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The Study of Mark Have you ever wondered what Jesus meant when he said “But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of eternal sin.” (Mark 3:29)? Why is that an eternal sin? What if I have blasphemed the Holy Spirit? I thought all my sins could be forgiven if I asked for forgiveness and repented. What about the actions of Jesus' family in Mark 3:21 and Jesus’ Mother and Brothers from Mark 3:31-35? Or why did he say to the Twelve AND the others around him that “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables" …. (Mark 4:11)? These are just some of the things that we discussed during our first study in the New Year on the Gospel of Mark. Pastor Laura has done this study several times and is leading it now in Onida and Pierre. She used materials from Intervarsity. Each week stands on its own. It is careful, intense, focused study. One of the first hand-outs we received says “Too often students of the Bible rely on second-hand, derivative knowledge, acquired from pastors, teachers, parents, books about the Bible, or other secondary sources. While all of these have their place, there is no substitute, in the end, for one’s own first-hand study and experience of the Scriptures, and for the joy of discovery.” (http://people.bethel.edu/-dhoward/resources/Agassizfish/agassizfish.htm) It has been a joy to have a light suddenly come on as we carefully look at different words or verses in the book of Mark. We will continue to meet on Thursday night from 6:30 to 8:00 until we have finished Mark 16:20. We are each provided a handout with the scripture so we can us markers or pencils to highlight words or phrases and make notes without worrying about “messing up” our Bible. Sometimes we are given other handouts too that help clarify or focus our discussion. Class size has ranged from 3 to 8. Everyone is welcome. Come once or come every week. I think you will learn something valuable even if you can only come once. What a great way to start the New Year. I hope to see you there. Feel free to contact Marcia Graves, Candy Sowers or Pastor Laura if you have any questions. |