Daily Bible Reading

God’s Guiding Word: Discipleship Introduction Mark 9:30–50: When the disciples argue as to who among them is the greatest, Jesus teaches that one must be “the servant of all.” He uses the example of a child to counter the disciples’ quest for power. The hand, foot, and eye represent agents of temptation, and Jesus issues […]

God’s Guiding Word: Discipleship Introduction Mark 9:2–29: Jesus takes three disciples with him up to a high mountain where he is briefly changed and revealed as a divine figure, an event called the transfiguration. The disciples see him talking with Moses the lawgiver and Elijah the prophet. When they descend from the mountain and rejoin […]

God’s Guiding Word: Discipleship Introduction Mark 8:27—9:1: Jesus questions his disciples about his identity, and Peter declares him to be the Messiah. In speaking to the disciples about his identity and mission, Jesus speaks for the first time about his forthcoming suffering and death and teaches them about discipleship and what being his follower entails.   […]

God’s Guiding Word: Discipleship Introduction Mark 8:1–26: Similar to the feeding of five thousand people recorded in Mark 6:30–44, today’s reading provides an account of Jesus feeding four thousand people. The Pharisees seek to test Jesus, and Jesus appears exasperated at the seeming inability of the disciples to comprehend the metaphor of yeast when referring […]

God’s Guiding Word: Discipleship Introduction Mark 5:21–43: Jesus returns to the other side of the lake and is back in Jewish territory where he is met by a large crowd. An official from the local synagogue begs Jesus to heal his daughter. Within the crowd, a woman seeks to be healed and approaches Jesus and […]

God’s Guiding Word: Discipleship Introduction Mark 5:1–20: After preaching to a large crowd of people, Jesus and the disciples cross Lake Galilee by boat and arrive in Gentile territory where they encounter a man possessed by evil spirits. Scripture Reading 5 Jesus and his disciples arrived on the other side of Lake Galilee, in the territory […]

God’s Guiding Word: Discipleship Introduction Mark 3:20–35: Members of Jesus’s family become concerned about him, and certain religious leaders claim that Jesus is possessed by a demon. When Jesus’s family asks to see him, he defines family in a way that extends beyond blood relations. Scripture Reading 20 Then Jesus went home. Again such a large […]

God’s Guiding Word: Discipleship Introduction Mark 3:1–19: Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath, and his action angers the Pharisees who begin to make plans to kill Jesus. Large crowds follow Jesus, many coming to be healed. Jesus chooses twelve of his followers to be with him and he names them apostles. Scripture Reading 3 Then […]

God’s Guiding Word: Discipleship Introduction Mark 2:18–28: Jesus is questioned about fasting, and the Pharisees question Jesus about Sabbath observances. Jesus references the story of David and his men eating the holy bread that, according to Leviticus 24:9, only the priests were allowed to eat (see 1 Samuel 21:1–6). Scripture Reading 18 On one occasion the […]

God’s Guiding Word: Discipleship Introduction Mark 2:1–17: Jesus heals a paralyzed man, and teachers of the Law accuse him of blasphemy. Jesus calls a tax collector to be one of his followers.  Scripture Reading 2 A few days later Jesus went back to Capernaum, and the news spread that he was at home. 2 So many people came […]