Coffee: check; Bible: check. A quick glance of my watch. Was it really worth it getting up an hour early?
Matt Br’s story:
A quick prayer and the door to Starbucks opens. In struts my bro, big grins all round.
After catching up about what’s what and how it’s all going we settle down to open up Mark’s gospel. I’m excited to discover what God is going to say.
There’s crowds cheering, Pharisees shouting, disciples wandering around like headless chickens. Chaos turns to order as we find out what is going on. “What’s this guy doing?”; “Why this detail?”; “Why does Mark portray the leper in this way?”
We come up for air, our ideas clarified. The story is exciting and engaging. But why?! Why did God want us to know this?
What’s fantastic about Matt is that he is so creative with ideas. We bounce them around, chopping, changing, and constantly thinking. AHA! Mark wants us to react with joy to the kings’ arrival.
Coffee: cold. Time’s almost up. One more step to go: the “So what?” “In 30 mins time when we get into work today; why is it so important to have Mark’s reaction to the arrival of King Jesus?”
Time runs over. But we find endless ways to apply what God has said and (honestly) also usually drift off to talk about something else. Our joy for Jesus though has been stirred and we finish with thankfulness and prayer.
Was it really worth getting up an hour early?
Absolutely.
Matt Bl’s story:
I’ve really enjoyed looking at Mark’s Gospel with Matt since October.
I’ve been a Christian all my life, so being able to go to the ‘grassroots’ of the Gospel, look closely, and ultimately see for myself was really refreshing.
I’ve benefitted hugely from doing a One 2 One. I’ve been able to discover more about WHO Jesus really is, WHY he actually came and WHO he came for. All of these have been great reminders to why being a Christian is actually worth it and that my faith is actually real and true to me.
Matt’s hard work in the passages and probing style has really helped me understand all these things. I have loved working together to hear God speak. Plus the banter is always fun.
The promises of the new kingdom are huge. The way we get there is unbelievable. The consequences of not going there and stopping others getting there are deadly.
Meeting One 2 One has actually been so good for my discipleship. To have a brother who is willing to help you work through the Bible and then apply it to your life is actually life changing.
I’ve said ‘actually’ a lot, but that’s because the Gospel actually matters.
If you’d like to find out more about reading with someone One 2 One, or you want help finding a reading partner, speak with Victoria Robinson (at The 4), Jemima Kettle/Matt Bridges (at The 7), Gen Johnston or Andrew Nicholls. Alternatively, email one2one@dundonald.org
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