Monday, August 25, 2025

New Testament Reading Plan: Mark 16

During the 1st century, churches would often meet around a table to share a meal and their faith. This may have been the setting in which the apostle John would have spoken or had one of his letters read aloud.

1 John 1:4
We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy (emphasis added).

John shared this message with early church members, letting them know that unshakeable joy comes from fellowship with Jesus.

1 John 4:7-8
Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love (emphasis added).

John was speaking about agape, or unconditional, love. He wanted his followers to understand the importance of unconditionally loving others, just like Jesus did, which brings us to our bottom line:

Without God, you can’t love. With God, you can’t help but love.

The table is still a place where meaningful connection occurs, and it’s a powerful visual of what it means to be the church.

John 6:35
… “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (emphasis added).

Jesus called himself the bread of life, and the church is where people are fed. If you didn’t attend church last weekend, imagine four chairs around a table.

• Host Chair: The role of this chair is preparation and presentation. It is for the church’s staff, who lovingly serve the bread of life, most importantly to the guest of honor.
• Chair 1: The seat to the right of the host is for the most important guest of honor, someone who is currently unchurched.
• Chair 2: This chair is for the “baby Christian” who is fresh in their faith.
• Chair 3: This seat is for the “spiritual parent,” someone who has moved from “What can I get?” to “What can I give?”

It takes unselfish people to grow a great and loving church. As we move from chair to chair, we find that we not only receive God’s love, but we are also called to share it. And as we do, we discover that real joy is both experienced and expressed when we live out of God’s love for us.

Questions:
Which chair are you sitting in? What would it take for you to move to the next chair?

Next Steps:
Finding real joy takes sharing the love of God that we discover by living from his love. Write down the names of five unchurched people in your life. Pray for ways that you can share God’s love with them.

Prayer:
Dear Father in heaven, thank you for your agape love. Help me share that love with others so that they can experience unshakeable joy. Grant me the wisdom to continue to grow my faith so I may become a spiritual parent. Thank you for the promise of eternal life. I love you, Lord, and it is in your name that I pray, amen.

Series Theme Verse:

Psalm 16:11
You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.

This post was written by Jenn Macke, a Findlay attendee, and a regular contributor to the Daily LivingItOut.