Week 1: Introduction
What is the best news you have ever heard? Take a moment to share it (or one of them) with whoever is going through this with you.
We are going to spend six weeks talking about good news. According to God’s perfect wisdom, He chose to sum up the primary message of the Bible as “Good news!” That's what the word "Gospel" means. Let's talk about the word, "Gospel."
The word “Gospel” gets used a lot, and it can be confusing. The reason is that the Bible uses it several ways. It’s the…
- The written genre of the four Gospel accounts.
- The “good news” message of all the Bible.
- The “good news” that God is accomplishing in Christ.
- The primary message the church is called to believe, live, and preach.
God gave us four different Gospel accounts to show how all the Bible’s good news is being fulfilled in the person of Jesus. Each Gospel account is a narrative witness of the life, teachings, and ministry of Jesus with a distinct emphasis.
All the Old Testament books (the Hebrew Bible) give the preceding history and future hope that is recorded in the four Gospel accounts. The four Gospels give the fulfillment and call of that hope. All the other New Testament letters give commentary on and instruction from the four Gospel accounts.
Mark’s Gospel—which many believe to be the earliest—was likely written within 25 years of Jesus’s ministry. It makes a concise claim in the first verse and then backs it up by spending the remainder of the account recording what Jesus said and did and showing how people respond to Him.
Our church heard 55 sermons in Mark's Gospel. You can listen to them in our app as you read through Mark, but we recommend you start by listening to the last of those sermons over six weeks. If you continue with this series, that is what you will do. Much of what you will hear in the sermon clips is also included in what you are reading now and throughout this series.
The idea is that you go through this (ideally) with someone else by meeting together for six weeks. You will find discussion questions added along the way to help engage conversation and thought. We recommend you do the following with each lesson as you go through this series:
GOING THROUGH EACH LESSON:
1. Read and discuss the lesson with someone.
2. Complete the recommended reading of Mark's Gospel during the following week.
3. Try to answer the presented questions at the bottom of each lesson as you read.
4. Listen to the sermon clip at least once--preferably more.
5. Meet up again in a week to discuss your thoughts and questions from what you read and heard and to go through the next lesson.
Over the six weeks in Mark's Gospel, we will go through highlights of the entire book of 16 chapters, following the way John Mark and the Spirit of God arranged the various accounts of Jesus’s ministry to confront each one who hears it with this question: “What good is the Gospel doing you?” Or, “How are you responding to Jesus, His message, and His work?”
*Tip: Consider using the notes feature to keep your answers and discussion questions together with each lesson in the app. Also, you will find links to other sermons to help you dive deeper on topics that come up.
Q: Any questions so far?
Now that we have covered what we will be doing, let's consider what we will be learning. We believe that there is nothing more important than what we will discuss here. It is a matter of eternal life or eternal death. Living in joyful fellowship with God...or not. It is important to know that the Gospel is good no matter how you respond to it, but your response is an evidence of whether its good news will end in your judgment or your salvation.
All creation, all of history, all the true church, all the Bible, and even truths God put in your conscience bear witness that the message of Mark’s Gospel is the most important message for you to hear and obey. I hope and pray that you will.
Q: Did that get your attention? Be honest, does it sound a bit dramatic to you at this time?
Let’s sum up the Gospel in a sentence.
MARK'S GOSPEL IN A SENTENCE:
God eternally redeems and righteously rules a people who repent from sin and believe on the crucified and risen Lord of all—Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
We have also written the summary in a much longer sentence that we have structured into an outline given below. Much of this series follows this outline. Here it is.
THE GOSPEL MESSAGE OUTLINED:
God’s Gospel is the good news and Kingly announcement revealed in all the Bible that...
1) God Rules: The one true God created us to enjoy and reflect His glory in all His creation.
2) Humanity Rebels: We have rebelliously sought our own glory, earning shame and God’s just judgment for our sin.
3) Christ Redeems: As planned and promised, God sent His eternal Son in Christ Jesus to perfectly live, sacrificially die, victoriously rise, sovereignly reign, justly judge, and faithfully save sinners from God’s good wrath.
4) Repent & Believe the Gospel: God is reconciling back to Himself a beloved people born of His Spirit who, at the hearing of this good news, repent from sin and lovingly follow the Lord Jesus by faith now and for all eternity in the new creation to the glory of God.
Q: What surprises you in the sentence and outline summaries of the Bible's message of good news? What do you need to think about more? Anything you presently disagree with? Anything that sounds particularly good?
Now that you know the summary of what we will be doing and learning, let's read and discuss a few key scriptures and look over our reading and questions for the week.
SCRIPTURES TO READ AND DISCUSS:
Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Genesis 1:26–28
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Revelation 4:11
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure [will] they are and were created.
Genesis 2:15–17
And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Romans 5:12
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death...
Revelation 21:8
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
*Tip: This scripture is written by a Jewish follower of Jesus who believed Jesus's life, death, resurrection, and teaching revealed Him to have fulfilled Genesis 3:15, Exodus 12, Leviticus 16, Isaiah 52:13-53:12, Psalm 22, and many other scriptures.
Isaiah 53:3–12
3 He is despised and rejected of men; A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: And we hid as it were our faces from him; He was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, And carried our sorrows: Yet we did esteem him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon him; And with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned every one to his own way; And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, Yet he opened not his mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, So he openeth not his mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: And who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living: For the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9 And he made his grave with the wicked, And with the rich in his death; Because he had done no violence, Neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; For he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, And he shall divide the spoil with the strong; Because he hath poured out his soul unto death: And he was numbered with the transgressors; And he bare the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.
Mark 1:14–15
...Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
John 3:16–21
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Romans 10:8–14
...The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
Romans 6:1–11
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Acts 2:41–47
Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers... And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
Q: Has your interest been peaked? Which of those scriptures stood out to you the most and why?
READING DURING THE WEEK
Watch and read more about the Gospel. Go to extra resources about the Gospel on our website by clicking the provided button links titled: Web Page: What Is The Gospel?
As a bonus, you might want to listen to the sermon on our website and app: Glory In Your Risen Savior.