Rick Godby

Reading 15—At the Master’s Feet Read Mark 12:1-44 When my grandmother Alice was advanced in years it became increasingly difficult for her to hear during church. We tried various hearing aids, with mixed results. In frustration, we once asked if she wouldn’t rather stay home on a Sunday morning. “Oh, no; I need to sit […]

Reading 14—Where Do You See Jesus? Read Mark 10:46-11:33 The healing of a blind man, a parade, an object lesson with a fig tree, a spiritual housecleaning, and a confrontation with authority—these are the ways that Mark lets us see Jesus very shortly before His arrest, trial, and crucifixion.

Reading 13—Hardness of Heart and the Kingdom of God Read Mark 10:1-45 In these verses from Mark, Jesus is constantly calling people out for hardness of heart and inability to see the kingdom of heaven present right in front of them. The transfiguration in chapter 9 revealed Jesus to be the embodiment of the law

Reading 12—The Ups and Downs of Following Jesus Read Mark 9:1-49 This chapter offers a witness that even when God makes everything clear to us about his work in saving us (as is revealed to the disciples in these verses), there will still be a lot of misunderstandings and weak faith among his followers. 

Reading 11—The Turning Point Read Mark 8:27-38 Near the middle of Mark’s gospel, Jesus, far from home in Caesarea Philippi, turns to his disciples and asks them two tough questions.  First, “Who do people say that I am?” to which they respond with a list of possibilities: John the Baptist; Elijah; or one of the

Reading 10—Well Fed Read Mark 8:1-26I was supposed to be asleep like the other kids at the day care center. It was nap time and one of the leaders was placing suckers on each cot as a tasty wake-up treat for us. Only I had no sucker on my cot! She must have missed me.

Reading 9—“He has done everything well” Mark 7:1-37 In this chapter of Mark, we see a lot of dissonance between Jesus’ ministry and the traditions or social norms of the society in which He lives. The Jewish traditions required a ceremonial hand washing before a meal, but Jesus allows His disciples to eat with unwashed

Reading 8—No Down Time Read Mark 6:31-53 Does this sound familiar: “Ugh! If I could just get some time for myself!” There are times in our lives when we feel overwhelmed with all our responsibilities. When that overwhelming feeling rears its head, all I want to do is be alone, to get away, and have

Reading 7—Who Is this Jesus?  Read Mark 6:1-30 Well, after Mark tells several stories of Jesus power over things like: nature (the sea and the wind); demonic powers (Gerasene demoniac); loss of life blood (woman with hemorrhage); and death (a child) one would think it would be easy to see that there is something up

Reading 6—United by a Shared Savior Read Mark 5:1-43 The fifth chapter of Mark’s Gospel presents us with three healing miracles that could not be more different from one another. We have, first, the healing of the demon-possessed man in the country of the Gerasenes, a Gentile region on the east side of the Sea