#20 Mark 10:32-52 "Jesus The Ultimate Servant"

Gospel of Mark: Discipleship, Servanthood, and Following After Jesus
Mark 10:32-52 “Jesus The Ultimate Servant”
Sunday, February 6thOpening Questions
What was the best and worst part of your last week and how can we be praying for you?
This week we're going to talk about the topic of serving. Why is serving an important aspect of the Christian life?
As you think about your life, what are some of the biggest ways you've personally been served by others?Discussion Questions on Mark 10:32-52
Big Idea: Serving isn’t just something WE DO but it's an aspect of Who WE ARE 

• Prediction - You Must Consider The Cost of Being a Servant (Mark 10:32-34)

Jesus boldly, heroically, and courageously moved towards Jerusalem and towards his own death. The Disciples were both terrified and amazed at Jesus' resolve to go towards his enemies and towards the conflict. How might fear hinder our walk with Jesus? What would are Christian life look like if fear wasn't a constant enemy? What would you do if you weren't afraid?
The Christian life is both privilege and responsibility, blessing and suffering, joy and sorrow. What aspect of the Christian life do you find yourself fearful of or avoiding because of the potential pain? What does it look like for you to be courageous like Jesus in the face of difficulty?  How can we encourage one another to do hard, yet worthy things for Jesus?

• Ambition - You Must Consider The Challenge of Being A Servant (Mark 10:35-40)

James and John respond to Jesus' prophecy about his own death by asking for positions of power in Jesus' Kingdom. This is the third time that Jesus has predicted his death and the third time that the disciples didn't get it and approached Jesus with selective hearing and preconceived ideas.
How can we be careful to pick-up on what God is doing in our lives instead of simply bringing him our own agenda?
How can we model Jesus' patience with those who are consistently difficult in our lives?
Jesus warns the disciples that they will drink of the cup of His suffering and persecutions. How have you had to drink of this cup in your own life?
How can we prepare one another to drink of the cup and have right expectations about the blessings and the difficulties of the Christian life?
Jesus taught his disciples a third time that true greatness is in serving others. How does Jesus contrast the Gentiles with his Followers? What the difference in the way we are to lead others?
How have you seen servant leadership demonstrated in your life? What opportunities do you have to embody and practice servant leadership in your life?

• Submission - You Must Consider The Opportunity for Being A Servant (10:45-52)

Blind Bartimaeus was overlooked and cast aside by the crowds but Jesus heard and responded to him. What sort of opportunities do you have to serve those who are in need around you?
Bartimaeus' cry was that Jesus would have mercy on him. Mercy recognizes that we need God to treat us better than we deserve. What ways do you need God's mercy and in what ways do you need to extend God's mercy to others (Forgiveness, Resentment, Bitterness, Generosity, etc)  Bartimaeus keeps calling for Jesus despite the crowds telling him to shut up. How can we cultivate a holy stubbornness to keep seeking after God in our own lives and what factors distract or embarrass us out of this holy pursuit?
How can we be praying for one another and serving one another this coming week?

#13 Mark (Mark 8:1-26) "Seeing Jesus Clearly"

The Gospel of Mark: Servanthood, Discipleship, and Following Jesus #13 Mark 8:1-26 “Seeing Jesus Clearly” Sunday, November 28th Discussion/Study Questions Big Idea: Seeing and Responding to Jesus for who he truly is! (Mark 8:1-21) Jesus Shows us the Character of God (Mark 8:1-10) Will we respond like the Pharisees: Resist and Demand (Mark 8:11-13) Will we respond like the Disciples: Doubt and Forget (Mark 8:14-21) Will we respond like the Blind Man: Slowly See and Change (Mark 8:22-26) Ice-Breaker Questions - How was everyone's thanksgiving? What are you looking forward to this Christmas season? Which subjects did you enjoy in school? Which subjects required a lot of instruction and assistance before you "Got it?" Jesus Shows Us the Character of God (8:1-10) - How does Jesus feeding the four thousand show the compassion of God? How does the story of Jesus' miracle feeding show the provision of God? The Disciples of Jesus doubted that anyone could feed the crowd despite the fact that they had already seen Jesus feeding an even larger crowd. How can we doubt God for the very things he has already provided in our life? The people all eat the bread and fish and were satisfied. How does God satisfy our desires for relationship, forgiveness and hope for the future? Will we respond like the Pharisees: Resist and Demand (Mark 8:11-13) - The Pharisees has seen the miracles of Jesus but they resist following Him and continue to demand a sign. How people create an intellectual smokescreen to avoid Jesus in their life? How can we be tempted to make demands on God? Will we respond like the Disciples: Doubt and Forget (Mark 8:14-21) - The disciples are focused on making sure they have enough bread to get through the day while Jesus is trying to teach them deeper spiritual truths. Have you ever been too focused on your immediate physical needs that you didn't see what God was trying to teach you? The disciples doubt Jesus' ability to feed the crowds and they forgot about the ways he already feed others. How can we be tempted to doubt God's goodness and forget how he has provided for us? Will we respond like the Blind Man: Slowly See and Change (Mark 8:22-26) - Ironically, the only person to see Jesus clearly in these stories is the blind man. The blind man obeyed Jesus, didn't give up in the process of healing, and stayed with Jesus until he was transformed. How can we be tempted to give up in the middle of the work that God is doing in our lives? The blind man sees partially, how can we be tempted to be discouraged with the slowness of our spiritual growth? How can we support, encourage, and pray for one another this week? Take Time to Pray Over What You've Learned - Pray to remember that Jesus cares, provides and satisfies. Pray against pride that would resist what God is doing or make demands of God. Ask forgiveness of God for the doubts and spiritual forgetfulness that you experience. Praise the Lord for the ways that he has provided for you, opened your eyes to spiritual reality and showed you compassion.

