Monday, June 02, 2008

newsletter leftovers...

the students who came to city/script this year had so many good things to say that i couldn't fit all their comments into one newsletter so i thought i would put some of the extra thoughts here for people to read. i hope you enjoy them.

This year was my third time studying Mark I. You'd think I would've known everything there was to know about it, but I definitely did not. What really stuck out to me was how the new and old interact. This was evident during our time in the city as well as in the text. I really enjoyed how Jesus changed things, but often out of the faith of others involved in the change. It was also important for me to see how Jesus began to include the Gentile community, those outside of the law, in the blessings that were being offered. ~ Danny

During this week God held up a mirror so that I could see my real self. It scared me, but God spoke in the most merciful way possible to me. I was give courage to not only change how I think, but also to face whatever He will ask me to do and trust that He will give me the strength to go through it as well.
The most important thing I got out of this week is that it's ok to be scared, but when you are don't choose to run away and allow fear to win, but instead turn to God and ask for His strength to overcome it. ~ Dorothea

The first thing that stuck out to me reading the first half of Mark was how Jesus always responded to people's needs. He was dedicated to his purpose of preaching and teaching, but when people desired healing from him he never turned them away--his response was always one of compassion, and he always gave those who sought him out even more than they came for. In the same way, with the feeding of the 5000 and the 4000, Jesus modeled to his disciples and tried to get them to understand that compassion and meeting people's needs is an integral part of their ministry (and ours). ~ Bethany

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