Coffee, Tea and Jesus.

Last week a sister from our house church family had a great idea. She decided to invite a few friends over to her house for an evening of coffee, tea and the Gospel. Specifically, the purpose was to gather together in order to read through the entire Gospel of Mark all at once.

Wendy and I were among the few who attended, along with two other people and our friend’s roommate.

After everyone had their tea or their coffee and a small handful of homemade pumpkin bread or dried fruit, we sat down in the living room and began to read, after a short opening prayer.

Each of us had a slightly different translation to read from, and that was just fine. Some of us had NIV, or ESV, or NKJV, and our friend even read from a Children’s Bible.

As we began to read, we all began to notice things we had never noticed before. But since our goal was to read through the Gospel of Mark all at once we held our thoughts until the end.

Some of us ended up reading sections of scripture that seemed quite appropriate to our individual walk. Others found themselves choking up as they read the words of Jesus. Some even noticed humorous conversations and comments within the passages that made them smile or laugh quietly during the reading.

After the reading, which took about an hour and a half, we took turns sharing how the Lord had spoken to us during the evening. Certain events took on new meaning as we began to understand the context in which they were took place. Teachings that Jesus gave suddenly meant something slightly different than we had originally thought once we could see the bigger picture.

Some details were minor. For example, I had never noticed before that the woman with the issue of blood had struggled for 12 years, which was the same age as the daughter of Jarius who Jesus was on his way to heal when she touched him. Somehow the juxtaposition of a woman who had been imprisoned in her body through suffering and a young girl whose life had lasted equally as long before expiring seemed strangely significant.

Still others noticed how dull the disciples seemed to be; always misunderstanding Jesus, arguing about who was the greatest, rebuking someone who was healing in Jesus’ name, forbidding the children to come to Jesus, fearing for their lives in the storm, and yet their constant foolishness and weakness only served to glorify Jesus all the more.

This was such a wonderful experience that our friend is determined to do it again. Maybe with another Gospel (Matthew or John) taken in chunks (like part one this week and part two and even part three if necessary in the weeks to follow).

What I loved most about all of this was my friend’s hunger for more of Jesus and His word. I loved that this hunger inspired her to do something about it, and to invite others to join with her in this. I especially love that I had nothing to do with it other than to show up and participate as one of those who was desperate for more of Him.

Are you hungry for more of Jesus too? If so, I’d highly recommend hosting your very own “Coffee, Tea and Jesus” gathering. Start with the Gospel of Mark (it’s the shortest Gospel), and invite a few friends to participate with you. There’s no need for a Bible teacher, no need for any seminary-trained leader to officiate. Just hungry people and a handful of Bibles meeting together to ask the Holy Spirit to lead them into all Truth.

It might even be a great way to ask your neighbors to learn more about Jesus too. Especially if they know that they’re not expected to do anything other than to read about Jesus and listen to Him speak.

Let me know if you try it. I’d love to know how it goes.

-kg