Here's a 5-day Bible reading plan and devotional guide based on the themes from the sermon on Sunday, August 16, 2026:
Day 1: Dying to Self — The Starting Point of Greatness
Reading: Mark 9:30-32 — Jesus foretells his death and resurrection, revealing that the path forward runs directly through surrender, not self-preservation.
Devotional: Before any of us can walk the road to true greatness, we must reckon honestly with our addiction to self. As Pastor Dave noted, the gospel frees us from that addiction. The disciples walked alongside the Son of God and still missed the point because their hearts were turned inward. Jesus was moving deliberately toward the cross — no hesitation, no reluctance — while his followers were preoccupied with their own concerns. True discipleship begins the moment we stop asking what we deserve and start asking what God requires. His will, even when it leads through difficulty, is described in Romans 12:2 as good, perfect, and reasonable. Surrender is not defeat. It is the doorway to everything.
Reflection: In what area of your life are you still holding the reins tightly, resisting God's direction? What would it look like to release that area to him today?
Practical Application: Spend five minutes in silence before God. Write down one specific area of self-will you are willing to surrender this week, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you follow through.
Day 2: The Greatness of a Servant's Heart
Reading: Mark 9:33-37 — Jesus redefines greatness by placing a child in the center of the room, declaring that welcoming the least is the same as welcoming God himself.
Devotional: The disciples argued about rank on the road to Capernaum. It is a painfully familiar scene. We live, as Pastor Dave observed, in a me-first society — one that tells us to look out for number one, to seek the spotlight, to be noticed. Jesus answered that entire philosophy by picking up a child. Not a dignitary. Not a scholar. A child — the least in the social order of the first century. His message was unmistakable: greatness in God's kingdom is measured by how we treat those the world overlooks. Philippians 2:5-8 shows us that Jesus himself descended into greatness by taking on the nature of a servant. The way up is always down.
Reflection: Who in your life is easy to overlook — the elderly neighbor, the struggling coworker, the child who simply needs someone to listen? How might God be calling you to welcome them in his name?
Practical Application: Identify one person this week who is often overlooked in your daily circles. Perform a specific, intentional act of service for that person without seeking recognition.
Day 3: Allegiance to Christ Above All Else
Reading: Mark 9:38-41 — Jesus corrects the disciples' exclusionary spirit, teaching that anyone who serves in his name is not to be hindered, and that even the smallest act of service done in his name carries eternal reward.
Devotional: John came to Jesus expecting approval for stopping someone who was casting out demons in Jesus' name. Instead, Jesus corrected him. The disciples had drawn a tight circle around themselves and called it faithfulness. But Jesus drew a wider one. This passage challenges us to examine whether our allegiance is truly to Christ or merely to our own group, our own tradition, our own way of doing things. Jesus alone sees the heart. He knows whether we serve in the flesh or in the Spirit. And he promises that whoever gives even a cup of water in his name — the smallest, most unnoticed act — will not lose their reward. Faithfulness is not measured by visibility.
Reflection: Have you ever dismissed or minimized the work of another believer simply because they worshipped differently or belonged to a different congregation? How does today's passage challenge that tendency?
Practical Application: Pray specifically for another church or ministry in your community this week — one that may look different from your own. Ask God to bless their work and bear fruit through their faithfulness.
Day 4: Taking Sin Seriously — The Weight of Holiness
Reading: Mark 9:42-48 — Jesus uses vivid, sobering language to communicate that sin is no small matter and that anything leading us or others away from God must be dealt with decisively.
Devotional: Jesus spoke more about hell than he did about heaven. That is not a comfortable fact, but it is a true one. The hyperbole of cutting off a hand or gouging out an eye was never meant to be taken literally — the Bible itself forbids self-mutilation. But the force of the imagery was deliberate. Sin is serious. It grieves a loving God. It sent Jesus to the cross. And a culture that downplays sin produces people who never feel the weight of what Christ actually saved them from. As Pastor Dave reminded us, once we come to Christ, we do not say we cannot sin — we say we do not want to, because we love the one who redeemed us. That is the difference between religion and relationship.
Reflection: Is there a pattern of sin in your life that you have been treating casually rather than seriously? What does it look like to bring genuine, godly sorrow before the Lord over that specific area?
Practical Application: Read Psalm 51 slowly and prayerfully today. Let David's words of repentance become your own. Then identify one practical boundary you will set this week to guard against a recurring temptation.
Day 5: Salt, Light, and the Call to Awaken
Reading: Mark 9:49-50 and Titus 2:11-14 — Salt that loses its flavor is useless. Believers are called to preserve, purify, and create a thirst for God in a world rapidly decaying by sin.
Devotional: Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that his followers are the salt of the earth. Salt preserves. Salt purifies. Salt creates thirst. But salt that has lost its purpose is worthless. Pastor Dave spoke plainly: the church in America must own part of the moral and spiritual decay of this generation, because we have not always been the salt we were called to be. Titus 2:11-14 reminds us that the grace of God not only saves us but teaches us to say no to ungodliness and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for the return of Christ. The call to holiness is not a burden — it is a privilege. It is the natural overflow of a heart that has been genuinely transformed by the gospel. Get out of the salt shaker and into the world.
Reflection: In what ways has your life made the gospel attractive to those around you this past week? Where has your saltiness faded, and what needs to change?
Practical Application: Write down the names of three people in your life who do not yet know Christ. Commit to praying for them by name every day this week, and ask God to open one natural opportunity to serve or speak truth to at least one of them before the week is over.
