THE KING WHO DISAPPOINTS OUR EXPECTATIONSMark 11:7–11 (NLT)“Jesus came to Jerusalem and went into the Temple. After looking around carefully at everything, he left because it was late in the afternoon. Then he returned to Bethany with the twelve disciples.”At this point in the story the crowd has rolled out a red carpet of cloaks and palm branches. They’re shouting “Hosanna!” expecting Jesus to st...  Read More

THE DONKEY THAT CHANGES EVERYTHINGMark 11:1–6 (NLT) “Jesus sent two of them on ahead. ‘Go into the village over there,’ he told them… ‘The Lord needs it and will return it soon.’ The two disciples left and found the colt standing in the street, tied outside the front door.”There's a hotel in Monte Carlo where rooms cost more per night than most family vacations. When you arrive, your transportatio...  Read More

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