Hi, friends. I am Annie F. Downs. Let's read the Gospels. We say often that you don't have to be in the Gospels every day to be changed, but every day you're in the Gospels will change you.

And so I'm so glad you're with us today. The Gospels are the first four books of the New Testament in the Bible, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

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

Each month we read all four books. Go ahead, subscribe today, join us as we read the Gospels together. We are finishing up our July round today and tomorrow and we'll start August on Tuesday.

And we'd love to know what questions do you have about the Gospels as you've been listening? And if you have any, just head to the link in the show notes and there's a form where you can drop your questions.

So here's how today is going to work. I'm going to 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 July 29th, day 29 of this month and I'll be reading Mark chapters 11 through 13. And this month I'm reading from the CSB.

Mark 11. When they approached Jerusalem at Beth Page and Bethany near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and told them,

go into the village ahead of you. As soon as you enter it, you will find a cult tied there on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, why are you doing this? Say, the Lord needs it and we'll send it back here right away.

So they went and found a cult outside in the street tied by a door. They untied it and some of those standing there said to them, what are you doing untying the cult?

They answered them just as Jesus had said so they let them go. They brought the cult to Jesus and threw their clothes on it and he sat on it.

Many people spread their clothes on the road and other spread leafy branches cut from the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,

blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, blessed is the coming kingdom of our father, David, Hosanna in the highest heaven.

He went into Jerusalem and into the temple. After looking around at everything since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the 12.

The next day when they went out from Bethany, he was hungry. Seeing in the distance of fig tree with leaves, he went to find out if there was anything on it.

When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, may no one ever eat fruit from you again and his disciples heard it.

They came to Jerusalem and he went into the temple and began to throw out those buying and selling.

He overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves and would not permit anyone to carry goods through the temple.

He was teaching them, is it not written? My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations, but you have made it a din of thieves.

The chief priest and the scribes heard it and started looking for a way to kill him. For they were afraid of him because the whole crowd was astonished by his teaching.

Whenever evening came, they would go out of the city. Early in the morning, as they were passing by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up.

Then Peter remembered and said to him, Rabbi, look, the fig tree that you cursed has withered. Jesus replied to them, have faith in God.

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