StoneBridge Community Church
Pastor Neal Nybo
Have you ever been told about a movie, a restaurant, or something else and then, having experienced it yourself, become a raving fan? A young man named Mark heard a message being taught by followers of Jesus. Mark came to believe their second-hand message so significantly that it guided the course of his life. Eventually, he wrote down what he heard. What he wrote, we know know as the Gospel of Mark. This week we begin to study his second-hand message which empowers our own first-generation faith.
1. The Gospel of Mark is an announcement made by someone who never met Jesus.
Mark 1:9-15 NIV
GROWTH GROUP / PERSONAL REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1. Before this sermon, what did you know about Mark?
2. What have you understood or assumed about the Gospel of Mark and the other three gospels?
3. Talk about the statement: it may contain biographies, non-fiction, fiction, history.
2. Mark recorded the stories of someone who did know Jesus in a compelling way so others would believe.
GROWTH GROUP / PERSONAL REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1. Have you ever wondered how the gospels came to be? Does thinking about it make you uncomfortable? Why?
2. What do you think about the Gospel of Mark potentially being the gospel of Peter?
3. Have you ever considered the motives of the gospel writers? If so, what were your thoughts? What do you think of the idea that Mark wrote his gospel in order to lead others to believe the message of Jesus?
3. Mark's gospel is a 2nd hand message of 1st generation faith.
GROWTH GROUP / PERSONAL REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1. What does “second had message” mean?
2. What does “first-generation faith” mean?
3. How compelling is the message to you?
4. How compelling is your communication of the message to others?
5. How could you improve your own sharing of the Jesus story?
Next step:
Answer these two questions. What does having a first-generation faith in Jesus mean to you? How do your actions, words, and attitudes convey a compelling second-hand message of Jesus?