#8 Mark 6:1-6a "Jesus' Painful Homecoming"

The Gospel of Mark: Servanthood, Discipleship, and Following Jesus #8 Mark 6:1-6 "Jesus' Painful Homecoming!" Big Idea: Faith and Unbelief are the two most powerful realities in the world. Unbelief Blinds People to the Obvious (6:1-2), Unbelief Builds Up the Irrelevant (6:3-4) and Unbelief Blocks the Supernatural (6:5-6). Introduction Did any of your former classmates surprise you at your class reunion because of the incredible or unexpected things they had accomplished in their life? How did you feel about it? Were you happy, proud, jealous or skeptical? Discussion Questions Why might the people in Jesus' hometown have resented Him? Is the response of a person's hometown and family a reliable indicator of whether that the person is genuine and legitimate? List some of the things Jesus said and did that are astonishing. Do non-christian friends and family in your life acknowledge that He said and did those things? If so, how do they reconcile this with their unbelief? If not, what reasons do they give for rejecting Jesus' astonishing teachings, miracles, etc? How is it possible for a persona to see what Jesus did and yet deny that He is the Savior, the Son of God? What kind of credentials do you expect spiritual leaders to have? Are the most important credentials where they went to school, how well-spoken they are, who recommends them, or something else? Why was Jesus' community in Nazareth offended by him? Why might the people in our life be offended by Jesus? Jesus doesn't do any mighty miracles because of the unbelief of the people. Does Unbelief limit God's power in our lives? Are there examples in the scriptures of God doing miracles despite people's unbelief?

Prayer Time Take a moment to share what your next step of discipleship will be and how your family, friends or Community Group can be praying for you and supporting you.

#6 Mark 4:1-34 "Jesus and Kingdom Stories"

The Gospel of Mark: Servanthood, Discipleship, and Following Jesus #5 Mark 4:1-34 "Jesus and Kingdom Stories" Which story is driving your life? Jesus calls his followers to hear, respond to and share the Gospel while sin, the cares of the world, and opposition hinder Kingdom growth but the promise of the Kingdom is guaranteed to grow until it encompasses people from every nation. The stories we believe matter. The stories that we listen to, that we share, and the we believe shape everything about us. Which story will we believe? Which story will we share? Which story will we reject? Which story will shape our lives? Discussion Questions When have you found telling stories (parables) to be an effective way to communicate? What made them effective? Why do some call this the parable of the sower and other call it the parable of the soils? Which do you prefer, and why? How did Jesus' parables give His disciples more understanding without giving any benefit to those who rejected Him? Give current examples of cases where those who already understand the gospel gain more understanding while those who have rejected Jesus remain in the dark. Was it unfair of Jesus to obscure His teaching from those who rejected Him by using parables? Whose fault was it ultimately that they did not understand? why is this parable foundational to comprehending other parables? Is one kind of soil that Jesus mentions more prevalent in our culture right now? Is there a particular way we should present the Word of God that might make people more receptive? How can we change the presentation without changing the message? What part do we play in being good soil for God's Word? What can we do to grow in holiness and to produce fruit by making disciples? The Hardened Hearted - How is actively listening and learning to Biblical teaching an act of spiritual warfare against Satan? The hardened heart can manifest as apathy, annoyance, and antagonism. How have you seen people harden their hearts against Biblical teaching? The Shallow Heart - We need to be careful to avoid a firecracker faith that has a short-term excitement but no long-term roots. How can we grow our roots deep so that we don't change when the environment around us changes? How can we shepherd people going through the honeymoon stage of faith to have realistic expectations about the challenges they will face? Does your spiritual life require constant mountain top experiences and what happens to your faith when you experience suffering, persecution or difficulty. The Profane Heart - How can we guard our hearts to carefully avoid the temptations to get caught up in the cares of the world? What ways can riches be deceitful? How does worldliness choke out godly fruitfulness in your life? The Faithful Heart - What does a receptive, humble, teachable, listening, receiving and learning heart look like? The Gospel of Mark says "Hear/Listen" 14 times in Mark 4:1-34! Questions about Listening to Jesus and Growing Do I Delight or Dread Reading the Bible Throughout the Week? Do I Prepare my Heart to Receive God’s Word or do I Just Show up on Sundays? Do I Lean in to Consider, Take Notes and Actively Listen or Do I Just Passively Watch? Am I Being Shaped to See Jesus as Increasingly More Precious or More Forgetful? Do I Take an Active Role in My Spiritual Development or Do I Expect Others to Do Everything? Would Others Say that I’m Becoming More Humble and Teachable or More Proud and Unwilling to be Corrected? Am I Growing in My Obedience or am I More Careless in Obedience? Does God’s Word Linger in My Life or is it Immediately Disregarded?

