Footnotes and Witness

After finishing the entire book of Mark, I sat down with a friend to discuss. I hope this conversation is helpful! 

Here is the end of the book of Mark. Depending on your translation, there may be a large footnote in your bible about this chapter. It originally had a very abrupt ending. While that may not have been satisfying to us, it posed a challenge to the reader. As the reader, what would you do next? I also asked you to take note of a couple questions as you reflect back on your time in the book of Mark:...

Mark chapter 15- The death of Jesus Christ. It has been quite a journey to get here. You may notice that this episode is formatted a little differently. It ends rather abruptly for instance. It is in an effort to highlight the spiritual practice that I get from a Good Friday Service and indeed most of Holy Week (the week prior to Easter). Easter is amazing, don't get me wrong but we really ne...

Jesus gets arrested and endures the trials of the religious leaders. Peter denies Jesus 3 times in a courtyard to strangers. The perfect humanity in Jesus shows one reaction to fear and the imperfect humanity in Peter shows another. We have this opportunity to hold the mirror to ourselves. What is our reaction in the day to day? My website:  https://www.deborahjmckenzie.com/

Chapter 14 is immense! I am breaking it into 2 episodes. Even as we read through these chapters at such a high view, there is just way too much going on for one week. Make sure you are reading through the chapter before you get to the podcast. If you have the time, I highly suggest listening to the chapter in 3 different versions. I typically use NIV, ESV, and NASB. Pick whatever translations are...

I sit down with Footnotes and Witness regular contributor, April Whalen to talk about these disciples. Jesus tells them 3 different times in 3 different places that the Son of Man will die. Why don't they get it? What is it with the extremely varied responses to Jesus? Links to Son of Man episode: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2045573/13515172-bonus-son-of-man.mp3?download=true My website: https...

Sometimes this chapter is referred to as the "Markan Apocalypse". We need to pay attention to the first 2 verses to help us set the context for how to read this chapter. The image humanity has for "forever" is just not quite in line with the view God and His Son have. The mightiest stones will eventually pass away, but the words of Jesus Christ will not.  My website:  https://w...

Hopefully you are able to spend some time doing all the inductive study methods with his chapter, it is worth it! Here are the section titles laid out: parable of the tenets.          cautionary tale  taxes.                                      pharisees/herodians resurrection                           sadducees greatest commandment .   law Christ, son and Lord?           prophecy and interpretati...

Jesus is going to ride into Jerusalem on a donkey to people shouting praises and waving palm branches. This is the last high point until the resurrection in chapter 16. Let's take note of the differences in responses that Jesus elicits in people.  References of OT prophecy Malachi 3:1-3 Zechariah 9:9  My website: https://www.deborahjmckenzie.com/

Divorce, children, wealth, status, authority, Jesus is get to it all in this one chapter and it isn't what you expect. While some of these things can be difficult, the disciples didn't get it either at the time, it is worth talking about. We can confront these difficulties because God is big enough for it all and merciful throughout.  Hopefully you are in or are seeking a body of believe...

Happy New Year and Happy Holiday Season! The in-between is hard right? What day is it, what time is it, how are we out of food?! Any day is a good day to read a little scripture and spend some time with the Lord.  Chapter 9! Things are starting to move at a quicker pace. Jesus is on His way to His death and resurrection. Instead of having senior-itis, He is getting things done.  Transfiguration: a...

As we dive into the holiday season, prepare for the new year, and take a break from the book of Mark, I want to talk about liturgy. If you have no idea what I mean, please take a listen. If your only experience with liturgy is that it is old and irrelevant words, please take a listen. I adore liturgy and have found it to be a consistent source of hope and renewal. Gallup Poll: https://news.gallup....

We are halfway through the book of Mark! 

Here is a review of Mark chapter 7. Remember to read the entire text first. It is too difficult to do a deep dive in these short episodes so it will help enormously if you have some familiarity with the text.  My website: https://www.deborahjmckenzie.com/

Here we go! Let's continue our look at the book of Mark. Resources: Herod's family tree https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/people-in-the-bible/herod-the-great-herodian-family-tree/ https://www.biblestudyplus.info/uploads/4/5/6/9/45695927/herods_family--simplified--color.pdf My Website https://www.deborahjmckenzie.com/

This chapter has 3 wonderful stories of desperation and need of Jesus. Jesus displays a lot of authority in these stories. Make sure you take note of the responses, there is a lot to contrast and compare. my website: https://www.deborahjmckenzie.com/

We are continuing our study of Mark chapter 4. Today is all about parables! As always, I hope you are reading (or listening to) the chapter in its entirety before diving into the podcast. If you can, look at each parable separately. Write down your observations. Then line them up. What do they have in common, how are they different? What is Jesus telling us about the kingdom of God based on these...

We are going to take a look at chapter 3 and get an overview of what is going on here. I hope you are listening to or reading each chapter in its entirety before listening to the episode. I will give particular verse references but this will make more sense and be more fruitful if you know the chapter ahead of time. Don't forget to email questions or anything else you want addressed in the li...

Chapter 2 has a great theme of looking at the why. Why do we do certain rituals? Why do faith traditions matter? What is the point and why is that the point we decided? Jesus heals a man brought through the ceiling by his friends, forgives his sins and sends him home. Scribes question the authority Jesus claims in forgiving sin and Jesus answers by claiming the title "Son of Man". Matthe...

This week we are finishing our discussion on Mark Chapter 1. With each miracle, we are observing 3 things (CPR): the category, the people present, and the result. Try to remember that Mark is the first gospel written and therefore should be read without the influence of the other gospel accounts if possible.  First story today is in vs 29 Jesus heals Peter's (Simon) Mother In Law category: au...

We are going to start digging into Mark chapter 1. This week we are going to start by building some skills on how to read this gospel well with the intentionality of the author's intent. First is a little background on the book itself. Mark was most likely written around 50-60 AD (CE). This means it was the first gospel account written and distributed. It was most likely written by the compan...

Welcome to season 7 of Footnotes and Witness. We will be going through the entire book of Mark this season chapter by chapter. This week I want to share some information about how to read this gospel well.  Mark is one of 4 gospel accounts of the life, arrest, torture, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Each gospel has a particular focus in its writing. Gospels are narratives but the authors...

Study Methods and Resources Season 6 Finale  Show resources: Biblical literature- season 2  Bible Study Methods Intro- season 2 episode 10 Bible Reading Methods: https://www.biblegateway.com/blog/2023/03/6-bible-study-methods-you-need-to-know-and-try/ SOAP: scripture - observation - application - prayer REAP: read - examine - apply - pray TEXT: talk to God - encounter God - examine your own heart...

We continue by looking at individual words that can have a huge impact on our ideas of who Jesus is and what our faith looks like with "Sober-minded" Here are some observations: Shows up in epistles. (An epistle is a letter, written by someone for someone. It has a particular reason to be written. Our instinct is to directly apply these words to our lives but we need to be cautious in th...

Big Word Series: saved This word is used a lot in Christian culture. Do we really know what it means to be saved though? How does this apply today? What are we actually being saved FROM? Scriptures and Resources First occurrence: genesis 19 Deuteronomy 33:29 saved as a people group 2 Kings 14:27 God saves a remnant  Psalm 18:3 / 80:3 Matthew 19: rich young ruler Luke 7:36-50 woman saved by her fai...