Repent and Believe the Gospel


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***A handout for small group leaders.

SCRIPTURE READING & REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Welcome and opening prayer. Message The week we continue our message from the series on Mark. Remember the gospel of Mark is Peter’s account of the life of Jesus. Mark was written in Rome in the mid 50’s A.D. Mark’s purpose is to present and defend Jesus’ universal call to discipleship. For Mark this is about a relationship with the true and living savior Jesus Christ. This week we hear a perfect sermon preached by Christ it is one sentence long. Mark 1: 14-15 “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God and saying, “The time is fulfilled, “and the kingdom of

God is at hand: repent and believe in the gospel.” ESV Translation. Jesus’ message was three-fold, there is a strong statement, followed by urgency and closing with application. The Time is Fulfilled The Kingdom of God is at Hand Repent and Believe in the Gospel Leaders: Summarize the message from Sunday for your small group. This is a sermon preached by Jesus in miniature. It is perfect in that it has all the necessary requirements of a great sermon simply profound. Preached by Jesus after the arrest of John the Baptist. The Time is fulfilled The time is fulfilled Hebrews says in these last days He (God the Father) has spoken to us by his son. The time is fulfilled means Christ is the culmination of all of Scripture. All the Old Testament points to Jesus as the fulfillment of prophecy, he is the real that has come the type is the shadow seen dimly in the Old Testament. last week we talked about the temptation and what it means. Adam failed his test and Jesus fulfills his mission he is the one that has come to save us from our sins. He is God with us he is Emanuel. Mark 1: 14-15 1. God has revealed his son to us in the New Testament, but The Old Testament is helpful for us to look at because it provides context. What are some types that you can think of from the Old Testament that point to Jesus? Galatians 4: 4 says when the fullness of time has come God sent forth his son. What is different about God’s timing? Why did he send his son when he did? (God sent Christ at the perfect time it was before the final destruction of the temple Rome had roads and a common language they had relative peace throughout the region) What God divided at Babel was restored in the common greek language that was the language of the entire known world.)

The Kingdom of God is Near. 2. What does Jesus mean when he says the Kingdom of God is near?”

Remember the Jews were looking for a political leader to kick out the Roman rulers of Jerusalem they wanted another king like David to sit on the throne and rule. The Jews did not believe they needed a savior they were Jews after all they were God’s chosen people who had been part of the promise given to Abraham Isaac and Jacob what did they need with a messiah who would forgive them. 3. Many other religions in the world differ with Christianity by saying that you can earn your salvation how is the like what the Jews in Jesus’ day thought? 4. Remember this is not about eschatology (that is a big word taken from two separate words eschaton meaning “end of the world” and ology meaning study of) this is the real presence of God on earth Christ has come how do we misread Christs intentions in our own lives? 5. Many of us focus on issues that are not important how do we know the difference between what is important for eternity and things that are just passing us by? 6. Are there any things in your life that you should give up to focus on the eternal things of God? 7. Politics today not two parties but two tribes. Does this resonate with anyone today? 8. How does the concept of two kingdoms sound to you? One light and one dark is this an unusual concept? 9. Life isn’t fair. Anyone agree with that? And what about the conclusion of this statement Life isn’t fair because we don’t get what we deserve?

Repent and Believe the Gospel. 10. The gospel is simple we hear it all the time the kids in the children’s church know this Jesus died for sinners what makes this such good news? 11. One of our biggest sins is the sin of presumption we think God could not possibly forgive me after all the bad things I have done but this is a lie this fails to understand the greatness of Gods love and the poverty of our own good works think about someone you know and commit to pray for them. Does anyone have someone in mind. 12. The same question as last week Are we struggling with our sin now that we have been saved or are we striving toward righteousness? This is about killing sin in your life what does this look like? 13. Can we commit to pray more for each other can we commit to love like Jesus loves in what ways can we grow in holiness after recognizing what Christ has done in our lives? 14. How can we put what we have learned into practice?

Close in prayer after asking for prayer requests. Encourage other members to pray as they feel led.