How to Read the Bible Like a Human Being | Leader’s Guide Three: Mark 2:14 - 3:15

Stop studying scripture with half a brain! How to Read the Bible Like a Human Being is about engaging scripture with the emotional brain instead of the usual rational approach, trying to grasp what Jesus experienced instead of what he taught. This story-based approach culminates with each person writing their own narrative of the passage, through the eyes of one of the characters. And it includes a bonus: instructions for hosting an authentic, first-century meal in a triclinium (‘three couch room’), as Levi would have done after he joined Jesus’ team. There’s no better way to visualize Jesus’ world than to reenact it!

Volume Three covers Mark 2:14 - 3:15, and includes leader materials for twelve weeks of in-depth study on four passages:

• The Call of Levi: He had extorted from the disciples’ families for years. Then things get even more awkward when he invites the rabbi’s team to a party with his riff-raff friends.

• Harvesting Grain on the Sabbath: You’d have to be really famished to make a meal of raw wheat berries. So how often did Jesus’ disciples go hungry?

• The Man with the Withered Hand: Jesus healed this man on the Sabbath without breaking any of the Pharisee’s regulations. But why was he so careful?

• Crowds Follow and Twelve Are Chosen: After a chaotic and exhausting day, Jesus decides doing this alone isn’t working. So, he chooses twelve teammates to help shoulder the load.

These small-group studies are exclusively discussion-based, using the questions of a master coach who has taught asking skills to thousands for 25 years. Along with the companion Workbook, each of the four study outlines in this Leader’s Guide include:

• Discussion Questions: Over 200 incisive questions mean you’ll always have something to ask to keep the conversation going.

• Setting Videos: Shot on location in Israel, these short videos help you see where the story happened in your mind.

• Background Information: Learn about fascinating cultural details from Jesus’ day that influence how you read the story.

• Free Texting App: Participants get one short text each weekday with a cool fact about the passage. It keeps peoples’ heads in the game during the week without having to assign homework.

• Sample Narratives: Multiple-page re-tellings of the passage from one character’s viewpoint, with extensive footnotes explaining the story.

• Companion Web Site: Access to orientation videos, research link pages, narrative writing resources, and much more.