“The beginning of the good news* of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” -Mark 1:1
That verse is where we will begin the year 2012, and I’m excited to take a different approach to the scripture on Sunday morning. We will be reading the gospel of Mark from January 1st through Easter, not quite in its entirety, but in consecutive order, following the story from the beginning. I really think that there is a need to become more familiar with the Bible story itself, not just a source of ‘lessons’, but as a narrative of God’s interactions with God’s people in history. We as God’s people today need to know that story and our place in it.
You’ll notice that Mark begins at ‘the beginning’ but never really writes an end. I believe this is deliberate, indicating that we are still part of the ongoing story of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
In coming months we’ll take a look together at some of the Old Testament stories as well, so that Abraham and Sarah, Jacob and Esau, Moses and Miriam, become more than names from back in Sunday School, but we take time to learn their stories over again. Each month there will be a list of Bible readings in the Steeple Echoes so that you can be following along at home and know what is coming next. Here are the topics for January:
Jan 1 John the Baptist and beginning of Jesus’ ministry Mark 1:1-20
Jan 8 People who meet Jesus (paralytic, tax collectors etc) Mark 2:1-22
Jan 15 Parables about sowing and growing seeds Mark 4:1-34
Jan 22 Gerasene demoniac Mark 5:1-20
Jan 29 Jesus healing Jairus’ daughter and a woman Mark 5:21-43
God’s Peace,
Pastor John Twiton
