Saturday -Mark 4:21-25

Mark 4:21-25The Message (MSG)

21-22 Jesus went on: “Does anyone bring a lamp home and put it under a washtub or beneath the bed? Don’t you put it up on a table or on the mantel? We’re not keeping secrets, we’re telling them; we’re not hiding things, we’re bringing them out into the open.

23 “Are you listening to this? Really listening?

24-25 “Listen carefully to what I am saying—and be wary of the shrewd advice that tells you how to get ahead in the world on your own. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity. Stinginess impoverishes.”

Observation:

1) Verse 21 starts "Jesus went on..." what is Jesus going on from?

2) How many times did Jesus use the word listen in today's passage?

3) How many times did he use the word listen in yesterday's passage?

4) What objects is Jesus using as a metaphor or symbol?

5) What other questions do you have after reading this passage?

Interpretation:

1) What could Jesus mean when he is talking about a lamp?

2) Does that connect with yesterday's story of the farmer planting and the different soil? If so, how? If not, why not?

3) Why is Jesus repeatedly saying "listen" and what does he mean by the command "listen"?

4) How could "stinginess" or keeping something make a person poor or impoverished?

Application:

1) What actions is Jesus commanding in this passage?

2) How do we "hide the lamp" or keep secrets?

3) What needs to be brought into the open?

4) How can you be generous this week?