Hi, friends. I am 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, and the miracles.

Each month, we get to read all four books. Make sure you're subscribed, rate, and review the show, and all of that helps us to get in front of more people to invite more friends to join us.

Listen, it's day 28. That means by the end of the weekend, we are done with July, and we start, remember the 31st, you have the day off, so Monday you have the day off, and then we will start Tuesday, August 1st, and you know what that means.

It is the perfect time to share. Let's read the Gospels on your socials to tell people what it is meant to you. Tell them today. Tell them this weekend, and invite your friends to jump in with us on August 1st.

On July 31st and on August 1st, Monday and Tuesday, we will have tons of resources for you to share things that you can share on your socials, but you know, writing up something today to help people what it has meant to you as you jump into this last weekend of July.

In August, we'll be reading the Gospels in the message, which y'all loved earlier this year, so we're doing it again, just in a different order.

Make sure you grab the reading plan or the guidebook over at anafdowns.com slash Gospels, so you're ready to get started. It'd be a great little project for your weekend to print out your guidebook, get it in a notebook, and get it ready to go on Tuesday.

So here's how it works. As we finish up July over the weekend, I'm going to read three chapters to you today. You can listen or read along in your own Bible, and then I'll pray, and that's it.

So today is July 28th, day 28, and I'll be reading Mark chapters eight through 10. And this month, I am reading from the CSB.

Mark eight. And those days, there was, again, a large crowd, and they had nothing to eat. He called the disciples and said to them, I have compassion on the crowd, because they've already stayed with me three days and have nothing to eat.

If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a long distance. His disciples answered him, where can anyone get enough bread here in this desolate place to feed these people?

How many loaves do you have? He asked them seven, they said. He commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground, taking the seven loaves, he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people, so they served them to the crowd.

They also had a few small fish, and after he had blessed them, he said these were to be served as well. They ate and were satisfied. Then they collected seven large baskets of leftover pieces, about 4,000 were there. He dismissed them, and he immediately got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalman, the Pharisees came and began to argue with them, demanding of him a sign from heaven to test him,

sighing deeply in a spirit, he said, why does this generation demand a sign? Truly, I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation. Then he left them, got back into the boat and went to the other side.

The disciples had forgotten to take bread and had only one loaf with them in the boat. Then he gave them strict orders, watch out, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.

They were discussing among themselves that they did not have any bread. Aware of this, he said to them, why are you discussing the fact you have no bread? Don't you understand or comprehend? Do you have hardened hearts? Do you have eyes and not see? Do you have ears and not hear?

Do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of leftovers did you collect?

Twelve, they told him. When I broke the seven loaves for four thousand, how many baskets full of pieces did you collect? Seven, they said.

And he said to them, don't you understand yet? They came to Bethesda, they brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him.

He took the blind man by the hand and brought him out of the village, spitting on his eyes and laying his hands on him.

He asked him, do you see anything? He looked up and said, I see people. They look like trees walking.

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