Structured Gospel of Mark Bible study: Deep Learning Bible

Why I chose to read the Gospel of Mark as a New Year’s goal

How are everyone’s New Year’s goals going? I’m a Christian, but I have never properly read the Bible even once. I kept saying I should read the Gospel of Mark, but I never did.

When it comes to New Year’s goals, people think long and hard about things like dieting, saving money, and reading books, right? But as a Christian, even when I resolved to read the Bible cover to cover, I always ended up failing—last year, and the year before that too.

The phrase “easy Bible” made me curious about just how easy it would be to understand. I was not raised in the faith, but I have still gone to church for about 20 years. Honestly, though, I was just a Sunday Christian who went back and forth on Sundays.

These days, I’m even ashamed to admit that work has kept me from doing that much. I had been drifting away from church, and I no longer wanted that, so I made this my New Year’s resolution. I’m going to master the Gospel of Mark, I told myself.

I would like to recommend it to anyone who finds reading the Bible difficult, like I do. Maybe God will look kindly on this side of me?

A slim New Testament book that was easy to carry

I chose the New Testament because it seemed like it might be easier than the Old Testament. First of all, it is slim. I thought that would make it convenient to carry around.

My goal now is to become a Pilates instructor who prays. Before, I worked with the mindset that I would simply be grateful to get a job, but now I want to pray that the members I meet will truly become healthier. And if possible, I hope that through meeting me, my members and the people around me can feel God.

Reading the Gospel of Mark through a structured format

Even when I read an easy Bible, the only thing that ever stayed with me was the feeding of the five thousand, so this was a structured book for someone like me.

I previously studied for the College Scholastic Ability Test and the teacher employment exam with structured books, and they helped me tremendously. I had thought Bible reading would be nice if it were structured too, and this was exactly right for me.

I want to share the word of our God together.

Discipleship in Mark chapter 8 and beyond

“If you are going to follow Jesus, you have to truly follow him.” The core message from Mark chapter 8 onward is discipleship. “Whoever wants to follow me must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

A life of believing in Jesus is not simply a life of going to church; it means entrusting the direction of your life to Jesus. It means not believing only when you feel like it, but holding onto the question, “What would Jesus do?” even in difficult moments, and wanting to choose God’s will over your own. “Faith is not words, but direction.”

I had given up reading altogether because of the dense text and complicated context—this person seemed like that person, and I could not tell what was what—but the Gospel of Mark was more readable than I expected.

What I liked about Deep Learning Bible was that, unlike before, it did not simply say, “If you do not understand, just memorize the Bible no matter what; just read a lot no matter what.”

Like exercise, it is as if you have a trainer when you first begin reading the New Testament.

If you want to begin reading the Bible lightly

If you are looking for an easy Bible, I would recommend it. Through the Gospel of Mark, you can learn what its core message is and what God wants to say to us, so I do not think there is anything to fear anymore.

Through the Gospel of Mark, God spoke from the very beginning: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” It emphasizes that Jesus is not merely a teacher who performs miracles, but the Son of God and the Savior who conquers sin and death.

I also want to welcome 2026 by becoming more like God, who first approaches those who are powerless and marginalized. If reading the Bible feels difficult, this seems like a good way to start—not with some grand resolution, but with the lighthearted thought of reading one book. Let’s begin our New Year’s goals with God!