Glencairn Church

Going Deeper is designed for use with your small group, a friend, or on your own. Its aim is to create time for you to spend with God and his word. Do as much or as little as you like.

1. Pray for each other, our church and leaders, for the not-yet believers in your life, and for opportunities to disciple others. Share a recent entry from your Life Journal with the group.

2. Talking about Jesus dying on the cross can produce two opposite reactions. There are those who struggle too much with the cross and those who struggle too little. There are those who don’t understand it and even find it offensive, and there are those who don’t think enough about it and therefore no meaningful life-change occurs. In Mark 10:32-45, Jesus explains why he had to die, and how it should radically transform us. What thoughts or questions did the message raise for you? Which ones encouraged you or posed a challenge to you?

3. Why do some people see the cross as offensive? Have you ever wondered why Jesus had to die on a cross? Why couldn’t God simply declare people forgiven? How has Jesus’ death on the cross impacted your life?

4. Read Mark 8:31-35; 9:30-37; 10:32-40. Three times Jesus predicts the kind of death he will die, and each time, he must remind his disciples that the way of Jesus is the cross. What strikes you as you read these passages? When you read about the disciples arguing over who is greater, do you more easily condemn them, or identify with them? Why? What does it mean to deny yourself and take up your cross? Jesus suggests this unintuitive statement: “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” (9:35). Why is this so hard for us? When you think of the people who have had the most influence on your life, how many of them would fit in this category that Jesus is talking about?

5. In Mark 10:38-40, what did the cup and baptism represent for Jesus? What did it mean for the disciples? What does it mean for us?

6. Do you agree with the statement that “All life-changing love is substitutionary sacrifice”? Why or why not? Can you think of examples of where you experienced love through a substitutionary sacrifice? What was it like?

7. Read Mark 10:41-45. Jesus is contrasting the power dynamics of an earthly ruler compared to that of the Kingdom of God. What do you notice as the differences? How should this affect our leadership structures and way of relating to others?

8. How can we learn to live the humility of Christ?

9. Take a moment of silence to consider how God is speaking to you. Is He asking you to make changes or to do something new? What concrete steps of response do you want to take? How can your group support you in these steps?