#5 Mark 3:20-35 "Jesus: Liar, Lunatic or Lord"

The Gospel of Mark: Servanthood, Discipleship, and Following Jesus
#4 Mark 3:20-35 "Jesus: Liar, Lunatic or Lord"

Everyone believes something about Jesus. Gandhi believed Jesus was an innocent man who voluntarily sacrificed himself for the good of others. Martin Luther King Jr. described Jesus as “an extremist for love.” Muslims believe Jesus was the second most important prophet, after Muhammad, and Judaism labels Jesus as a false prophet. Buddhism teaches that Jesus was an enlightened man, and Hinduism suggests Jesus was a holy man akin to a saint. A very popular opinion widely held in our culture and almost universally believed in New Age spiritual movements is that Jesus was a wise moral teacher but would such a great teacher say the sorts of things Jesus did about himself?

Introduction
Did you have a nickname growing up and if so what was it and who gave it to you? If you could pick a nickname what would it be?
How does giving someone a nickname help us to understand them?

• The Crowds thought Jesus was Interested - Read Mark 3:20. Where is home for Jesus and why does Mark say that the crowds have gathered “again”? (See 2:1)

What does the presence of so many people permit Jesus and His disciples from doing? The crowds thought Jesus was interesting but as the author C.S. Lewis rightly comments, “…A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is , the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse.”
What would you say to a statement that says Jesus Christ was a great moral teacher and certainly a great leader, but nothing more (John 10:30-33)?
What other alternatives do we have to Jesus being either a liar, a lunatic or Lord?
Does it make any sense for Jesus to have been a liar or just someone who was sincerely wrong about who he was? Why or why not?
Why would someone not be able to accept Jesus as Lord if they clearly believe He was neither a liar or lunatic?

• The Family thought Jesus was Deluded - Read Mark 3:21. What does His family do when they hear what’s happening? What do they say in verse 21?

Why would his family say to others that “He is out of His mind”? What ways is Christianity seen as being crazy to your family and friends?

• The Leaders thought Jesus was Demonic - Read Mark 3:22-30. Who came from Jerusalem just to see Jesus? What did they claim in verse 22?

This was significant because according to the Mosaic Law false teachers should be punished by death (See Deuteronomy 13:15, 18:20). So how did Jesus respond to this charge in verses 23-29? What does He say to them? What does He accuse them of in verse 29?
Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is a serious charge. Blasphemy is defined as “defiant irreverence.” Here the scribes were claiming that Jesus’ power was from Satan. So how were they guilty of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? Why would Jesus accuse them of this and describe this as an eternal sin?

• The Family Thought Jesus was Deluded -  Read Mark 3:31-35. Who calls for Jesus in verse 31? What does Jesus say in response?

What is the new identity that people who believe Jesus is Lord should walk in? How should viewing your church like your family change the way you interact with and care for others?

• Prayer Time

Take a moment to share what your next step of discipleship will be and how others can be praying for you and supporting you.

#3 Mark 2:1-3:6 "Jesus the Revolutionary"

The Gospel of Mark: Servanthood, Discipleship, and Following Jesus

#3 Mark 2:1-3:6 "Jesus the Revolutionary!"

The first Iphone was released in 2007 and utterly revolutionized how we find information, travel around, take pictures, and surf the web. Revolutions transform the world and change the way we understand everything. As we open the scriptures to Mark 2:1-3:6 we'll see that Jesus is a revolutionary. Love Jesus or Hate Him, everyone took him seriously. Jesus was revolutionary by forgiving, befriending, and healing sinners like you and me. Let's learn about what made Jesus so incredible!

Introduction

How is everyone and what is one highlight from your week? Pastor Kyle opened his message talking about Jesus being revolutionary. What revolutions have you lived through and how have the changed technology, culture, and your life? What makes a revolution so powerfully transformative?

