The Gospel of Mark Bible Study for Youth – Lesson 6: Mark 15

Practice Duration 30-60 minutes

Lesson developed byJill Olds and Victoria Crooks

Setting the Atmosphere

f in person, set the room with chairs or around a table for a small group conversation
Consider centering the space with a lit candle (unscented for those with sensitivities), or with a simple symbol, such as a cross
Consider having a ball or stuffed animal to throw around the circle, for the person speaking to hold when it is their turn
If virtually, schedule in your preferred video platform

Materials Checklist

Bibles or copies of the scripture
Candles
A laptop or media device with the final scene from the movie, Pay It Forward (YouTube video)

Select the option that best suits your group’s needs:

Exercise Option 1: Vigil

Host a vigil for your youth, recognizing something that you all may have lost. You may ask them to bring something to represent this loss, a picture or memory of a loved one, the collar of their pet, a candle or flower. This past year has brought extensive loss for us all, and we may not have the space to grieve and lament together.
Say a prayer with your youth, reminding them that since we are in community together and with Christ, we are not alone. That we can come together to grieve. It can be individual grief, or something your community is grieving together.
Be mindful of your youth and if they are in a place to be vulnerable and are ready to have these conversations together.

Exercise Option 2:

Watch together the final scene from the movie Pay It Forward where the community comes together to grieve (YouTube video)

Reflect together on the following questions:

What does it mean that Mark describes incredible coincidences as he writes this story (darkness over the whole land, the curtain in the temple torn in two)? Does it ever feel like the world grieves (environmental justice)?
What does it feel like when a whole community grieves together, as we see in the Pay it Forward clip? How is that similar/different from what we hear in the Bible story? (Draw parallels between the candle vigil in the movie and what we honor in Maundy Thursday/Good Friday services every year.)
How is it also powerful that just a few of Jesus’ most faithful followers were present at his burial? Also note that it was mostly women (ie, people of lower class standing in society). Do you think that you would have been there, or would you have been in hiding (either answer is okay)?