WEEK 17
Sunday, March 21st
Mark 2
“.. many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, not even about the door; and he [Jesus] was preaching the word to them. And they came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him [Jesus] because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and let down the pallet on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Child, your sins are forgiven.”” (Mk 2:2-6)
- What did you hear?
- Do you know what a paralytic is?
- How about a pallet?
- I wonder what the crowd thought as the paralytic was lowered through the roof?
- I wonder what they wanted to happen to their friend (the paralytic)?
Monday, March 22nd
Mark 3
“And he went up on the mountain, and called to him those whom he desired; and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, to be with him, and to be sent out to preach.”
- What did you hear?
- What do you think those 12 men were called? Apostles
- I wonder how they felt about being chosen by Jesus.
Tuesday, March 23rd
Mark 4
“..A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it had not much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had not depth of soil; and when the sun rose it was scorched, ad since it had no root it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” (Mk 4:3-9)
- What did you hear?
- How many different soils did the seeds fall on? (path, rocky ground, thorns, rich soil)
- I wonder who the sower could be? (God)
- I wonder what Jesus meant the soil to represent? (us)
- Do we have a choice about which soil we want to be?
And Jesus said, “With what can we c0mpare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and put forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in it’s shade.” (Mk 4:30-32)
- What did you hear?
- Did you know that the mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds?
- I wonder where the power comes from to grow so big that the birds can make nests in it?
Wednesday, March 24th
Mark 5
“And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him; and he was beside the sea. Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Ja’irus by name; and seeing him, he fell at his feet, and begged him, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.” And he went with him.” “…When they came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, he saw a tumult, and people weeping and wailing loudly. And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a tumult and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Tal’itha cu’mi”; which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” And immediately the girl got up and walked; for she was twelve years old. And immediately they were overcome with amazement.” (Mk 6:21-24, 38-42)
- What did you hear?
- What did the ruler of the synagogue ask Jesus to do?
- Do you know what a tumult is? A commotion or a lot of excitement among the people.
- What did Jesus do?
- I wonder why they were overcome with amazement?
Thursday, March 25th
Mark 6
And he [Jesus] said to them, “How many loaves have you? Go and see.” And when they found out, they said “Five and two fish.” Then he commanded them all to sit down by companies upon the green grass. So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.” (Mk 6:38-44)
- What did you hear?
- How many loaves (of bread) did they have?
- How many fish?
- How many men did they say were there?
- I wonder how Jesus could feed that many men with so little?
Friday, March 26th
Mark 7
“they brought to him a man who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand upon him. And taking him aside from the multitude privately, he [Jesus] put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, she sighed, and said to him, “Eph’phatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. ….And they were astonished beyond measure,” (Mk 7:32-35,37a)
- We’ve been hearing a lot about the miracles of Jesus, feeding and healing people.
- I wonder why he does these things? They had faith in Jesus.
- I wonder how he feels about these people? He loves them.
- Do you think He feels that way about us? Yes, He does!
Sat, Mar 27th
Mk 8: 34
“And he called to him the multitude with his disciples, and said to them, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”” (Mk 8:34)
- I wonder what it means to deny oneself?
- I wonder what our cross is?
- How can we take up our cross and follow Jesus?