Day 1: Dying to Self — The Starting Point of Greatness
Reading: Mark 9:30-32 — Jesus foretells his death and resurrection, revealing that the path forward runs directly through surrender, not self-preservation.
Devotional: Before any of us can walk the road to true greatness, we must reckon honestly with our addiction to self. As Pastor Dave noted, the gospel frees us from that addiction. The disciples walked alongside the Son of God and still missed the point because their hearts were turned inward. Jesus was moving deliberately toward the cross — no hesitation, no reluctance — while his followers were preoccupied with their own concerns. True discipleship begins the moment we stop asking what we deserve and start asking what God requires. His will, even when it leads through difficulty, is described in Romans 12:2 as good, perfect, and reasonable. Surrender is not defeat. It is the doorway to everything.
Reflection: In what area of your life are you still holding the reins tightly, resisting God's direction? What would it look like to release that area to him today?
Practical Application: Spend five minutes in silence before God. Write down one specific area of self-will you are willing to surrender this week, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you follow through.
Day 2: The Greatness of a Servant's Heart
Reading: Mark 9:33-37 — Jesus redefines greatness by placing a child in the center of the room, declaring that welcoming the least is the same as welcoming God himself.
Devotional: The disciples argued about rank on the road to Capernaum. It is a painfully familiar scene. We live, as Pastor Dave observed, in a me-first society — one that tells us to look out for number one, to seek the spotlight, to be noticed. Jesus answered that entire philosophy by picking up a child. Not a dignitary. Not a scholar. A child — the least in the social order of the first century. His message was unmistakable: greatness in God's kingdom is measured by how we treat those the world overlooks. Philippians 2:5-8 shows us that Jesus himself descended into greatness by taking on the nature of a servant. The way up is always down.
Reflection: Who in your life is easy to overlook — the elderly neighbor, the struggling coworker, the child who simply needs someone to listen? How might God be calling you to welcome them in his name?
Practical Application: Identify one person this week who is often overlooked in your daily circles. Perform a specific, intentional act of service for that person without seeking recognition.
Day 3: Allegiance to Christ Above All Else
Reading: Mark 9:38-41 — Jesus corrects the disciples' exclusionary spirit, teaching that anyone who serves in his name is not to be hindered, and that even the smallest act of service done in his name carries eternal reward.
Devotional: John came to Jesus expecting approval for stopping someone who was casting out demons in Jesus' name. Instead, Jesus corrected him. The disciples had drawn a tight circle around themselves and called it faithfulness. But Jesus drew a wider one. This passage challenges us to examine whether our allegiance is truly to Christ or merely to our own group, our own tradition, our own way of doing things. Jesus alone sees the heart. He knows whether we serve in the flesh or in the Spirit. And he promises that whoever gives even a cup of water in his name — the smallest, most unnoticed act — will not lose their reward. Faithfulness is not measured by visibility.
Reflection: Have you ever dismissed or minimized the work of another believer simply because they worshipped differently or belonged to a different congregation? How does today's passage challenge that tendency?
Practical Application: Pray specifically for another church or ministry in your community this week — one that may look different from your own. Ask God to bless their work and bear fruit through their faithfulness.
Day 4: Taking Sin Seriously — The Weight of Holiness
Reading: Mark 9:42-48 — Jesus uses vivid, sobering language to communicate that sin is no small matter and that anything leading us or others away from God must be dealt with decisively.
Devotional: Jesus spoke more about hell than he did about heaven. That is not a comfortable fact, but it is a true one. The hyperbole of cutting off a hand or gouging out an eye was never meant to be taken literally — the Bible itself forbids self-mutilation. But the force of the imagery was deliberate. Sin is serious. It grieves a loving God. It sent Jesus to the cross. And a culture that downplays sin produces people who never feel the weight of what Christ actually saved them from. As Pastor Dave reminded us, once we come to Christ, we do not say we cannot sin — we say we do not want to, because we love the one who redeemed us. That is the difference between religion and relationship.
Reflection: Is there a pattern of sin in your life that you have been treating casually rather than seriously? What does it look like to bring genuine, godly sorrow before the Lord over that specific area?
Practical Application: Read Psalm 51 slowly and prayerfully today. Let David's words of repentance become your own. Then identify one practical boundary you will set this week to guard against a recurring temptation.
Day 5: Salt, Light, and the Call to Awaken
Reading: Mark 9:49-50 and Titus 2:11-14 — Salt that loses its flavor is useless. Believers are called to preserve, purify, and create a thirst for God in a world rapidly decaying by sin.
Devotional: Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that his followers are the salt of the earth. Salt preserves. Salt purifies. Salt creates thirst. But salt that has lost its purpose is worthless. Pastor Dave spoke plainly: the church in America must own part of the moral and spiritual decay of this generation, because we have not always been the salt we were called to be. Titus 2:11-14 reminds us that the grace of God not only saves us but teaches us to say no to ungodliness and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for the return of Christ. The call to holiness is not a burden — it is a privilege. It is the natural overflow of a heart that has been genuinely transformed by the gospel. Get out of the salt shaker and into the world.
Reflection: In what ways has your life made the gospel attractive to those around you this past week? Where has your saltiness faded, and what needs to change?
Practical Application: Write down the names of three people in your life who do not yet know Christ. Commit to praying for them by name every day this week, and ask God to open one natural opportunity to serve or speak truth to at least one of them before the week is over.
Archive
2026
January
February
March
April
June
July
2025
October
November