Life Groups Study – Week of 9/20

The Unshakable Kingdom Part 3: What Kind Of King Is He?

This is God’s Word

Have a person or several in your group read Mark 1:1-20 aloud from their Bible.

My Highlight

Looking back at your notes from this week’s teaching, answer one of the following questions. Were there any thoughts about Jesus as the King of God’s Kingdom that were new to you? What caught your attention, encouraged, challenged or confused you?

My Story

Jesus the King came with proclaiming “good news” that He trusts us every day people to share with others. How comfortable are you if a conversation among friends shifts to religion and faith? Do you feel at ease? A bit anxious? Explain.

Let’s Go Deeper

Mark opens his account with a reference to an Old Testament passage. Read Isaiah 40:3 and compare it to Mark 1:1–4

Isaiah 40:3 A voice of one crying out:

 Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness;

make a straight highway for our God in the desert.

Mark 1:1-4 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God., 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;

he will prepare your way.

3 A voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

Prepare the way for the Lord;

make his paths straight!

4 John came baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

QUESTIONS:  What is Mark claiming about the identity of Jesus? How might you have felt had you lived in that time and realized: John is saying Jesus is the one we’ve all been waiting for!?

Mark 1:14–15 says that …Jesus went to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God: 15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

QUESTION: Having announced that the kingdom is at hand, Jesus calls his hearers to repentance and belief. Repentance is different than simply saying, “I’m sorry” — it means to completely turn away from something. So what does Jesus mean by repentance here?

QUESTION: Note that Jesus says to repent and believe instead of just believe. Why should this bring about more change in a person’s life than simply repenting, or simply believing?

QUESTION: The gospel news is the core of the Christian faith, and yet Christianity often ends up cast as a set of behaviors, opinions, and positions. How have you viewed what it means to be a Christian up to this point?