Mark 9:33-37

"After [Jesus and his disciples] arrived at Capernaum and settled in a house, Jesus asked his disciples, "What were you discussing out on the road?"..."

"Then [Jesus] put a little child among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, "Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf...."

"[Jesus] sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, "Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone..."

"Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.""

Inspirational illustration of Mark 9:35 -- If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.

Let's turn this phrase on its ear! Rubel Shelly talks about the term act of God and turns the phrase around to be a call to action for God's people.

Dear God in heaven, we’d sure like to have a little bit of power to alter our irrelevance, lighten the burdens of others, and heal the wounds of the broken and despairing. Phil Ware writes out of the context of recent disasters and the loss of a mother and child to remind us that being a servant, offering ourselves in sacrificial love, is never a waste!

When will it all stop? The comparison game hurts us no matter what side of the game we play on.

Jesus’ disciples were clueless. Even worse, they were unwilling to accept that the role of exaltation for Jesus and his followers involved the cross of Golgotha! Phil Ware continues his series on the Cruciformed disciple, focusing this week on the power of the small.

There's a lot the disciples missed about Jesus, I wonder what I am not getting? Phil Ware thinks about the disciples not getting Jesus' repeated statements about going to Jerusalem, being rejected, being crucified, and being raised from the dead.