Would you rather be wanted or needed? Why?
Share a time when you felt needed but not wanted.
How does it encourage you today to remember that God doesn’t need you, but He does want a
relationship with you?
Read Mark 3:7-12
What did you learn about the pressures that Jesus faced and the busyness of his life?
How does this remind you that Jesus knows what you feel on your crazy days?
Mark refers to the “crowd” 40x in his gospel and it is never in a positive light. Why do you think
that is?
They are passive, obstruct access to Jesus, never are shown to repent/believe, and are not a measure of the success of Jesus’ ministry.* We see the crowds are falling upon Jesus, we see the demons falling before Jesus.
What do we learn about these two groups of people in their response to Jesus?
What warning do they give to us today in regard to how we respond to Jesus?
Read Mark 3:13-19
What is something you have learned about how Jesus called his disciples in this passage?
Mark points back to Moses and God creating the nation of Israel (Exodus 19:5–6)
Why is the number 12 significant?
How does it encourage you to be reminded that God continues writing the same story instead of starting over?
Talk about the significance the call of Jesus: Who Jesus called: “those whom he desired” Why Jesus called them: “so that they might be with him” What Jesus called them to do: “he might send them out” We, like the original twelve, are invited to be a disciple of Jesus.
What would it look like for you to embrace the truth that you are one that he desires, that
Jesus desires for you to be with him, and Jesus desires to send you out?
Then, and now, Jesus is always calling His disciples to intimacy before ministry. How can you move toward deeper intimacy with Jesus this week?
In Acts 4:13, we see the defining characteristic of the disciples was that “they had been with Jesus.” Pray that this would be true of us today.
