{"id":37140,"date":"2025-08-27T22:00:37","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T05:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=37140"},"modified":"2025-08-19T17:14:45","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T00:14:45","slug":"mark_9_33-41","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/mark_9_33-41\/","title":{"rendered":"The Truly Great One Among Us"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mark 9:33-41\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0(CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Mark 9:33-41.\u00a0 With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.\u00a0 Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?\u00a0 After you\u2019ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Mark 9:33-34 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n33\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?”
\n34\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 33-34:\u00a0 How silly it was for the disciples to be arguing about who among them was the greatest, when in fact the greatest one by far was with them but not part of the conversation.\u00a0 It\u2019s like if Wayne Gretzky were to play with a bunch of grade school children and find them arguing about who is the greatest player among them, all the while forgetting that the greatest of all time was in their midst.<\/p>\n

As silly as that sounds, I can fall into that same trap.\u00a0 I can start obsessing over how I compare to my peers, consumed by thoughts about my own greatness \u2013 my reputation, my fame, my glory \u2013 and completely forget that the only truly great one, Jesus Christ, is right there before me and is the one who deserves the attention.\u00a0 When I start to focus on my own \u201cgreatness\u201d, I miss the point because it\u2019s not about me; it\u2019s about Jesus.<\/p>\n

Earlier in Mark 9 Jesus said, \u201cIf anyone would come after me, he must deny himself\u2026\u201d\u00a0 A big part of\u00a0denying yourself is ceasing to focus on your own perceived \u201cgreatness\u201d and focusing on Jesus\u2019 greatness<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Mark 9:35 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n35\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 35:\u00a0 Despite how silly it was for the disciples to argue about who was the greatest, Jesus gives them some valuable advice: if you really want to be great, be a servant.\u00a0 Be someone who sets aside his own needs to serve others.\u00a0 That\u2019s in fact what made Jesus as great as He is.\u00a0\u00a0True greatness is about serving others with humility.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark 9:36-37 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n36\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them,
\n37\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 36-37:\u00a0 For parents of young children, for Sunday school teachers, for child educators, for those who spend time taking care of those who are weak and vulnerable, remember this:\u00a0when you welcome a child and make him or her feel loved, valued, accepted, and included, you welcome Jesus and touch Jesus\u2019 heart<\/strong>.\u00a0 Your ministry to children matters so much to God that God takes it personally.\u00a0 So when you serve that child today, see yourself as serving Jesus.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s crazy that Jesus \u2013 i.e. God \u2013 would identify more with the small, the weak and the vulnerable than he would with the great, the strong, and the influential.\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s the incredible, humble, compassionate heart of God.<\/p>\n

Mark 9:38-41 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n38\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Teacher,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”
\n39\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me,
\n40\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0for whoever is not against us is for us.
\n41\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 38-41:\u00a0 Yesterday my son and I were talking about how Thrive Church is really one part of a much bigger Church that Jesus is building, and that other churches in our city and around the world are not our competitors but our partners.\u00a0 They might not have the same style, the same culture or speak the same language, but we\u2019re serving the same Lord.\u00a0 His name is Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

Lord Jesus, forgive me for the times when I\u2019m so focused on my own greatness, when the truly Great One among us is You.\u00a0 How silly it is for me to obsess over my own greatness, or envy other people\u2019s greatness, when You the true Great One have been here all along.\u00a0 I turn from that silliness and praise Your greatness now.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

copyright \u00a9 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Mark 9:33-41.\u00a0 With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.\u00a0 Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?\u00a0 After you\u2019ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Mark 9:33-34 (NIV)
\n33\u00a0\u00a0They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?”
\n34\u00a0\u00a0But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.<\/p>\n

On verses 33-34:\u00a0 How silly it was for the disciples to be arguing about who among them was the greatest, when in fact the greatest one by far was with them but not part of the conversation.\u00a0 It\u2019s like if Wayne Gretzky were to play with a bunch of grade school children and find them arguing about who is the greatest player among them, all the while forgetting that the greatest of all time was in their midst.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37142,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37140"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37140\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37143,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37140\/revisions\/37143"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}