Day 18: Service, not Self-Seeking (9:30-50)
Discussion Questions
(1) Who has been an example in your life of sacrificial service?
(2) Jesus speaks of hell as a real place. How do people downplay or deny its reality today?
(3) Every believer will face suffering in their lives. God permits suffering to refine our faith. Can you recall a time when past suffering brought you closer to the Lord and strengthened your faith?
(4) Do you actively seek to overcome sin by seeking the heart of Christ?
(5) Desire for prominence resided in the best of hearts. Jesus modeled and called us into servanthood. Who are you called to serve today? How can you be a servant to those in your family, work, or school? Is there a ministry at your church in which you can get involved?
(6) We talk often about the idea of discipleship and its importance. What is discipleship and how should we understand its implications? (74)
I have to ask God several times a day that I would seek to serve rather than to be served. I try to spur others to holiness over choosing to sin. I am dependent on God to help me to be salt and light to those I serve and to deal with my pride. I need to be humbled. While my sin is great, His grace and mercy is greater. Daily, I depend on the Lord to serve in the strength He alone can provide.