Hi, friends. I'm Annie F. Downs. Let's read the Gospels. The Gospels are the first four books of the New Testament in the Bible, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

These are the stories of Jesus Christ's life on earth, the friendships, the parables, the sacrifices, the meals, the miracles.

We'll read three chapters a day and finish in 30 days usually, so each month we're going to read all four books, but February is a little different as we're going to finish in 28 days.

So a few days this month we'll read an extra chapter. So go ahead and subscribe today if you haven't yet. Join us as we read the Gospels together. I hope you'll be with us all month and honestly all year.

But something that we say around here a lot is you don't have to read or hear the Gospels every day to be changed, but every day that you read or hear the Gospels will change you. So I'm really glad you're here with us today.

This month we're reading from the English standard version and we are working our way through the book of Mark and then we'll do Luke and John. We already finished Matthew. If you want to go back and listen to that or catch it, we read it in March.

If you would like the February reading plan printed out for you or you want to grab the let's read the Gospels guidebook just head to any fdowns.com slash Gospels.

Okay, let me share with you how this is going to go today. I'll read three chapters to you. You can listen or read along in your own Bible and then I'll pray and that's it.

So today is February 12th day 12 and I'll be reading Mark chapters 7 through 9 and the translation I'm reading from this month is the ESV.

Mark 7. Now when the Pharisees gathered to him with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled. That is unwashed for the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly holding to the tradition of the elders.

And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash and there are many other traditions that they observe such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.

And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders but eat with defiled hands?

And he said to them, well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites as it is written, this people honors me with their lips but their heart is far from me and vain do they worship me teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.

You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men. And he said to them, you have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition.

For Moses said, honor your father and your mother and whoever reviles father or mother must surely die. But you say if a man tells his father or his mother whatever you would have gained for me is Corbin that is given to God, then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother.

Thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down and many such things you do.

And he called the people to him again and said to them, hear me all of you and understand there is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.

And when he had entered the house and left the people his disciples asked him about the parable and he said to them, then are you also without understanding.

Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him since it enters not his heart but his stomach and is expelled thus he declared all foods clean.

And he said what comes out of a person is what defiles him for from within out of the heart of man come evil thoughts sexual immorality theft murder adultery,

coveting wickedness deceit sensuality envy slander pride foolishness all these evil things come from within and they defile a person.

And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon and he entered a house and did not want anyone to know yet he could not be hidden but immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet.

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