction isn’t connected to the subsequent material, that launching question can seem like a waste.

Fill in the Blank

Some questions have only one answer. These are fine in an elementary school classroom, but in a small group they promote the illusion of interaction without the reality.

Try to craft a launching question which is open-ended and easy for everyone to answer. Instead of fill-in-the-blank questions, state the truth you’re fishing for and follow up with why or how.

Not Clear

The specific wording of a question is critical, and I’ve found that improvising doesn’t work. I encourage every teacher to write down their questions verbatim and in an easy-to-spot place in their notes.

Without a scripted beginning, my launching questions end up being too long, vague, or confusing. A clear, straightforward question is most important in those opening minutes.

An Example: Idolatry

Suppose you’re teaching on a passage which centers on idolatry. You plan to steer application toward personal and corporate idols in the church.

Let’s discuss some possible launching questions.

  • Can family be an idol? — This is a yes/no question, so by itself it won’t generate any conversation. Instead, start by defining an idol and then ask how a good thing like family could become an idol.
  • Is family a prominent idol for people in our church? — This puts some distance between the responder and the response, which encourages answers. But the flaw in this question is asking people to confess the sins of others. Because this could lead to gossip, I’d avoid this question.
  • What is an idol? — Depending on the maturity of your group, this could be a great place to start. To encourage multiple people to participate, follow up by asking for examples.
  • What is one of your personal idols? — This is too personal for a launching question. Build up to questions that call for revealing answers like this one.
  • What are some common idols in the modern church? — If your group is familiar with the definition of an idol, this is a great launching question. It isn’t personal, it gives people some detachment in their answers, and it encourages talk about general trends instead of specific people.

There are other ways to begin a study like this; drop your suggestions in the comments!

Worth the Effort

I write my launching question at the end of my study preparation. I need to know the end of the story before I take aim at the beginning. (It’s one of the hardest parts for me!)

Remember that every group and class is different, so what works for me might not work for you. If your small group shares a meal before your study, or if your class always follows a focused time of prayer, you can handle the beginning of your meeting differently.

A slam-dunk launching question won’t make up for poor study preparation. But a good question will pave the way toward a productive, fruitful discussion. It’s worth the effort!

Exodus 20:1-21: Ten Words and Two Responses

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God wants his people close, but not too close. Moses has gone up and down the mountain three times to help everyone prepare for their big meeting with God. Now, with Moses at the mountain’s foot with the people (Ex 19:25), God thunders his covenant from heaven.

Observation of Exodus 20:1-21

Most repeated words: you (19 times), your (19x), not (14), God (10), Lord (8), day (7), all (4), neighbor (4), people (4), servant (4).

  • I normally would exclude words like “you” and “your,” as common stop words that carry little interpretive significance on their own. But since they serve as the subjects of most sentences here, I cannot disregard them.
  • This repetition shifts the mood to what “you” must “not” do.

The setting: God speaks all these words (Ex 20:1), from the top of Mt. Sinai, along with thunder, lightning, a trumpet sound, and smoke (Ex 20:18).

The words begin (Ex 20:2) with an opening statement of Yahweh’s identity (“I am Yahweh your God”), history (“who brought you our of the land of Egypt”), and intention (“out of the house of slavery”).

Four of the “words” (Ex 20:5-6, 7, 11, 12) have a reason or motivation attached; six do not.

Eight of the words are negative; two (Ex 20:8, 12) are positive. But even the positive “remember the Sabbath” is actually a negative “you shall not do any work” (Ex 20:10). So only one (Ex 20:12) is a positive “do this” commandment.

The first four words (Ex 20:3-11) speak to the people’s relationship with God. The last six words (Ex 20:12-17) speak to their relationships with one another.

The first (Ex 20:3) and last (Ex 20:17) speak to the heart’s allegiance or desire. 

Following God’s words, the narrative describes two response to God’s words:

  1. The people see, fear, and stand far off (Ex 20:18, 21).
  2. Moses comforts (Ex 20:20) and draws near to where God is (Ex 20:21).

Structure:

  1. Yahweh affirms his identity, history, and intentions.
  2. Yahweh speaks four words about their relationship with him, beginning with their heart’s allegiance.
  3. Yahweh speaks six words about their relationships wth each other, ending with their heart’s desires.
  4. The people stand far off while Moses draws near to God.

