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One of the most audacious things ever asked by Jesus’ disciples is found in Mark 10:37 when two brothers, James and John, say this: “Permit one of us to sit at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory” (10:37). Wow! They are vying for the top positions in the future Kingdom of God! Jesus tells them that their question is misplaced and belies selfish ambition, which is the opposite of discipleship. Instead, Jesus’ disciples must heed these words: “whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave/servant of all” (10:44). Twenty millennia later, we think similarly to Jesus’ disciples (if we’re honest). We want to follow Jesus. But we also want a good spot at the table. We want to be like Jesus. But we also want comfort…and self-fulfillment. The way of Jesus is a constant contradiction to our fleshly natures and an invitation to empty ourselves the way that He constantly did.

For Group Leaders

1. Begin in prayer. Welcome the Holy Spirit to the group and invite Him to lead, guide, and convict your group as you meet together.
2. Reflect on Sunday’s sermon as a group. What were some highlights? Was anything particularly helpful, convicting, or confusing?
3. Consider the following questions and pick a few to focus your discussion.

Examine the Word

• Read Mark 10:35-45.
• Read Philippians 2:1-8.
• Read Ephesians 4:11-16.

For Discussion

• Why did Jesus the Messiah view Himself first and foremost as a servant? What implications does that have for those of us who follow Him?
• Service and humility go hand-in-hand. Talk about how the virtue of humility leads to the act of service (and vice versa). How have your group members seen this to be true in their own lives?
• Biblical service is always missional - pointing others to Jesus and growing the church. How have you seen the gospel on display through service?
• The New Testament tells us that as we serve out of the giftedness given to us by the Holy Spirit (see Romans 12), we mature and become more Christlike (individually and corporately). How does knowing your giftedness help you serve?

Practice

• Presence: One of the resources each of us has is time. Assess how much time you have this week and make a plan to “give it away” by practicing presence with someone. Your goal is simply to be with the person that God brings to mind. Set a time to be together in-person with the goals of asking good questions, listening well, and praying for them.
• Giftedness: How are you gifted by the Holy Spirit? Ask some friends/family who know you well to enter into an ongoing dialogue with you about what they see God doing in and through you. Ask them: “What spiritual gifts do you think God has given me?” And then, consider taking a spiritual gifts test to see what you find. This is a process…so there’s no need to rush to an answer. Ask God to confirm your gifts in His timing.
• Maturity: Take an inventory of your own service history by writing down the ways you’ve served God in the last five years. How have you grown and matured through that process? How has the body of Christ grown and matured around you through your involvement?
• Ask: Maybe God is calling you to serve in a new way. That can be scary! Ask Him what He has for you and take a risk. There’s never a “wrong” way to serve.

For Family Discussions

• Take some time to talk about the sermon together. What did you learn that was new? Were there any parts that were confusing?
• How can your family serve together? List out five different options for service opportunities in your local area.
• How has God gifted each member of your family? Have everyone write down a gift they see in each of the other’s lives.
• Spend time in prayer, thanking Jesus for setting the example of service through His willingness to go to the cross to die for us and offer us salvation.

This week, we’re in Practice #4: Grow in Community. Pastor Aaron Armstrong helpfully coached us through the HOWs of community that God desires for His children. When we look at the way Jesus led and loved, we see that He intentionally focused on commitment, truth-speaking, vulnerability, and prayer & care.

Today, let’s consider how you provide prayer & care to those within your community. Some helpful questions:

• Several weeks back, we discussed prayer as the intimate communication between a person and our Triune God. What adds another dimension is when two or more believers gather to communicate with God together. How has praying together strengthened the bonds in your group or community? What are some ways to prioritize prayer even more than you have previously?
• In Acts 2, we see the early church meeting one another’s physical and emotional needs in generous ways. They took care of one another, often at their own expense. They were truly a faith family, not just a gathering of individuals. Reflect on your community’s care-taking efforts for one another. Is there anyone in need? How can you supply what is needed? How can you foster openness regarding areas of need?
• Take initiative today. Send a text or make a call to someone within your church community. Ask them how you can pray for them and how you can care for them.

Each day this week we’ll close with five intentional minutes meditating on John 15:9-17 (NET).

But, first, it’s good to be reminded what it is to meditate on Scripture. Gail Pitt, in her book “First We Were Loved,” describes the process like this: “Read through the Scripture three times, out loud if possible. Notice any word or phrase that seems to stand out. When this happens, stop and just stay with the word or phrase and see where your heart goes. See where He leads you. Pay attention to your feelings and be honest. He desires honesty and nothing is a surprise to Him. He is sturdy and can handle anything you have to say.”

