Observation is the full orbed topic which is often truncated into the simple task of reading. Now, I will ask you for a huge favor at this point. I want you to promise me you will not become overwhelmed with this material! You will see this material at least three (3) different times and I hope in three different formats. In honesty, the first time through you may like you have been drinking from a fire hose. But after the second and then the third, you will begin to get a handle on what is being taught. 

It will be my goal to slow you down and help you read (from here I will call this Observation). In this and the next module, we will "Observe" on three (3) different levels which all integrate into a holistic process. First, Big Picture or what we might label as Book Level Observation. Second, our Book level reading will logically point us to a strategic paragraph. We will then spend extended time Observing that one paragraph. Third, our paragraph level work will logically direct us towards specific sentences where we will invest the remainder of our observational efforts. 

This module will introduce us to the process of reading books as a whole. Simply: Big Picture Observation is the way our Bible Books were designed to be originally encountered. Thus, we will be reading Mark, Ephesians, or 1 Peter as they were meant to be read.

Outcomes

In this module together we will employ a “Second reading” of Scripture to the Gospel of Mark. In part, this will include how to discover the Book level themes and structures which hold it together into a logical unit of Scripture. Since about half of us are visual learners, you will learn how to create a chart of the Book of Mark which identifies the major literary breaks in the book plot.

The most significant part of this module will be for you to become familiar with the logical structures which hold all communication together. This will become the primary focus of our next module; Module 4. But I believe that if I introduce them to you here, there will be much more time for them to take up residence in your mind and you will become much more familiar with them next week.