This week's theme

The Gospel of Mark (4) - 2 Approaching the kingdom

Today's reading

Mark 14:66-72

Today's prayer

God of forgiveness, your unconditional love seeks and finds us, loves and saves us when we stray from your embrace or rebel against your goodness. Shatter the barricades of our hearts and save us.

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FfTW 2025

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Futher thought 2

For further thought

Consider the source of your rejection of Gods love and your rebellion against his goodness. What makes you turn against God?

Consider what makes you unwilling or unable to be consistently dedicated to God. What makes you waver? What threatens your ability to stand firm?

Consider the commitments you have made and the extent to which you are faithful to them. Do you honour them in thought, word and deed?

Consider how you make life-determining choices and how you resolve the crucial compromises that confront you. What are your life-defining values and priorities?

Consider what you are willing to abandon to obtain lasting love and enduring security. To what extent are your primary relationships transactional and conditional?

Consider the truth of the news you hear and the stories you pass on.

Are there any views you hold about God that are based more on your tradition than on the fullness of scripture?

How can we advocate for the enslaved who have no voice, and who have become the victims of narratives or structures of inequality?

Conflict is often inevitable in the face of resisting oppression. Think about how we can navigate conflicts with compassion while also seeking to bring about change.

We can no longer afford to do things the way we have always done them. The climate crisis demands leadership that will help bring about radical change in the way we live, work and relate to each other and to the natural world.

Consider the ways in which faith and persistence have given you strength in times of need.

Which leadership attributes do we tend to recognise as being critical today?

What would it look like if you were to respond to God at once when he showed you a new opportunity?

How can I share Gods joy with the people around me today?

Taking our questions seriously often takes time, and that can feel frustrating. But Jesus isnt frustrated by our questions. He loves them.

How am I a foreigner in the country Im living in? In what ways am I a gift in disguise to the people around me?

Who do I know that may be seeking Jesus in ways I might consider ungodly? How can I welcome them, as Mary and Joseph welcomed the Magi?

In the darkest times of your life, how has God shown you his kindness?

What difference does it make to live in light of the heavenly Jerusalem described by the book of Revelation?

What concrete acts of hope is God calling you to where you are? What are you building that will last in Gods good future?

What risks has God called you to take in being faithful to Jesus?

Can you recall what God has done in your life and in the lives of those around you? Let these stories prompt you to give him praise and worship.

Do you know God as your rescuer and redeemer? In which ways do you resist Gods guidance and prefer to carve your own path in life?

Where has God called you to be a blessing right now? How can you be faithful to this call this week?

How are you working with God to recreate the cosmos he entrusted to us?

The greatest impact of climate change is felt by those in the global south, who are least responsible for causing it. This is fundamentally a justice issue (Ban Ki-moon cited in A. G. Reddie, The Monstrous Shadow, Race, Climate and Justice in J. Willi

You must take action. You must do the impossible. Because giving up can never be an option. (Greta Thunberg in her speech at the UN Climate Action Summit)

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), around 250 million children between the ages of five and fourteen are forced to work in sweatshops for up to sixteen hours per day.(ILO Global Report on Child Labour cites alarming extent of its

When was the last time you let someone, or something, interrupt your busy day?

Some scientists believe humans have quickened species extinction by a thousand times. How does this impact the heart of God, who loves diversity and created abundance?

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International Community

The states in which our FfTW notes are used in IBRA Nigeria, include the following states; Lagos, Ogun, Abuja, Kano, Oyum Kaduna, Edo, Ondu Osun and Taraba. The National President Rt Rev Dr Segun Okubadejo

It makes Bible become more relevant to their everyday situation and aiding the development of their spiritual stamina

Nigeria

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This week's writer

Bruce Jenneker is a retired Anglican priest who lives alternately in Cape Town and with his grandsons’ family in Johannesburg. During his thirty-five years of ministry, Bruce’s passion and primary occupation was worship

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IBRA celebrated 140 years in 2022!

The knowledge and appreciation of the Bible carries on the 140-year-old IBRA tradition of encouraging people around the world. 

Read about our rich history and the origins of our founder Charles Waters, bank manager and Sunday School teacher – not a scholar, preacher, or public speaker – who had a gift for organisation and a vision for making the Bible accessible to all.

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