    Prayitno (2012), Creative Commons

Interpretation of Exodus 20:1-21

Some possible questions:

  1. Why does the passage follow this structure?
  2. Why does God speak these words to all the people with thunder, rather than with Moses on the mountain top?
  3. Why do God’s words begin and end by focusing on the heart?
  4. So what sort of response should we have to these words?

My answers (numbers correspond to the questions):

  1. We need some historical background to understand what would have been obvious and assumed to the original readers. This passage closely follows the structure of ancient treaties between a conquering king and a vassal king. Introduction of the parties, recounting their history, stipulating conditions, rewarding obedience & penalizing disobedience, documenting the agreement, and securing attestation. Though this text doesn’t use the term “covenant” or “treaty,” an ancient would recognize it as obviously being one. To learn more, see Douglas Stuart’s excellent article on the structure of ancient covenants. The point is that God is making a covenant and, in doing so, binding these people to himself as vassals. They do not earn their position as his people by obeying these words. He gives them these words because they are already his people.
  2. The setting gives these ten words a unique place among God’s instructions. In the next few chapters, there will be many more detailed commands; but all are spoken to Moses alone on the mountain top. These ten words thunder from heaven for all the people. Therefore, these ten words summarize the essence of God’s covenant with these people. The remaining details will expand on these ten words and apply them to specific situations.
  3. Because they focus on the heart’s allegiance and desires, the first and last words would be unenforceable in a human court of law. How would you get enough evidence to convict someone for something that can’t be observed? This fact shows us that God’s Law has always cared about the thoughts and intentions of the heart. There is no room in this covenant for outward, technical conformity from people whose hearts are far from their God.
  4. We see the two responses of Moses and the people. Ought we to see ourselves in them? Some believe we should hang these words in public schools and community centers, yet perhaps we need to feel the fear and awe the first audience felt. As we unpack the requirements and prohibitions, we tremble at God’s demand for perfection, vertical and horizontal, outside and inside. Maybe we are even scared of the words and want the New Testament to tell us they don’t apply any more. Regardless, the goal of these words is not to baffle you, but “to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin” (Ex 20:20). These words test you. They inspire you to fear the one who spoke them. And they minister his grace to you that you may not sin. We ought to love these words, along with (spoiler alert) the Spirit who indwells us and empowers us to obey (2 Cor 3:1-18).

Train of thought:

  • Yahweh enters into covenant with his redeemed people, in order to capture their hearts.
  • This covenant inspires appropriate fear, while also inviting them to draw near to God.

Main point: God makes a treaty with his redeemed people, inspiring them to fear and obey, so they might draw near to him.

Connection to Christ: Jesus speaks no longer from a mountain top but from heaven itself (Heb 12:18-26). He calls us to fear and obey him (Heb 12:28-29), but especially to draw near with full confidence of mercy and grace (Heb 4:14-16).

My Application of Exodus 20:1-21

When faced with impossible standards, I’m more of a run-and-hide person than a shake-my-fist-at-God person. I know well the fear and trembling caused by the Lord’s demands for perfection. At the same time, I struggle with treating my worship and approach to God too flippantly or casually. As though he’s lucky to have me around because I’m so much better than all the other people.

There’s an important tension here I haven’t yet figured out: Draw near with confidence, yet with fear and trembling.

All I know is that I can’t go wrong when I hold fast to Christ. My love for him has grown far too dull.

Click here to see what I’m doing with this sample Bible study and why I’m doing it.

The Limits of John Piper’s Ideas

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John Piper answers a question from a listener about why he’s churned out two recent books focused on the Bible. He tells of a third book on its way, and he gives three reasons for this focus in his remaining years:

[First,] I don’t expect any of John Piper’s ideas to survive me or be useful when I’m gone if they are not faithful extensions of the meaning of God’s word into life. My authority is zero; God’s authority is everything. Whatever I have said that accords with his truth shares in his authority.

[Second,] I desperately don’t want people to substitute my books or my insights for their own inquiry into the Scriptures.

[Third,] generations to come, until Jesus returns, are going to face new crises, new challenges, new issues that I have not faced and others have not faced. Therefore, if people depend on what I’ve written or what others have written, they’re going to be swept away when the challenges come that we never addressed. But I have total confidence in the Bible for meeting those future challenges.

I have not yet read his latest books, but I can heartily recommend his motivations. Check it out!

Exodus 19: Close, But Not Too Close

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Act II of Exodus exposed the people’s great need for God’s law. We now begin Act III, where God rebuilds his house—first by setting up a covenant (treaty) with his people.

