Prepare your heart for the Sermon by looking through these suggestions that will assist you in making the most of our time together hearing God's Word.

You will find suggestions for thinking more critically through the passage, meditating more intently on the text, and prayerfully seeking wisdom to deepen your understanding of the passage to be preached this Sunday.

Carefully Think

• What did Jesus do upon hearing of John being taken into custody?
• According to verse 15, what is the appropriate response to the fact that kingdom of God is at hand?
• Where was Jesus walking in v. 16? Who did he see?
• What was the men’s response to Jesus’ call? What word does Mark use to describe their response?
• Who did Jesus see in v. 19? What was their profession?
• Who did James and John leave behind to follow Jesus?

Prayerfully Meditate

• What is Jesus referencing when he says “the time is fulfilled?” (see Gal 4:4 / Eph 1:10)
• How do people (including us at times) change and soften Jesus’ message of repentance and belief?
• What is involved in Jesus’s command to follow him? What is he calling them to?
• Why do you suppose Mark highlights the fact that Simon and Andrew “immediately” left their nets?
• Why do you think Mark tells us that they left Zebedee and the servants in the boat? Why is that important?
• Read Luke 14:26. What do Mark 1 and Luke 14 tell us about the cost of following Jesus?