03/16/25

The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way”— 
“a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ ” And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” — Mark 1:1–8 (NIV)

“As it is written in Isaiah the prophet…” — Mark 1:2a (NIV)

“…I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way”— 3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ ” — Mark 1:2b-3 (NIV)

“A voice of one calling: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’” — Isaiah 40:3 (NIV)

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ ” 
And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness…” — Mark 1:3-4a (NIV)

“John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.” — Mark 1:6 (NIV)

“…preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” — Mark 1:4b (NIV)

“And this was his message: ‘After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’” — Mark 1:7-8 (NIV)

“…Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!’” — Mark 1:14b–15 (NIV)

“[The Gospel is] the announcement that everything has changed in the coming of Jesus, and it leads us to a new kind of living. It is a Kingdom of God lifestyle with allegiance to a King as the ultimate restorer. We are His workers to reflect that good news and a new way of life in a world that is seeking answers in profoundly short-sighted ways rather than in the Way of Jesus.”

“The time has come,” … “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.’” — Mark 16:15 (NIV)

We prepare the way of the Lord by being His voice to the world—proclaiming the Good News of Jesus through our words and actions.