Let's open our bibles to Luke 2:1-3:6 and study how Jesus

Jesus Forgives Sinners (2:1-12) 

The four men carried their paralytic friend to Jesus despite the difficulties and challenges. Which friends are you trying to get to Jesus and what challenges are you facing?

Jesus forgives the paralytic instead of healing him and everyone is shocked and horrified, why is this action so revolutionary?

Why is sin the most important problem in the universe to Jesus?

How are we doing at living in the freedom that God has given us through the forgiveness of Jesus?

Jesus Befriends Sinners (2:13-22)

What's the difference between a crowd and a community, between a decision or a disciple? Why is Jesus calling Matthew the Tax Collector to be his disciple such a revolutionary action? How does Jesus demonstrate his friendship to Matthew? Why is Jesus eating with sinners so revolutionary? Unpack this statement: Sanctification isn't separation but imitation. How can we imitate our Rabbi Jesus as he eats with Tax Collectors and Sinners?

Jesus Heals Sinners (2:29-3:6)

Why is Jesus calling himself the Son of Man and the Lord of the Sabbath such a revolutionary statement? How is the Sabbath a healing gift of God? How do you practice the Sabbath? In what ways have you seen and experienced the healing of Jesus in your life or the lives of those you know?

Prayer Time

How can we be praying for one another? What bold moves do we need to make to get people to Jesus? Let's take some time to pray together.

(You can go popcorn prayer, have everyone pray over the person to their right or whatever works best for your group)

#2 "Following Rabbi Jesus"

Making a good first impression matters, whether you are going to a job interview, out on a date or meeting a new friend, we know that first impressions shape how someone views and thinks about us. Open your Bible to Mark 1:16-45 as we see a day in the ministry of Jesus and learn that peoples constant first impression of Jesus was awe at His authority. Whether they love Jesus or hated him, everyone took Him seriously. Let's open our Bibles to the Gospel of Mark and learn about Jesus' compelling authority to make disciples, Jesus' cleanses authority to rid us of the demonic and Jesus' healing authority to restore our brokenness. The same Jesus of the Gospel of Mark is ruling and reigning from Heaven and continues to make disciples, beat back the darkness, and heal the broken. Lord Jesus, heal us, cleanse us, and make us your disciples who want to be with you, like you, and to do what you have done.

#1 Mark 1:1-15 The Center of the Story - Good News!

The Gospel of Mark: Servanthood, Discipleship, and Following Jesus

#1 Mark 1:1-15 "The Center of the Story - Good News!"

Big Idea: Following Jesus Changes Everything About Us!

What is the advantage of having four Gospels, all telling essentially the same story? How might Mark's consciousness of having a Roman audience affect his selection and presentation of the facts of the Gospel story? How did Mark's missionary work with Paul and Barnabas and his work with Peter prepare him to write his Gospel account?

Jesus Reveals the Truth -

We Can Follow Him (1:1)
What are the implications of of Jesus' title "Christ" in the lives of His followers? What are the implications of Jesus being called the "Son of God" in the introduction of the Gospel of Mark? How does Mark revealing who Jesus is create a ironic tension as you read through the Gospel being the only one, beside the demons, who truly knows who Jesus actually is?

Jesus Fulfills the Scriptures -

We Can Trust Him (1:2-3)
How does the Gospel of Mark connect the Prophet Isaiah with John the Baptist? How does the Prophet Isaiah, writing hundreds of years before Jesus, predicting the events that were to unfold show us God's sovereignty? How does God's sovereignty help foster confidence in the times of difficulty and uncertainty?

Jesus Brings the Spirit -

We Can Be Changed (1:4-11)
How does John the Baptist function as a transitional figure from the Old Testament to the new covenant? How do John and his preaching style compare with current notions of how to gain a following and grow a church? Why do you think John gained a large following? What was his message? How did that message contribute to his popularity and to his death? How is John's humble message about Christ similar to what we should tell others about Christ? How is our message different? God fulfilled His promises to send a messenger and send a Savior. What are some of the other promises of God that have not yet been fulfilled? Why does Jesus choice to be baptized and what is the purpose of the sinless savior entering into the waters of baptism? How does Jesus' baptism show the nature of the Trinity?

Jesus Overcomes the Enemy -

We Can Have Victory (1:12-13)
Why do you think God chooses for us to walk through wilderness seasons in our life? What do wilderness seasons accomplish in our lives? How have you been tested since you gave your life to Christ and what was it like? How can we learn from Jesus' victory over Satan in the wilderness?

Jesus Builds the Kingdom -

We Can Have Purpose (1:14-15)
In what way is the Kingdom of God already here? In what way is it yet to come in the future? How is repentance related to confession and obedience? Compare and contrast the words belief, faith, and trust. Why are these words used in connection with the Kingdom of God?