Here we go:

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.

Father, make this true of us. Amen.

This week, we’re in Practice #4: Grow in Community. Pastor Aaron Armstrong helpfully coached us through the HOWs of community that God desires for His children. When we look at the way Jesus led and loved, we see that He intentionally focused on commitment, truth-speaking, vulnerability, and prayer & care.

Today, let’s consider what vulnerability looks like within your community. Some helpful questions:

• How does your community follow Paul’s words in Romans 12:15 to “rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep”? We can only rejoice and weep when we know the ins and outs of our friends’ lives. How could your group improve in this area?
• At the heart of vulnerability is the exposure of weakness. 
• How comfortable are you with admitting weaknesses in front of others?
• Consider Paul’s admission in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10: “Therefore, so that I would not become arrogant, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to trouble me—so that I would not become arrogant. I asked the Lord three times about this, that it would depart from me. But he said to me, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, with insults, with troubles, with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.” What would your group be like if you each felt the freedom to share weaknesses instead of covering them up?
• One of the goals of community is growth in holiness - becoming more and more like Jesus. But holiness requires us to be honest with ourselves and with others so that we can help keep another accountable. How does your community help you choose holiness? How do you help others choose holiness?

Each day this week we’ll close with five intentional minutes meditating on John 15:9-17 (NET).

But, first, it’s good to be reminded what it is to meditate on Scripture. Gail Pitt, in her book “First We Were Loved,” describes the process like this: “Read through the Scripture three times, out loud if possible. Notice any word or phrase that seems to stand out. When this happens, stop and just stay with the word or phrase and see where your heart goes. See where He leads you. Pay attention to your feelings and be honest. He desires honesty and nothing is a surprise to Him. He is sturdy and can handle anything you have to say.”

Here we go:

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.

Father, make this true of us. Amen.

This week, we’re in Practice #4: Grow in Community. Pastor Aaron Armstrong helpfully coached us through the HOWs of community that God desires for His children. When we look at the way Jesus led and loved, we see that He intentionally focused on commitment, truth-speaking, vulnerability, and prayer & care.

Today, let’s consider how we speak and receive truth in our communities. Some helpful questions:

• How does your community center itself on the reading, teaching, and sharing of God’s Word? How could that be changed or improved? How could you lead in this area?
• Is growth in holiness one of your goals? Do you have people in your life who speak God’s truth to you both to encourage and to challenge you in your growth? Who are those people? How do you do the same in other people’s lives?
• Jesus pointed to Himself as “The Way, The Truth, and The Life.” Does your group help point one another not to man-made solutions but to Jesus? Brainstorm ways you could help your group begin doing this.

Each day this week we’ll close with five intentional minutes meditating on John 15:9-17 (NET).

But, first, it’s good to be reminded what it is to meditate on Scripture. Gail Pitt, in her book “First We Were Loved,” describes the process like this: “Read through the Scripture three times, out loud if possible. Notice any word or phrase that seems to stand out. When this happens, stop and just stay with the word or phrase and see where your heart goes. See where He leads you. Pay attention to your feelings and be honest. He desires honesty and nothing is a surprise to Him. He is sturdy and can handle anything you have to say.”

Here we go:

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.

Father, make this true of us. Amen.

This week, we’re in Practice #4: Grow in Community. Pastor Aaron Armstrong helpfully coached us through the HOWs of community that God desires for His children. When we look at the way Jesus led and loved, we see that he intentionally focused on commitment, truth-speaking, vulnerability, and prayer & care.

Today, let’s consider how committed we are to the people in our community. Some helpful questions:

• Do we love one another regardless of whether we like one another? Why or why not? How have the world’s values shaped us in this area, instead of Jesus’ values?
• Is the quality of your community’s connection more important than the quantity? How can you tell?
• Does the unity of your group show those on the outside that Jesus is real?
• Are you on mission together? How can you tell?
• Have you ever left a group because it was inconvenient or messy? What were the results?

Each day this week we’ll close with five intentional minutes meditating on John 15:9-17 (NET).

But, first, it’s good to be reminded what it is to meditate on Scripture. Gail Pitt, in her book “First We Were Loved,” describes the process like this: “Read through the Scripture three times, out loud if possible. Notice any word or phrase that seems to stand out. When this happens, stop and just stay with the word or phrase and see where your heart goes. See where He leads you. Pay attention to your feelings and be honest. He desires honesty and nothing is a surprise to Him. He is sturdy and can handle anything you have to say.”

Here we go:

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.

Father, make this true of us. Amen.