Great Commission
- Cornerstone Church
- Jul 5
- 4 min read
This week’s readings will finish the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. The main body of the text last week focused on the Crucifixion of Jesus. This week will be on his resurrection, the great commission, and ascension. Next week will focus on the coming of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus promised to send to all believers. It is important to remember that although Matthew and Mark only mention these events in a few verses, there were actually 40 days between Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to the Father. Along with the crucifixion of Jesus, his resurrection and ascension form the bedrock of the Christian faith. Jesus is the mediator between God and man and was vindicated after his crucifixion by his resurrection and subsequent ascension to the right hand of the Father, and that is the Big Picture.
Each week, as you take in the Bible, find some friends to talk it out. You can follow this simple guide to help. First, R.E.A.D. and P.R.A.Y. on your own. Then, meet with friends to share what you've learned.
R - Repeated words
E - Examine and mark
A - Ask what you learn about God
D - Do if there is anything to do
P - Praise
R - Repent
A - Ask
Week 28
Bible Reading Plan
Daily Prayer Plan
START IT.
We're reading the Bible together in 2025 to see how Love Shows Up from the Old Testament and into the New Testament. How do we understand so many stories and lessons through the entire Bible while trying to stick to the "sacred timeline"? The answer is the big picture. If we get the big picture, we get the story the Bible is trying to tell. From Sunday's message or The Big Picture Bible Reading Plan this week in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, what is impacting you the most? How has praying daily through the Psalms impacted you? Was there a word, phrase, Bible verse, or theme that impacted you?
STUDY IT.
Read Mark 15:43. Who was the man who buried Jesus? What was he looking forward to that gave him boldness?
Read Mark 15:47-16:2. Who went to the tomb first and why? Read Mark 16:3-5. What did the women expect to find, and what did they find? Mark 16:6-7. What was the message they were given?
Read Ephesians 1:3-14. What is the result of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection?
Read Matthew 28:16-20. What did the Lord commission you and all other Christians to do with his help and in response to the Gospel?
Read Matthew 28:11-15. What did the opponents of Jesus and the Gospel immediately try to fabricate? What objections to the resurrection have you heard?
SHARE IT.
Read Matthew 28:15. How are you prepared for challenges to the Gospel or answering honest questions about the Gospel?
Read Hebrews 10:23-25. What part does gathering together play in the Great Commission and responding to challenges to the truth of scripture?
Read 2 Timothy 4:1 and 1 John 3:1-3. How might reflecting on Jesus being the judge of the living of the dead, his appearing, his kingdom, or the great love of the Father making you his child motivate you to prepare?
Read 2 Timothy 4:2. Paul is encouraging Timothy to be prepared, and so should we. How can you prepare this week to engage with others?
Read 2 Timothy 4:5. What ministry is in front of you in your season that is yours to fulfill?
FINAL THOUGHT
If you were to ask a fish to describe its life, constantly being in water, the fish would reply, ‘What is water?’ You might have heard that before, or the saying “you don’t know what you don’t know.” What assumptions about life do I have as an American living in American culture that keep me from knowing God and serving God? The cultural “water” we all swim in can be difficult to see; however, thanks be to God for His Word that challenges us to think how God thinks about ourselves and others. Jesus has redeemed us, given us the Great Commission and ministry of reconciliation, and will be with us till the end of the age. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 expresses this idea more clearly: “16 From now on, then, we do not know anyone from a worldly perspective. Even if we have known Christ from a worldly perspective, yet now we no longer know him in this way. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! 18 Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 19 That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” 21 He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. -- 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 (CSB)
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