Click On The Week You Are Studying

January 26 - 31
Esther 6 - Mark 1
Devotional Background
What’s the big idea?
While Matthew’s gospel portrays Jesus as the King, Mark reveals Him as God’s Servant. Jesus’s work was always for a larger purpose, a point clearly summarized in Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Mark filled his gospel with the miracles of Jesus, illustrating again and again both the power and the compassion of the Son of God. In these passages, Mark revealed more than Jesus as the good teacher who offered people spiritual renewal; the book also portrays Jesus as the true God and the true man, reaching into the lives of people and effecting physical and circumstantial change.
But Jesus’s life as the agent of change wasn’t without an ultimate purpose. Amid His hands-on ministry, Jesus constantly pointed to the definitive way in which He would serve humanity: His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. It is only through faith in these works of Jesus Christ that human beings find eternal redemption for their whole selves. Moreover, Jesus becomes our model for how to live our lives—serving others as He did. 
https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-gospels/mark
Weekly Schedule
Day 1 (January 26)
Esther 6:1-14
Key Verses: 9-11
Day 2 (January 27)
Esther 7:1-10
Key Verses:5-6

Day 3 (January 28)
Esther 8:1-17
Key Verses: 7-8
Day 4 (January 29)
Esther 9:1-32
Key Verses: 5-7
Day 5 (January 30)
Esther 10:1-3
Key Verses: 1-3
Day 6 (January 31)
Mark 1:1-45
Key Verses: 1-5
Memory Verse
Mark 1:15
And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
February 2 - 7
Mark 2- 6
Devotional Background
Why is Mark so important?
Mark’s gospel portrays Jesus as constantly on the move. The forward motion in Mark’s writing keeps the knowledgeable reader’s mind continually looking ahead to the cross and the resurrection. Thirty-nine times Mark used the word immediately, giving a sense that Jesus’s time on earth was short and that there was much to accomplish in His few years of ministry.
https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-gospels/mark
Weekly Schedule
Day 1 (February 2)
Mark 2:1-28
Key Verse: 25-28
Day 2 (February 3)
Mark 3:1-35
Key Verses: 30-35
Day 3 (February 4)
Mark 4:1-41
Key Verses: 1-5
Day 4 (February 5)
Mark 5:1-20
Key Verses: 10-12
Day 5 (February 6)
Mark 6:1-29
Key Verses: 25-29
Day 6 (February 7)
Mark 6:30-56
Key Verses: 50-56
Memory Verse
Mark 1:17
And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.
February 9 - 14
Mark 7 - 10
Devotional Background
Who wrote the book?
The Bible records more information about Mark than any of the other gospel writers aside from the apostle John. Luke mentioned Mark’s name several times in Acts. A budding
Jerusalem church met in his mother’s home. Mark also started the first missionary journey with Paul and Barnabas but went home early, though he later traveled with Barnabas to Cyprus for more mission work. He became significant in the life of Paul, being one of the last people the apostle mentioned in his final letter (2 Timothy 4:11).
However, Mark’s most significant personal connection was the one he had with Peter, who was likely Mark’s source for the material in the gospel. Mark’s mother’s house was a regular enough stop for Peter that the servants recognized him by voice alone (Acts 12:12–14). And it appears that Mark was
present at Gethsemane, a young man watching the
proceedings from a safe distance (Mark 14:51–52), leading some scholars to believe the Last Supper took place in Mark’s home.
https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-gospels/mark
Weekly Schedule
Day 1 (February 9)
Mark 7:1-37
Key Verses: 1-5
Day 2 (February 10)
Mark 8:1-38
Key Verses: 6-10
Day 3 (February 11)
Mark 9:1-37
Key Verse: 30-35
Day 4 (February 12)
Mark 9:38-50
Key Verses: 40-45
Day 5 (February 13)
Mark 10:1-31
Key Verses: 15-20
Day 6 (February 14)
Mark 10:32-52
Key Verse: 40-44
Memory Verse
Mark 2:17
When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
February 16 - 21
Mark 11 - 14
Devotional Background
Where are we?
Because Mark offered no further comment on Jesus’s prophecy regarding the destruction of the temple—an event that occurred in AD 70—we can safely assume that Mark composed the gospel sometime before that tragic event. Also, the gospel has a distinctly Roman feel to it, particularly when compared with the Jewish emphasis of the book of Matthew. Mark chose to leave aside most comments on fulfilled prophecy (compare Matthew 21:1–6 and Mark 11:1–4), and when he felt compelled to use an Aramaic term, he interpreted it (Mark 3:17). This suggests that Mark was in Rome, writing from Peter’s recollections sometime before that apostle’s death (ca. AD 64–68), possibly composing the gospel between AD 57 and AD 59.
https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-gospels/mark
Weekly Schedule
Day 1 (February 16)
Mark 11:1-33
Key Verses: 25-26
Day 2 (February 17)
Mark 12:1-44
Key Verses: 17
Day 3 (February 18)
Mark 13:1-37
Key Verses: 30-35
Day 4 (February 19)
Mark 14:1-31
Key Verse: 1-10
Day 5 (February 20)
Mark 14:32-52
Key Verses: 32-35
Day 6 (February 21)
Mark 14:53-72
Key Verses: 55-60
Memory Verse
Mark 6:50
For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.
February 23 - 28
Mark 15 - Job 4
Devotional Background
Why is Job so important?
The Israelites categorized Job within their wisdom literature. The book includes language from ancient legal proceedings, laments, and unique terms not found elsewhere in the Bible. In addition, the majority of Job is written in parallel lines which are indicative of poetry.
The book delves into issues near to the heart of every human who experiences suffering. The prologue provides a fascinating peek into the back story—why God allowed Satan to afflict Job with such pain and turmoil. Then, through a series of dialogues and monologues arranged in a pattern of threes, human
wisdom attempts to explain the unexplainable, until finally God Himself speaks.
The final chapters of Job record God’s masterful defense of His majesty and unique “otherness”—of God’s eternal
transcendence above creation—in contrast with Job’s humble and ignorant mortality. “Where were you when I laid the
foundation of the earth? / Tell Me, if you have
understanding” (Job 38:4).
https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-wisdom-books/job
Weekly Schedule
Day 1 (February 23)
Mark 15:1-47
Key Verses: 30-35
Day 2 (February 24)
Mark 16:1-20
Key Verses: 15-20
Day 3 (February 25)
Job 1:1-22
Key Verses: 1-5
Day 4 (February 26)
Job 2:1-13
Key Verses: 5-10
Day 5 (February 27)
Job 3:1-26
Key Verses: 11-15
Day 6 (February 28)
Job 4:1-21
Key Verses: 8-10
Memory Verse
Mark 10:27
And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.