Posts with the category “the-beautiful-upset”

The Greatness We Can’t GraspINTRODUCTIONThe following is a guide to help facilitate discussion between you and the person you’re studying with or with your Connect Group. Feel free to add, subtract, or change questions to fit the conversation, and pray for the Spirit to lead in all things.OPENING QUESTIONShare with your group about a person in your life that showed you a picture of Jesus by how th...  Read More

THE TOWEL OVER THE CROWNMark 10:43–45 (NLT) “Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant… For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”’When Jesus redefines greatness for His disciples, He doesn’t condemn the desire to lead, He simply redirects it. He turns leadership inside out, making servanthood the measure of true ...  Read More

THE WAY OF THE WORLDMark 10:41–43 (NLT)“When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. So Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people… But among you it will be different.”A few years ago, I was sitting in a meeting with a group of leaders, VPs, directors, deans, the kind of room where titles arrive b...  Read More

CAN YOU DRINK THE CUP?Mark 10:38–40 (NLT) “But Jesus said to them, ‘You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink?’ ‘Oh yes,’ they replied, ‘we are able!’”When James and John ask for the seats of honor, Jesus doesn’t shame them—He simply tells them they don’t yet understand what greatness costs. They imagine glory; Jesus is talking a...  Read More

THE REQUESTMark 10:35–37 (NLT) “Then James and John… said, ‘Teacher, we want you to do us a favor… When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you.’”A friend once told me a story about one of those moments where a person says something perfectly reasonable at a spectacularly unreasonable time. His extended family had gathered at the hospital after their grandmot...  Read More

WALKING TOWARD DEATHMark 10:32–34 (NLT) “They were now on the way up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were filled with awe, and the people following behind were overwhelmed with fear. Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus once more began to describe everything that was about to happen to him…”If you slow down long enough to picture this scene, one detail refuses ...  Read More

The Glory WE Can’t Hold OntoINTRODUCTIONThe following is a guide to help facilitate discussion between you and the person you’re studying with or with your Connect Group. Feel free to add, subtract, or change questions to fit the conversation, and pray for the Spirit to lead in all things.OPENING QUESTIONThink back to a spiritual experience you’ve had in your life that you would call a “mountain-t...  Read More

PRAYER AND POWERMark 9:25–29 (NLT) “Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with His disciples, they asked Him, ‘Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?’ Jesus replied, ‘This kind can be cast out only by prayer.’”The week my daughter turned two, she became a tiny tornado. The terrible twos didn’t ease in, they slammed into our home like a storm front. I remember turning to my wife and sayi...  Read More

HELP MY UNBELIEF!Mark 9:20–24 (NLT) “The father instantly cried out, ‘I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!’”There may be no prayer more honest, or more relatable, in the entire Bible. The boy's father is exhausted. Years of watching his son suffer. Years of disappointment. Years of praying without answers. His faith isn't polished; it's patched together from hope and heartbreak. When Je...  Read More

THE VALLEY OF FAILUREMark 9:14–19 (NLT) “When they returned to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd… Some teachers of religious law were arguing… One man spoke up and said, ‘Teacher, I brought my son… but your disciples couldn’t cast out the evil spirit.’ Jesus said… ‘How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.’”The valley is where our faith feels thin...  Read More

THE MOUNTAIN OF GLORYMark 9:2–8 (NLT) “Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white… Then Elijah and Moses appeared and began talking with Jesus… a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.’ Sudde...  Read More

THE MOUNTAIN OF GLORYMark 9:2–8 (NLT) “Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white… Then Elijah and Moses appeared and began talking with Jesus… a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.’ Sudde...  Read More

The Confession We Don’t UnderstandINTRODUCTION The following is a guide to help facilitate discussion between you and the person you’re studying with or with your Connect Group. Feel free to add, subtract, or change questions to fit the conversation, and pray for the Spirit to lead in all things.OPENING QUESTION When did you first begin to believe that Jesus truly is your Lord? Was it at your bapt...  Read More

THE SILENCE THAT SPEAKSMark 8:30 (NLT) "Then Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him."This is one of the most puzzling verses in the Gospels. Peter just gave the right answer to the most important question ever asked, and Jesus tells him to keep quiet about it.Imagine you're in a classroom. You've been studying for weeks, flash cards, practice problems, late-night cramming. The teacher fina...  Read More

THE UNEXPECTED ANSWER Mark 8:27-29 (NLT) "Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, 'Who do people say I am?' 'Well,' they replied, 'some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets.' Then he asked them, 'But who do you say I am?' Peter replied, 'You are the Messiah...  Read More

THE COST OF FOLLOWINGMark 8:34-38 (NLT) "Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, 'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole wor...  Read More

THE MESSIAH WE DIDN'T EXPECTMark 8:31-33 (NLT) "Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead. As he talked about this openly, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. But Jesus turned an...  Read More

THE QUESTION THAT CHANGES EVERYTHINGMark 8:27-30 (NLT) "Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, 'Who do people say I am?' 'Well,' they replied, 'some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets.' Then he asked them, 'But who do you say I am?' Peter replied, 'You a...  Read More

We're starting in the middle of Mark's Gospel, which, I admit, seems a little odd, but it is intentional. By the time we reach Mark 8, Jesus has been teaching, healing, and confusing people for months. The crowds have been following Him, the religious leaders have been questioning Him, and His disciples have been trying to figure out who He really is.It’s at this point that Jesus stops being evasi...  Read More