Mark Bible Reading Challenge

Challenge yourself to achieve 1000 points by completing your choice of the following activities. Each activity has a certain number of points depending on how challenging it is. Some activites may be particularly suited for children and families, while others may be more suited for adults and teens. One of the best parts of a challenge is doing it together. Find another family to do it with, or involve your Sunday School or CYC.

Read - 400 Points

Read through all of Mark for 400 points! Below you can find a printable tracker for each chapter so you can check them off as you go!

Bible Journal - 500 Points

Use a notebook or a Bible Reading Journal to take notes while you read. You can order a prepared reading journal on Amazon (link below) or use just a regular notebook. A page of suggested questions to ask is also available below. Share your thoughts or favourite verses with your friends and family or on Social Media.

Bible Art - 500 Points

Choose a verse that exhorts or encourages you during your Bible readings and illustrate it. Share your creations here: Facebook Bible Journaling Group

Bible Marking - 100 Points

As you read through Mark, use coloured pencils to mark all the occurrences of: “immediately”. Mark uses this word a lot perhaps because he is writing about Jesus as having come as a servant – ready to do the will of God without hesitation. These words are from the King James Version and may not be the same in other translations.

Language - 150 Points

Do a word study on the word “baptize” (Mark 1). You can find a worksheet below that explains how to do a word study. Share what you learn with your friends and family or on Social Media.

Literature - 200 Points

Read through any of the following books and share a quote or two with family and friends or on Social Media. Links to Booksellers below.

Mark – the Gospel of the Son of God by L.G. Sargent
Nazareth Revisited by Robert Roberts
A Life of Jesus by Melva Purkis
Peter, Fisher of Men by Alfred Norris
Looking Unto Jesus by Jonathan Cope

Media - 300 Points

Search for this talk on Christadelphian Bible Talks and Exhortations:

Christ in the Gospel of Mark by Brian Luke

Write a short review to share what you learn.

Memory Verse - 250 Points

Learn at least one of these selections by heart:

Mark 6:34
Mark 11:10

You can print out the bookmarks below to help you memorize them. (You can also colour them, or use them as a template to journal into your Bible margin.)

Dig Deeper - 150 Points

Learn about fishing in the Sea of Galilee: They Left Their Nets Behind Watch this video about the discovery of a fishing boat from Jesus’ time: (link to YouTube video) Ancient Boat with Biblical Connection.

Our World - 100 Points

Make a list that contrasts Jesus with a world leader today.

Hymn Study - 100 Points

Hymn 211 – “O love, how deep, how broad, how high”

Sing this hymn. You can find a link below for the music. Write out the hymn (worksheet below), and see if you can find Bible passages that relate to this particular hymn.

Outline - 500 Points

Using the worksheet below, illustrate each chapter in the book of Mark.

Journey - 150 Points

Read the letter from Crazy Auntie Lindsay below about a journey to the city of Jericho.

Art Project - 150 Points

Using the worksheet below illustrate the sets of three in Mark.

The Heart - 300 Points

T H I N K ON T H I S :

Two parts were played out at Bethany. At the meal table where Jesus was having dinner the first person played their part. “A woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.” (Mark 14:3) This perfume was worth a years wages.

On the part of this woman it was a very wonderful and self sacrificing thing she did. It was the best she had and she gave it all to her Lord. It wasn’t even as if she opened the jar of perfume and poured it out, keeping some back for herself. She broke the jar and the perfume was poured on Jesus’ head. The jar was now useless to use again.

The second part was played by others who were present. They said, “‘Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a years wages and the money given to the poor.’ And they rebuked her harshly.” (v.4-5) These people were not the ones who had given the gift. They had not given gifts to the Lord of Life and yet they felt it appropriate to criticise the giver of this beautiful gift.

Which part do we play? Are we doers or complainers? Would we have been the one giving or the one complaining? Let’s be sure that the sharpness of our tongues does not catch out the laziness of our hands. Let’s be the movers and shakers – not those who sit down and criticise.

(Robert Prins – Thinky Things)