As Jesus turns up in Mark 1–8, he surprises everybody: ‘We’ve never seen anything like this!’ (2:12). It takes a while for people to understand who Jesus is. The climax is Peter’s confession in 8:29: ‘You are the Messiah.’ But we quickly see that Peter and Jesus have very different ideas about what that word means (see 8:31–33). Our prayer is that this term you will see afresh just how surprising and wonderful Jesus is.
Mark 1–8
Recommended Resources
Commentaries
The Beginning of the Gospel: A Theology of Mark (New Testament Theology series) → Peter Orr
The Gospel according to Mark (Pillar New Testament Commentaries) → James R. Edwards
The Gospel of Mark (New International Commentary on the New Testament) → William L. Lane
Online resources
Gospel of Mark Summary: A Complete Animated Overview → BibleProject
Jesus Rediscovered (Mark Sermon Series) → Dick Lucas
Rediscovering Jesus (Mark Sermons Series), RSS, Spotify, Apple Podcasts→ Simon Manchester
Mark videos.
Watch Tom Habib (lecturer at Moore College) and Gerard chat about Mark 1–8.
Share Life x Growth Groups
Resources to help your group be Mission-Minded
Growth Groups are a great place to encourage each other in mission-mindedness. Instead of feeling stuck or laying on the guilt, you can use the resources below to generate conversation and increase joy & confidence.
Week of Prayer
11–15 August
We’re about to enter our most focused season of mission in our church calendar.
Before we rush in, we ought to humble ourselves in prayer and acknowledge that we can’t save anyone. In Growth Groups from 11–15 August we will have a week of prayer, asking God to open people’s hearts to Jesus.
Download the digital version of the Week of Prayer Growth Group booklet:
Watch this short talk on prayer in Mark’s gospel:
