Mark
8:27-38
- Reading the Text:
- NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV) at Oremus Bible Browser.
- Greek Interlinear Bible, ScrTR, ScrTR t, Strong, Parsing, CGTS, CGES id, AV.
- The Bible Gateway: NIV, NASB, CEV, The Message, KJV, etc.
- The Blue Letter Bible. KJV, alternate versions, Greek text with concordance, commentaries.
- The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary & sermons.
- Historical References, Commentary and
Comparative Texts:
- Exodus 3:11
- "Before the Angels," "Saving One's Life," "Carrying One's Cross," The Jesus Database, an online annotated inventory of the traditions concerning the life and teachings of Jesus. Dr. Gregory C. Jenks, FaithFutures Foundation.
- The Five Gospels Parallels, John W. Marshall, University of Toronto.
- Comparative World Scriptures from United Communities of Spirit: Self-Denial and No-Self.
- XXIII.31, 41-43, 45-46, 48-49; Tatian's Diatessaron (c. 150-160).
- III.XVI.5, Adversus Haereses, Irenaeus of Lyons. (c. 180)
- VI.14, Stromata, Clement of Alexandria (c 200)
- Chapter XII, Chapter XIII, On Idolatry, Tertullian (c. 211)
- Chapter V, On the Flesh of Christ, Tertullian (c. 211)
- Concerning Flight in Persecution (paragraph 7) Tertullian (c. 212)
- XII.15, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Origen. (c.247)
- On the Lapsed -- Cyprian of Carthage (c. 251)
- Epistle LXII -- Cyprian of Carthage (c. 253)From the Catena Aurea, Patristic Commentary by St Thomas Aquinas.
- From the Geneva Notes.
- "All that Christ suffered for us he suffered not unwillingly, neither as being unaware, but foreknowing it and willingly."
- From
Matthew
Henry's Commentary.
- "As the happiness of heaven with Christ, is enough to make up for the loss of life itself for him, so the gain of all the world in sin, will not make up for the ruin of the soul by sin."
- From
Wesley's Notes.
- "Embrace the will of God, however painful, daily, hourly, continually. Thus only can he follow me in holiness to glory."
- "Profit
and Loss; Mark 18:56," Charles H. Spurgeon, 1856.
- "No man ever loses anything by counting the cost, knowing his own expenditure, and keeping his debtor and creditor pretty closely up; but many men have been ruined by attempts which have been suggested by a spirit of speculation, and fostered by a negligence of their own concerns, combined with absolute ignorance of their real financial position."
- From the Commentary on the Whole Bible (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
- From The People's New Testament, B.W. Johnson, 1891.
- Contemporary Commentary, Studies, and Exegesis:
- The Cost of Discipleship, Deny Yourself, Take up Your Cross, and Follow Me, audio telling, story in episodes, graphic, audio and written commentaries. Go Tell Communications, Biblical Storytelling for the Global Village, 2012.
- Commentary, Mark 8:31-38 (Lent 2), Sarah Henrich, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2009.
- Mark 8:31-38, Lent 2B, Comments (commentary) and Clippings (technical notes for in-depth study), Chris Haslam, Anglican Diocese of Montreal.
- Holy Textures, Understanding the Bible in its own time and in ours,
Mark 8:31-38, David Ewart.
- "Those who want to be followers of Jesus must follow him! That is, they must go with him where he is going. They must share the consequences of his way."
- Mark
8:31-38, in Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary's An
Exegetical Study of the Common Lectionary, coordinated by Prof.
John E. Alsup, features rough translation, disposition, immediate
context, broader context, hermeneutical bridge, and contemporary address.
- "Distinguishing the personal destiny quest by the earthly Jesus while he struggled with "son of man" traditions of his context from the continuing struggle to understand the christological ramifications of it all by the post-Easter community of faith is a complex but crucial matter for our attention (cf. Goppelt, Theology I, pp. 178ff)."
- "First
Thoughts on Year B Gospel Passages in the Lectionary: Lent 2," William Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia.
- "This passage follows the celebrated confession of Peter, that Jesus is ?the Christ? (8:29). It reveals just how easy it is to confuse adulation and truth."
- "Andrew," Sarah M. Foulger, Stirred by the Light - Voices of Lent.
- Exegetical
Notes (Lent 2B) by Brian Stoffregen at CrossMarks.
- "Every time someone besides Jesus "rebukes," they are proven to be wrong. Peter rebuking Jesus (8:32). The disciples "rebuking" those who were bringing little children to Jesus (10:13). The crowd "rebuking" the noisy blind man (10:48). This verb seems to carry an idea of exerting power over -- something Jesus can do with evil forces and what he tries to do with his disciples. It is not something anyone should do with Jesus or with the beggars or children."
- "Remember the Cross," Preacher's Magazine, 2006: Listening to the Text, Engaging the Text, Preaching the Text.
- "When
Jesus Spoke Plainly," The Journey with Jesus: Notes to Myself, Daniel B. Clendenin, Journey with
Jesus Foundation.
- "After Peter confessed that he was the Christ, Jesus began to predict his death, much to the shock of his disciples who longed for a savior who would vanquish the Romans..."
-
Commentary,
Mark 8:26-38, Alyce M. McKenzie, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org,
2009.
- "That's what being a disciple means: embarking on a lifelong journey of allowing his identity gradually to shape our own. Verses 34-37 state the shape of that life."
- A Brief Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 8:27 - 10:52, Carl W. Conrad. (Click superscript numbers for commentary.)
- "Jesus Makes the First Passion Prediction; 'Get thee behind me, Satan!'," "Jesus Says You Must Deny Yourself and Take up Cross to Follow Him," Michael A. Turton's Historical Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, "a complete verse-by-verse commentary on the Gospel of Mark, focusing on the historicity of people, places, events, and sayings in the world of the Gospel of Mark."
-
Holy Textures, Understanding the Bible in its own time and in ours,
Mark 8:27-38, David Ewart, 2009.
- "Okay, so just how does one lose one's life for Jesus' sake and for the sake of the gospel? That, I think, takes a life-time to answer, and is best done in a community of friends seeking the same thing for themselves."
-
"Who do you say that I am?" Paul Bellan-Boyer, City Called Heaven,
2009.
- "Jesus is in Roman territory. It is when he approaches the Roman city of Caesarea Philippi that he asks the question. Identity politics were not invented in our generation."
-
Exegetical Notes (Proper 19B) by Brian
Stoffregen at
CrossMarks.
- "Perhaps even after hearing and believing what Jesus has done and what we are to do; at best we can only confess, 'It's as clear as mud.'"
-
"First
Thoughts on Year B Gospel Passages in the Lectionary,"
Pentecost 15, William Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia.
- "Philip?s Caesarea, honouring Roman might, is a good starting point for thinking about power. How do we stop the process whereby Jesus ends up becoming the chaplain to such powers? What is real gain for our community, for us as individuals? What is real gain for God?"
- "Brrr, the Water Is Cold," Gospel Analysis, Sermons from Seattle, Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle, Washington. Detailed background and exegesis.
-
Join the Feast,
Mark 8:27-38, Marvin Lindsay, Union PSCE,
2009.
- "Self-denial and cross-bearing were politically charged words, the cross being the Roman state?s favorite means of executing threats to the social order."
-
"The
Crux of Identity," Lori A. Cornell, Sabbatheology, The
Crossings Community, 2009.
- "This failure of ours to follow Jesus-this penchant we have to "get ahead" of Jesus, puts us (like Peter) in league with Satan."
- Peter's Confession, The Way of the Cross: Markan Texts for Late Pentecost, Donald H. Juel, Texts in Context, Word & World, Luther Northwestern Theological School, 1994.
- "Peter: The Stumbling Block and the Way of the Cross," Gospel Analysis, Sermons from Seattle, Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle, Washington. Detailed background and exegesis.
- "Are You a Christ-Follower?" Preacher's Magazine, 2006: Listening to the Text, Engaging the Text, Preaching the Text.
-
"Reading the Signs of the Times," Ordinary 24B, Fr. Gerry Pierse, C.Ss.R.,
from
Sundays Into Silence: Reflections on the Sunday Gospels in the Light of
Christian Meditation. Claretian Publications.
- "No matter how much insight we may have, no matter how much affirmation we may be getting, we must never forget our littleness and our sinfulness. The mystery of God is infinite and multi-faceted."
- Wellspring of the Gospel, Ordinary 24B, Catherine McElhinney and Kathryn Turner, Weekly Wellsprings.
-
Marginally Mark, by Brian McGowan, Anglican priest in Western
Australia.
- "How do we wait on God to discern his will for us as we live (necessarily) in culture / society today?"
-
"Who Do
You Say I Am?"
Jerry Goebel, One
Family Outreach.
"Focus on scripture from a justice perspective." Exegesis, study, and teen study
and activities.
- "It is not just a question of salvation; it is a question of present and unfathomable joy. If we say that Jesus is ?the Christ? then we must move aside from the throne of our own life and let him rule. If he was the greatest offering of love that could be given to humanity, then we must embrace that love and live each day in the knowledge of just how much God loves us."
-
"Uncommon Sense," Joel Marcus,
The Christian Century, 2000.
- "Solzhenitsyn discovered in the gulag what my friend also knows -- that there is a strength that comes from renunciation of life, a strength that triumphs even over the powers that threaten death."
-
"Taking Up the Cross,"
William Willimon, The Christian Century, 1983.
At Religion Online.
- "Then the bright moment of confession and revelation darkens as the storm clouds gather and we stumble behind him toward the Passion. He picks up his cross and urges a cross upon us as well. Striking at the heart of our expectations for easy deliverance come the words suffer, rejected, killed."
-
"Suffering
and Victory," Stanley S. Harakas, The Christian Century,
1997. At Religion Online.
- "In Mark we are confronted by both suffering and exaltation, defeat and victory, weakness and power, death and life in its fullness. Peter articulates the all-too-human responses On the one hand he refuses to accept the suffering, defeat and death; on the other, he readily expresses the desire to stay where the exaltation, victory and manifestation of full life are revealed."
-
"Holiness: Sacrifice," commentary by David F. Wells,
The Christian
Century, 2000. At Religion Online.
- "If we want to be Jesus? followers, we need to face both: the public pain of humiliation and physical agony, and the private grief of losing our precious selves in order to be conformed to Christ."
-
"Why
Follow a Crucified Christ?" Kenneth L. Carder, The Christian
Century, 1997. At Religion Online.
- "Those who follow him know the future does not belong to the triumph of suffering, sin and death. It belongs to the reign of Christ all over creation. We have no reason, therefore, to be ashamed of him or hesitant to follow him. The One who calls us to take up our cross goes with us to the cross. . . and beyond."
-
"The Freedom of Necessity," commentary by Ronald Goetz,
The Christian
Century, 1982. At Religion Online.
- "God would not be God if he presided, as he does, over the death of every human being ever to walk the earth while he himself refused to bear the burden that his creatures must bear, for God would not be love. Love necessitates suffering when the object of that love must suffer."
- Mark 8:27-38, Proper 24B, Comments (commentary) and Clippings (technical notes for in-depth study), Chris Haslam, Anglican Diocese of Montreal.
- Articles & Background:
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"'Let Them Renounce Themselves and Take up Their Cross': A Feminist Reading
of Mark 8:34 in Mark's Social and Narrative World," Joanna Dewey,
Biblical Theology Bulletin, 2004.
- "Christians today, especially Christian women, often interpret Mark 8:34 as a call to sacrifice self--to be subservient and to endure suffering that could be alleviated--as a demand of Christian discipleship. This is a fundamental misreading of Mark."
-
"Jesus Was Not An Egalitarian. A Critique of an Anachronistic and Idealistic
Theology," John H. Elliott, Biblical Theology Bulletin 2002.
- "The currently-advanced theory that Jesus was an egalitarian who founded a "community of equals" is devoid of social and political plausibility and, more importantly, of textual and historical evidence."
-
"Mark
8:35: New Historicism and Chiasmus," from "Examples of Socio-Rhetorical
Interpretation in Mark," at Dr. Vernon K. Robbins' Encyclopedia of
Socio-Rhetorical Interpretation.
- "Chiasmus represents a reciprocity rather than opposition between two things. Reciprocity between Jewish and Greco-Roman culture in the Gospel of Mark stands at the foundation of analysis and interpretation in Jesus the Teacher."
-
"Loneliness and Destiny," Chapter 10 of This Hebrew Lord, John
Shelby Spong, 1974.
- "I see his loneliness when he asked who they thought he was. They responded, 'You are the Christ of God,' and then they proceeded to tell him what kind of Christ he had to be for their sakes; and he said, 'Get thee behind me, Satan' (Mark 8:27ff)."
-
"Who Do You Say I Am? Christology: What it is & why it matters," Robert
A. Krieg, Commonweal, 2002.
- "Whether or not theologians approach the mystery of Jesus Christ from above or from below, they work in relation to two distinct, though inseparable, foci."
-
- Recommended articles
from ATLAS, an online collection of religion and theology journals, are
linked below.
ATLAS Access options are available for academic institutions, alumni of
selected theological schools, and clergy/church offices.
- Aichele, George,
"Jesus' Frankness," Semeia, 1995.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Bishop, Jonathan, "Parabole and
Parrhesia in Mark," Interpretation, 1986.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Carder, Kenneth L.,
"Why Follow a Crucified Christ?" The Christian Century, 1997.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Clark, John C.,
"Martin Luther's View of Cross-Bearing," Bibliotheca Sacra, 2006.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Dewey, Joanna,
"Women in the Gospel of Mark," Word & World, 2006. (Section on
this text begins on page 25.)
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Goetz, Ronald,
"'Get Thee Behind Me, Satan,'" The Christian Century, 1986.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Harakas, Stanley S.,
"Suffering and Victory," The Christian Century, 1997.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Hinkle, Mary E.,
"Lesson Plans," The Christian Century, 2003.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Hoffman, Kathryn
Vitalis, and Mark Vitalis Hoffman,
"Texts in Context: Question Marks and Turning Points: Following the
Gospel of Mark to Surprising Places," Word & World, 2006.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Joy, David, "Markan
Subalterns/the Crowd and their Strategies of Resistance: A Postcolonial
Critique," Black Theology, 2005.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Juel, Donald H., 'The Way of the
Cross: Markan Texts for Late Pentecost," Word & World, 1994.
(Section on this text begins on p. 353).
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Kaur-Mann, Cham,
"Who Do You Say I Am? Images of Jesus," Black Theology, 2004.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Lambrecht, Jan, S.J.,
"A Note on Mark 8:38 and Q 12:8-9," Journal for the Study of the New
Testament, 2002.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Lee, Oo Chung, "One Woman's
Confession of Faith," International Review of Mission, 1985.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Leon-Dufour, Xavier,
"To Lose One's Life," Cross Currents, 1988.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Marcus, Joel,
"Uncommon Sense," The Christian Century, 2000.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Marsh, Clive,
"Black Christs in White Christian Perspective: Some Critical
Reflections," Black Theology, 2004.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Mays, James L.,
"Mark 8:27 - 9:1," Interpretation, 1976.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Meyer, Marvin,
"Taking Up the Cross and Following Jesus: Discipleship in the Gospel of
Mark," The Calvin Theological Journal, 2002.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Neville, David J.,
"Moral Vision and Eschatology in Mark's Gospel: Coherence or Conflict?"
Journal of Biblical Literature, 2008.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Niedner, Frederick,
"Precious, Inevitable Scandal: Theology of the Cross in Mark,"
Currents in Theology and Mission, 2005.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Osborne, B.A.E.,
"Peter: Stumbling-Block and Satan," Novum Testamentum, 1973.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials -
Petersen, Norman R., "The Composition of Mark 4:1-8:26,"
Harvard Theological Review, 1980.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Proctor, Mark,
"'After Three Days': Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34: Subordinating Jesus'
Resurrection in the Second Gospel," Perspectives in Religious Studies,
2003.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Reedy, Charles J.,
"Mark 8:31 - 11:10 and the Gospel Ending," The Catholic Biblical
Quarterly, 1972.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Ross, J.M., "Further Unnoticed Points in the Text of the New Testament,"
Novum
Testamentum, 2003. (Section on Mark 8:38 begins on page 210.)
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Ross, J.M.,
"Some Unnoticed Points in the Text of the New Testament," Novum
Testamentum, 1983. (Section on Mark 8 begins on page 61.)
