What does the group know about the book of Mark? Who has read it before? Discuss.
Does anyone have a Bible that contains some background or context? If available, read some of the background information about the author and themes of the book.
Have a conversation about reading the book together whether that is on their own during the week or even as the group...maybe reading a chapter a time.
Mark 1:1 says, “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” A translation of gospel is good news. Break up into groups of 2-3 and discuss. How do you describe this good news? As you discuss, consider a specific person in your life. How does that affect the way you tell the story?
Take a few moments and pray for the people who you were thinking of in the previous question. Pray that God would show up in a way that they would see and understand the message. Since you have a relationship with this person, what do you think could be holding them back from receiving the message of good news?
Mark’s audience was the Gentiles in Rome. Matthew’s audience was the Jews in Jerusalem. How can the audience change how the story is written?
Talk about the different audiences, the different groups of people today who need to hear the good news. Ask God to burden your heart for a specific person or a group of people in your life. Would you be willing to move towards these people if God direct you to?