Well this morning, for the first time in the history of my ministry at this church, we open to the book of Mark, a new era in our church life, and a somewhat monumental experience for me since 40 years ago when I came, it was my objective to teach through the entire New Testament verse by verse. I have done that in these 40 years and arrived finally at the last book, the book of Mark. And with the completion of this book, the whole of the New Testament will have been taught here in our church and what an immense incalculable privilege it has been for me.I think you are going to enjoy, I think you're going to love, you're going to cherish your experience in the gospel of Mark. Let's open to the first verse and read that verse with the understanding that this is the title of the book, the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.Jesus wrote no autobiography. It might be a somewhat of a curiosity to note that Jesus never wrote any book. All the books of the Old Testament were written by men, inspired, to be sure, by the Holy Spirit. All the books of the New Testament were written by men, also inspired by the Holy Spirit. Jesus Himself as a man wrote no book, not even His own history. There is no autobiography. But the Spirit of God selected four men to write histories of the life of Jesus, His work, His death, and His resurrection. They are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John...