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Santos, Narry F.,
"Jesus' Paradoxical Teaching in Mark 8:35; 9:35; and 10:43-44,"
Bibliotheca Sacra, 2000.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Skinner, Matthew L.,
"Denying Self, Bearing a Cross, and Following Jesus: Unpacking the
Imperatives of Mark 8:34," Word & World, 2003.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Strecker, Georg,
"The Passion- and Resurrection Predictions in Mark's Gospel,"
Interpretation, 1968.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Swezey, Charles M.,
"Christian Self-Denial," Journal for Preachers, 1986.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Wells, Samuel,
"Holiness: Sacrifice," The Christian Century, 2000.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Willimon, William H.,
"Taking Up the Cross," The Christian Century, 1983.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Willson, Patrick J.,
"Cross Culture," The Christian Century, 1994.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Wink, Walter, "The Education of the Apostles: Mark's
View of Human Transformation," Religious Education, 1988.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Young, Josiah, "Envisioning the
Son of Man," Black Theology, 2004.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Aichele, George,
"Jesus' Frankness," Semeia, 1995.
- Reviews:
- Review: Cosimo Pagliara, La figura di Elia nel vangelo di Marco: Aspetti semantici e funzionali. Pontificia Universia Gregoriana, 2003. Review by Edward L Bode in The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2004. (Review is in English.)
- Sermons:
- "The Heartbreaking Messiah," the Rev. Dr. David Lose, Day 1, 2009.
- "Was Peter Looking for a Bailout?" the Rev. Dr. Debra Samuelson, Day 1, 2009.
- "The Costs of Discipleship," Dr. Phililp W. McLarty, Lectionary.org.
- "Christ and Everything Else Thrown In," the Rev. Peter Marty, Day 1, 2006.
- "Remember the Cross," Jim Fitzgerald, Preacher's Magazine, 2006.
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"Brrr, the Water Is Cold,"
"If I
Were God,"
"Peter:The Stumbling Block and the Way of the Cross,"
- "He Who Is The Christ," Paul Tillich, from The Shaking of the Foundations, 1955. At Religion Online.
- "Read the Fine Print," the Rev. Dr. Wiley Stephens, Day 1, 2003.
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- "Revising the Agenda," the Rev. William Carter, Day 1, 2000.
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- With Children:
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- "Jesus Finds a Solid Rock," "Jesus Tells the Disciples that He Must Suffer," "Jesus Walks on the Water," Sunday School Lessons: Family Bible Study, art projects, music, stories, etc.
- "Treasure in Heaven," Jim Kerlin, childrensermons.com.
- "Mark 7 & 8 Word Search," Don Crownover's Bible Puzzles.
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- Drama:
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- Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
- Clip Art Images: Mark 8:27-38, Misioneros Del Sagrado Corazón en el Perú.
- Mark 8:27-35 at Cerezo Barredo's weekly gospel illustration. Liberation emphasis.
- Images for this week's readings, Lent 2B, Proper 19B, Pitts Theology Library Digital Image Archive.
- Mark 8:34 - 9:1, Liturgical Drawing, Maria d.c. Zamora, Claretian Resources, Philippines. ("Download and use these for free.")
- Commercial Sites:
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- "The God Perspective (in 3-D)," (Mark 8:27-38) graphics/films/worship ideas from Lumicon.
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- Hymns and Music:
- Contemporary/Praise Song suggestions, Together to Celebrate, David MacGregor.
- Hymns with Scripture Allusions: Mark 8:34, 36, 38. The Cyber Hymnal.
- Hymnal Scripture References, The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship.
- "Take up Your Cross," Brenton Prigge, NewHymn, a new, relevant hymn set to traditional tunes.
- At Digital Hymnal (midi files, guitar chords, karaoke files, projection text):
- Poetry, Literature and Literary References:
- Lectionary Haikus, Lent 5, 2009, Mark 8:27-9:1, Christopher Gudger-Raines.
- Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's Art Index:
- Movies scenes with the following themes, listed at The Text This Week's Movie Concordance:
- Study pages for Parallel Gospel Accounts:
- Study Links and Resources for the Book of Mark
