- Dream together about externally focused service you might try for the Thanksgiving and Christmas season: follow up on your Love Chico involvement, invite international students to your holiday celebrations, participate with Jesus Center or Torres Shelter, Christmas gifts to foster home children…….
- Ask someone who enjoys reading aloud to read these verses.
- What impacted us from Lou’s sermon on these stories?
Discussion Questions:
- Make some basic observations: who, what, where, repeated words and themes, contrasts, definitions….
- Review the context of these stories: do you see any connections back to what we’ve discussed so far in Mark?
- What is especially interesting about Jesus’ appointment of 12 apostles? What is Jesus’ criterion for appointing these 12? What is their job description? Why the new names for some? Why the editorial note that Judas betrayed Jesus?
- What is it that Jesus’ family heard that prompted them to come seize Jesus? What do you think about Jesus’ redefinition of family in his kingdom: not genetically-based, but obedience-based?
- What does Jesus claim he has done to the ‘strong man’? How is this further evidence of Jesus’ authority claims? (Note: don’t get too distracted by the unforgivable sin, which is most likely a summary statement of what happens when people so reject Jesus and his kingdom that they mistake the kingdom of God for the kingdom of the enemy.)
Application reflections
- Which of the elements of Jesus’ appointment of the 12 do you most understand: his desire for you to be with him? His commission to go and preach? His delegation of authority to confront personified evil? His giving a new name? The communal connection?
- How is it good news to us that Jesus’ family includes all who respond positively to God’s will? How does this challenge our understanding of family?
- How is it good news that Jesus has bound the ‘strong man’, and can ‘enter that (mans) house and plunder his goods’?
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