Observation of Exodus 19

Most repeated words: people (21 times), Lord (18x), Moses (14), mountain (12), all (8), up (8), come (7), said (7), out (6), Sinai (6).

  • The relationship between the people and the Lord takes center stage.

The setting remains at the mountain through the whole chapter, but Moses keeps going up and down. Almost every time God speaks, it is from the mountain top.

  • Moses goes up, and God speaks to him (Ex 19:3).
    • Moses goes down and speaks to the people (Ex 19:7).
  • Presumably, Moses goes up to relay the people’s words (Ex 19:8), and God speaks again (Ex 19:9).
    • Moses goes back down (Ex 19:14).
  • God comes down to the mountain and calls Moses up (Ex 19:20).
    • Moses goes back down with a final warning (Ex 19:25).

The only exception is in Ex 19:19, where Moses speaks from the foot of the mountain (Ex 19:17), and God answers with thunder.

Notice what God has to say each time Moses ascends the mountain. The mood of the first speech is warm and intimate; the second and third get increasingly severe:

  1. First trip: Tell the people that, if they keep my covenant, they will be my treasured possession.
  2. Second trip: The people will hear me speak to you (Moses) from the cloud, so they may believe you forever. Prepare, and stay away!
  3. Third trip: Warn everyone to stay away, so Yahweh won’t break out against them. 

Erik Gustafson (2008), Creative Commons

The logic of God’s promise is worth noting (Ex 19:4-6):

  • You’ve seen how I delivered you from Egypt.
  • Therefore, obey my voice.
  • And you will be my treasured possession.
    • That is, you will be a kingdom of priests to me, and a holy (i.e. special) nation among all peoples.

Obedience does not earn their deliverance; it follows from it.

Interpretation of Exodus 19

Some possible questions:

  1. Why does Moses go up and down the mountain so many times?
  2. Why does the tone of God’s speeches shift so drastically?
  3. What does it mean to be a kingdom of priests?

My answers (numbers correspond to the questions):

  1. The only thing clear in the text is that the top of the mountain is where God is (Ex 19:16-18). God, who led them in a pillar of cloud and fire (Ex 13:21-22), now resides on this mountain. In other words, heaven has come to earth, but only at this one spot, Mt. Sinai.
  2. The three sets of speeches communicate a tension between two poles: God wants his people to be close, but not too close. If they stay far away, they can’t be his treasured possession. And if they come too close, he must break out against them so that they die. The covenant being established here takes great pains to expose this tension.
  3. The only priest we’ve seen in Exodus so far is Jethro, priest of Midian (Ex 3:1, 18:1). Ex 19:22, 24 mention a group of Israelite priests, distinct from the rest of the people, but they’ve never come up before now. But, judging from how God has used Moses so far, we can guess that a “kingdom of priests” is a group of people who, in service to Yahweh, mediate between God and the nations of the earth. 

Train of thought: Now that I’ve rescued you, I want you to be special mediators between me and the nations. But don’t assume this means you can come too close or take my place!

Main point: The purpose of God’s deliverance is to make something special out of an utterly undeserving people.

Connection to Christ: Even Jesus at times had to hold himself back from breaking out against his utterly undeserving people (Matt 16:23, 17:17, 26:40-41). Yet his incarnation, death, and resurrection brought heaven to earth, and he created a space (the church) where we could draw near to God without fear of judgment.

My Application of Exodus 19

I am not in my church, in leadership, or in ministry (or whatever) because I’ve done great things. Nor because I’m a great person. I’m here only because the Lord decided to do great things and to invite me in.

As I teach others, I must not shy away from the majestic glory of God. The threat of “close, but not too close,” would stand—were it not for Jesus Christ, who invites us to draw near to God’s throne with confidence to find mercy and grace (Heb 4:16).

Click here to see what I’m doing with this sample Bible study and why I’m doing it.

Top-Notch Overview of Mark’s Gospel

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Kevin Halloran recently posted a few resources to give you “Everything You Need to Read the Gospel of Mark With a Friend (Or On Your Own).” These resources include an infographic outlining the book’s structure and main themes, study guides, and a few short videos explaining the book.

The resources Kevin shares are of the highest quality. They don’t waste time on irrelevant trivia or lengthy academic debates that skim off the text. They will give you a profound understanding of the structure, themes, and main point of Mark. This understanding will enable you to study the book or teach it to someone else in a way that connects each episode back to the main idea.

Mark’s is a beautiful, clear, and focused gospel. May these resources equip us to meet Christ there and reveal him to others.

Check it out!