Yale University

Youth Ministry Institute

The Gospel of Mark Bible Study for Youth – Lesson 7: Mark 16

A youth Bible study on the Gospel of Mark inspired by the Yale Bible Study series.

Practice Duration 30-60 minutes
Lesson developed byJill Olds and Victoria Crooks
Setting the Atmosphere
  • If 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
  • Enough Ice cubes, lemon wedges, lime wedges or similar for the entire group
  • Paper
  • Pens
  • Laptop or media device with the video clip from Blade Runner (YouTube video)

Gather

  • Begin with a check in with members
  • Open with prayer
  • Read the scripture together

Engage

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

Exercise Option 1: How Long Can You Hold On?

  • Have numerous items set up for your youth such as ice cubes, lemon wedges, lime wedges, warheads and other safe items that can be used to “test” how long they can use it.
  • Let each youth hold an ice cube in their hand one at a time, and time how long they can hold it before it becomes uncomfortable. Reminder not to push them beyond their levels of comfort, that they should stop as soon as they are uncomfortable.
  • Once they drop the ice cube or want to stop write down the times of each member.
  • This can be done with eating a lemon/lime wedges, warheads, or other items you have available.
  • Talk about how it felt to hold onto something uncomfortable, and what happened when they let go/spit it out/etc.

Exercise Option 2:

Watch together this clip, describing the differences among the theatrical release, director’s cut, and final cut of the movie, Blade Runner (YouTube video)

Reflect

Reflect together on the following questions:

  1. What is it like to consider that the very first Resurrection story that was ever written down ends with “terror,” “amazement,” and with no one sharing the story because they were too afraid? How is that different from what you may remember from the other Gospel stories? [Note: Perhaps a side-by-side comparison would be helpful here.]
  2. Have you ever been too afraid to share the truth about something, but then you did? How did it feel to hold onto it, and then to let it go?
  3. What does the second ending add to the story? How often do we try to smooth over harder things, or prematurely wrap things up?
  4. When you are telling a story, how much do you explain, and how much do you leave up to the imagination? How might that change the reader’s experience of the Gospel narrative, and the viewer’s experience of watching Blade Runner?
  5. In the end, how do you experience this resurrection story?

Send Forth

  • Close the lesson in prayer (either the leader or a group member)
  • Or, consider utilizing a check-out exercise
Download PDF