Hi, friends. I am Annie F. Downs. Let's read the Gospels. The Gospels are the first four books of the New Testament and 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, and the miracles.

We will read three chapters a day and finish in 30 days. We are getting so close.

So each month we're going to read all four books. Go ahead and subscribe if you haven't.

Read and review the show if you get a chance and invite your friends. Let them join us on this journey, especially as we are finishing up January and getting ready to start on February.

We continue today through the book of Mark. I will read three chapters to you and you can listen or read along in your own Bible, and then I'll pray. And that's it.

So today is January 26th, day 26, and I will be reading Mark chapters three through five. And the translation I'm reading from this month is NIV84.

Mark chapter three. Another time he went into the synagogue and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus.

So they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with a shriveled hand, stand up in front of everyone.

Then Jesus asked them, which is lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill, but they remain silent.

He looked around at them and anger and deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, stretch out your hand. He stretched it out and his hand was completely restored.

Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus. Crowds followed Jesus.

Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake and a large crowd from Galilee followed. When they heard all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem,

Adumia and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. Because of the crowd, he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him to keep the people from crowding him.

For he had healed many so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, you are the son of God.

But he gave them strict orders not to tell who he was. Jesus went up on a mountain side and called to him those he wanted and they came to him.

He appointed 12 designated them apostles that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.

These are the 12 he appointed Simon to whom he gave the name Peter. James son of Zebedee and his brother John to them he gave the name Boanergies, which means sons of thunder. Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphius, Thaddeus, Simon the zealot and Judas Ischariot who betrayed him.

Jesus and Beelzebub. Then Jesus entered a house and again a crowd gathered so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.

When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him for they said he is out of his mind.

And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said he is possessed by Beelzebub by the prince of demons he is driving out demons.

So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables. How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

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