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Sermon Guide

FOLLOW | Servanthood

Teaching Text

MATTHEW 20:25-28

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Sermon Recap

This Sunday, Pastor Keithen continued our FOLLOW series with a passage on serving that cuts against much of what New York teaches us about how to get ahead. In Matthew 20, the mother of James and John asks Jesus for places of honor for her sons in His Kingdom. Her request reflects a familiar way of thinking—use your relationships, secure your position, and climb as high as you can. Jesus responds with four words that change the whole framework, “Not so with you.”

Jesus does not deny that the world is organized around power and status. He names it plainly, but His Kingdom works differently. “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,” He says, because the Son of Man “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Pastor Keithen traced four shifts in the life of a disciple. We move from consumption to contribution, learning to see church not primarily as something that serves us, but as a place where we participate and give ourselves away. We move from criticism to compassion, resisting the instinct to compare ourselves with others and learning instead to see people with the compassion of Jesus. We move from self-focus to consecration, following Jesus into the ordinary, often unseen work of serving others. And we move from extraction to crucifixion—from asking what we can get from a city to asking what it might look like to give our lives for its good.

That last shift landed close to home. Pastor Keithen asked whether we came to New York simply to build a life here, or whether we might be called to lay our lives down for the people and places God has entrusted to us. He spoke honestly about how that question has confronted his own reasons for moving to the city.

Jesus' way of greatness is not simply a better strategy for getting ahead. It is a different way of living altogether. We follow the One who came not to be served, but to serve.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  • What is something you naturally find yourself wanting to be good at or successful in?

  • Scripture references from the sermon:

    Choose 1–2 passages to read together.

    • Matthew 20:20–28

    • Matthew 9:35–38

    • John 13:1–17

    • Galatians 2:20

    • Philippians 2:3–8

    Application Questions:

    • What stands out to you in this passage?

    • What does this passage show us about Jesus?

    • What does this passage reveal about what it means to follow Him?

    1. What was one thing from Sunday's message that stayed with you?

    2. Which of the four shifts—consumption to contribution, criticism to compassion, self-focus to consecration, or extraction to crucifixion—most challenged you? Why?

    3. Where do you notice the pressure to get ahead, be recognized, or protect your position in your own life?

    4. What might it look like to serve someone this week without needing anything in return?

    5. Pastor Keithen asked whether we came to New York to be served by the city or to serve the people in it. How does that question land with you?

  • Pray that Jesus would form His way of greatness in us—that we would become people who serve rather than seek status, respond with compassion rather than comparison, and increasingly see our lives as something to give for the good of others.