Study Questions

1. In Mark 15:23, Jesus refuses the wine mixed with myrrh that would have dulled his pain. What does this choice reveal about his commitment to fully accomplishing the Father's will?
2. Ken describes the physical details of the scourging, crown of thorns, and crucifixion in vivid detail. Why do you think it's important not to sanitize or "skip" these details when we remember the cross?
3. Jesus asked the Father three times in Gethsemane if there was another way. How do you reconcile Jesus' honest wrestling with his ultimate obedience?
4. The crowd mocked Jesus, saying "He saved others, but he can't save himself" (Mark 15:31). What does this irony teach us about how God's power often looks different than we expect?
5. Ken says the greatest anguish of the cross may not have been physical but spiritual, as Jesus bore the sin of the world. How does this shape your understanding of what Jesus actually endured on your behalf?
6. Read 2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 3:13, and 1 Peter 2:24 together. What do these passages add to your understanding of why the cross was necessary?
7. Ken draws a parallel between celebrating American independence (Yorktown, victory) while remembering the cost (Valley Forge, hardship) and celebrating spiritual freedom while remembering the cross. Where else in your faith might you be tempted to "skip the hard pages" and celebrate only the victory?
8. What does it practically look like in your daily life to "not skip any pages" in following Jesus—especially in areas of self-denial, fasting, prayer, or generosity?
9. Ken connects the cross to baptism as participating in Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. How does your own baptism shape the way you think about dying to self?
10. The sermon opens with the church sending Cary and Ginger Richie into ministry after 30+ years in the congregation. What does it cost a church, and a person, to be a "sending church" and a "sent" family?
11. Mark 16 records the resurrection immediately following the crucifixion. How does knowing the resurrection is coming change the way we read the suffering in Mark 15?
12. Ken closes by saying God "won't skip any pages" but will find the page in the book of life where your name is written. What comfort or challenge does that image give you as you reflect on your own life and faith?