“And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.””‭‭Mark‬ ‭8:34-38‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/mrk.8.34-38.esv
All,
This sticks out because Jesus says “whoever is ashamed of Me and My Words”. Christians are getting marginalized as being judgmental. Some Christians are afraid to say anything about the Bible now for fear of being labeled as intolerant. In order to not get “labeled” some would rather “love and not speak the truth” as opposed to “speak the truth IN LOVE”. Please pray that we and our friends seek to know the Bible and speak the Word of God IN LOVE without being ashamed. Please pray for Newt’s group 

“And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?””‭‭Mark‬ ‭8:17-21‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/mrk.8.17-21.esv
All,
This sticks out because Jesus had to remind them of where He “provided” for the faithful and His disciples twice in a miraculous way. How often do we doubt God’s promises? Do our kids wake up every morning concerned about us “providing” for them, yet they don’t really understand how we do. Please pray that we and our friends trust Jesus in the difficult parts today, seek His will and move forward in Faith. Please pray for Brandon and Doug’s group. 

“Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.”‭‭Mark‬ ‭7:26-30‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/mrk.7.26-30.esv
All,
This sticks out because she is persistent in her faith. Jesus seems to admire her fighting back and putting her faith in Him. Jesus knows what He is going to do, but He wants us to be transformed in our “conversations” with Him. He brings us to a point where we see He is actually the Christ and can do all things. Until then, we may still want Jesus to help our plan as opposed to us helping His plan. Please pray that we seek Jesus’s purpose and spend time wrestling with Him today over our biggest issues. Please pray for Jeremy and Gary’s group. 

“And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God) — then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.””‭‭Mark‬ ‭7:9-13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/mrk.7.9-13.esv
All,
This sticks out because I’m tempted to selectively obey now. I want to follow the Bible and obey Jesus because I truly believe He has a abundant life planned for me and its gets conformed in obedience. However, I naively look past certain sins and strictly obey others. I’m sure people see the hippocracy in me and other Christians and its hurts our witness when we reach out to them. Please pray that we and our friends ask God to “reveal any areas of unconfessed sins” and act in obedience. Please pray for Brandon and Doug’s group. 

“And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching.”‭‭Mark‬ ‭6:4-6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/mrk.6.4-6.esv
All,
This sticks out because Jesus could do “no mighty work there….because of their unbelief”. What part do we play in God’s plan for our lives? Do we just show up? Do we continue to doubt? We feel cautious, responsible and in control when we sit on the sidelines of true belief don’t we? Miracles happen when we put ALL our trust in Jesus and seek to walk with Him all the time. Please pray that we and our friends trust Jesus today in something we haven’t fully trusted Him in before. Please pray for Cedric, Jonnell and Devon’s group.  

“While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.””‭‭Mark‬ ‭5:35-36‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/mrk.5.35-36.esv
All,
This sticks out because Jesus never has a stopping point. He has a purpose and it is usually not what I “think” it is. I personally want Jesus to solve my problems before they become “real” problems, but He always has a purpose and will transform me BECAUSE there was a problem. He can take anything and make it better, but if the “problem” didn’t occur, I wouldn’t have had a chance to know Jesus even more. Please pray that we and our friends view our issues today the way Jesus wants us to and allow Him to transform us as He walks us through the problem. Please pray for Tyson and Donny’s group. 

“And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region.”‭‭Mark‬ ‭5:15-17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/mrk.5.15-17.esv
All,
This sticks out because Jesus cured a man of a problem he had, but the people wanted Jesus to leave. We all want certain parts of ourselves transformed by Jesus, but there may be some things that we don’t want to give up or change. Once it starts to get uncomfortable, we are tempted to tell Jesus we have had enough and for Him to stop. Jesus reminds us that He wants ALL of us. Please pray that we and our friends give ALL of ourselves to Jesus. Please pray for Robert and Jim’s group. 

“And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?””‭‭Mark‬ ‭4:37-41‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/mrk.4.37-41.esv
All,
This sticks out because even though we may see no solution to a problem, Jesus is never concerned about the outcome. These guys were fishermen and we’re still afraid, but Jesus is asleep trusting in God’s will. Please pray that we and our friends trust in God’s will today and do not get focused on problems outside of our control. Please pray for Brandon and Doug’s group. 

“The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.””‭‭Mark‬ ‭4:14-20‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/mrk.4.14-20.esv
All,
This sticks out because the last or fruitful soil “accepts” the seed. It takes Faith to accept Jesus. That faith grows through times of persecution and thorns into the fruit of the Spirit one step of faith at a time. “The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus comes to give us life to the full” John 10:10. The more we trust in Jesus, the more fruit it will bear. Please pray that we and our friends chose to trust Jesus today in a difficult choice. Please pray for Ken Worley and Paul Lamb’s group. 

“And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.””‭‭Mark‬ ‭3:33-35‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/mrk.3.33-35.esv
All,
This sticks out because Jesus says, “whoever does the will of God”. There is a big difference in wanting God to help our “will” and people who want to do God’s “will”. If Jesus spent considerable time with God, wouldn’t we have a greater need to spend time alone with God and reading His Word? I have heard that 95% of Christians have not read the whole Bible. That would mean that other people can manipulate them and tell them what the Bible says and what it doesn’t say. Please pray that we and our friends seek to do God’s will today and let’s start with His word. Please pray for Newt Collinson’s group.