Restoration on Display

Questions for Reflection

Read Mark 6:1-13

• What contradictions or tensions do you see in verses 1-6? How do you reconcile those differences and hold them together?
• What story precedes this encounter in Nazareth? How does this context inform our understanding of 6:1-13?
• What is the implication of the people’s questions in verses 2b-3? Why did they take offense at Jesus?
• What is the connection in the book of Mark between faith and healing/miracles? Take a moment to read Mark 2:1-5, 5:24b-34, and 10:46-52. What patterns do you see?
• What were Jesus’ instructions to the disciples in verses 7-10? Why does He give them these specific instructions as He sends them out to serve God’s Kingdom? How might we incorporate some of those practices into our lives today?
• In verse 11, Jesus told the disciples to move on from the towns that would not welcome or listen to them. In part, this was due to the urgency of their message—the Kingdom of God was at hand, and there was no time to lose. What situations today need our urgent attention as God’s agents in the Kingdom? (This question was informed by N.T. Wright’s Mark: 20 Studies for Individuals and Groups.) What role is He inviting us to play?
• Pastor Chuck made it clear in his sermon this weekend that we are called to go: “Go to the hungry, and to the thirsty, and to the stranger, and to the homeless, and to the sick, and to those in prison… What we learn here as disciples must be exercised in the world, out there, beyond the walls... If [our discipleship] is confined to this campus or our homes or our small groups, we have failed to hear Jesus’ call to go into the world and put restoration on display… Jesus is here now, and He is sending you and I.” How have you been called to reveal God’s Kingdom—by what you say and do— outside of LAC’s walls?