Skip to content Stand Alone Messages: Why We Serve Oct 25 · 54 min ...more
Stand Alone Messages: Why We Serve
October 25, 2026 · 54 min
What does it really mean to serve like Jesus? In this message from Mark 10:35–45, Pastor Jeff Schwarzentraub challenges us to rethink greatness, leadership, and what it means to follow Christ. Jesus didn't come to be served—He came to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. True servanthood comes with a cost. It means choosing sacrifice over status, counting the cost of suffering, and being willing to run toward the needs God places in front of us. Instead of asking, "What can I get?" followers of Jesus are called to ask, "Who can I serve?" Speaker: Jeff Schwarzentraub
Series BRAVE Church October 25, 2026 · 54 min · BRAVE Church
What does it really mean to serve like Jesus? In this message from Mark 10:35–45, Pastor Jeff Schwarzentraub challenges us to rethink greatness, leadership, and what it means to follow Christ. Jesus didn't come to be served—He came to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. True servanthood comes with a cost. It means choosing sacrifice over status, counting the cost of suffering, and being willing to run toward the needs God places in front of us. Instead of asking, "What can I get?" followers of Jesus are called to ask, "Who can I serve?" Speaker: Jeff Schwarzentraub ...more Show the full description Show less What does it really mean to serve like Jesus? In this message from Mark 10:35–45, Pastor Jeff Schwarzentraub challenges us to rethink greatness, leadership, and what it means to follow Christ. Jesus didn't come to be served—He came to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. True servanthood comes with a cost. It means choosing sacrifice over status, counting the cost of suffering, and being willing to run toward the needs God places in front of us. Instead of asking, "What can I get?" followers of Jesus are called to ask, "Who can I serve?" Speaker: Jeff Schwarzentraub
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Pastor Jeff Schwarzentraub serves as president of Pastor Jeff Ministries, a national and global ministry designed to equip believers and challenge them to take
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In this video 0:00 Honoring First Responders and the Call to Service11:59 Pursue Sacrifice Rather Than Status27:17 Count the Cost of Suffering and Death35:47 Run Immediately to Meet the Need44:38 Surrender to the One Who Gave His Life for You
Honoring First Responders and the Call to Service 0:01 That's how we feel about all our first responders. We have several of them here with their families. I'm gonna invite you up to the platform. If you're a first responder of any kind, you're an EMT or a correctional0:10 officer, police officer, firefighter, you are welcome to the stage. You and your family at this point in time. The rest of you can be seated. Thank you for the ovation. That's heartfelt. That's how0:22 we feel about you. I've been wanting to do, a special service like this for quite some time because these are heroes to me in our generation0:34 of people that go to serve when the call is given. So one more time, you don't need to stand again, but could we give appreciation to these guys?1:45 Thank you.2:03 Amen. Amen.2:06 This is2:07 even better than a plan. Really thankful for each and every one of you. Pastor Nick and, Dan, one of our elders, are going to be passing out, some things we want each of you to have. This is a this2:18 is a coin, and and on this coin there's an American flag on front that says, thank you. We see you. We honor you. First responders. I think they'll put a picture of it up. There you go. And then on the back it says,2:30
2:42 passing those out, I just want
2:43 to say, we live in a
2:44 culture that does not honor these people nearly enough. These are these are people when they kiss their spouses goodbye and go to work, it may be the last time they kiss their spouse. These are people that go into the
2:55 trouble not away from it. These are the people that care for you, even though you didn't ask for it and they deserve to be honored because all people in authority deserve to be honored. Amen? So, well,
3:06 amen. We can do that. Now, while we're doing this, we have three of our wardens here today. I'm gonna
3:18 ask them just to step out forward so we can recognize you. We have officer... We have we have Warden Jones. I'm gonna have Warden Jones speak. Warden Scott, Warden Walters, would you come out?
3:33 I'm so glad you're here. So, we've been talking about this for a while. All of these guys serve as wardens and they've been super helpful to Brave. And instead of me asking you a bunch of questions, just talk about our
3:44 relationship and has the prison ministry for Brave had any impact and where do you see it going?
3:50 Alright. Absolutely. So I'm... First and foremost, thank you for the the ovation. That is truly heart touching. So, we really appreciate it. So I first met brave through, I was assigned up here in Inglewood,
4:03 last year during the government shutdown. And your generosity, your hospitality, you provided the food and the gift cards to our staff. And and I can't tell you how touched they were.
4:15 I don't have the words. They truly felt seen probably for the first time in my thirty year career. And so it started there, and then we started the the prison ministry. And now...
4:27 So you guys are in all four prisons here in Colorado, here in Inglewood and down in Florence. And there is no, words I can say to tell you the impact that it's had. Through the
4:39 opening ceremonies, we probably had roughly four hundred and fifty of the men stand up and accept Christ. Mhmm. And
4:52 And the only way I could probably describe that accurately is it's generational change and it's it's truly kingdom plans that none of us could have ever imagined. And so all I can say from my heart
5:04 to to you, to this church, to your ministers, your pastors is just an absolute heartfelt thank you, and we cannot ever repay what you've given us already. So thank you very much. Thank you.
5:15 Absolutely.
5:24 Go ahead.
5:25 I just like to reiterate what, Warden Jones said. It's... We have truly been blessed from the kindness of your of your church and the things that you've done. And we really want to know the the seeds that have been
5:37 planted, the ideas, the thoughts that have been transferred to our populations just in the short time that this has started is remarkable. I can't even say enough about your kindness and generosity. It has been amazing
5:48 and we are so blessed to be working with you. Thank you.
5:52 Thank you.
5:58 Do you
5:59 want to tell them how you had a full head of hair till you met me?
6:03 Absolutely. Hey. Just wanted to say thank you to everybody. Your generosity, your kindness, like the other wardens have said, it doesn't go unnoticed. The the change across the population, seeing the looks on their
6:14 faces, as he stated, you know, hundreds of grown men standing up and accepting Jesus. Right? It's... You have to see it. In fact, I believe we've got some pictures and all
6:26 that that if it hasn't been shared, we can get. I mean, seeing the individuals, you know, face tattoos, pentagrams on their chairs, and then hearing the word and accepting that
6:38 change. That that... That's good for our prisons.
6:48 Like I
6:48 said, it's good for our prisons, it's good for our society, and and it's good for the kingdom. So thank you. Amen. Amen. Thank you guys.
6:58 Well, let me have you do this before we dismiss them. Would you stand and just extend a hand so we can pray over these men and women and their families, and all that God's doing in their life that he would protect them
7:08 and watch over them. Lord Jesus, we just thank you for each and every one of these families. We thank you for these men and women that serve our communities so faithfully and so honoring. Lord, I pray today they would
7:19 feel honored. I pray they
7:20 would feel built up. I pray they
7:21 would know that there's a church that prays for them, that loves them, that cares for them, that wants to support everything they do. We see you, we love you and we honor you this very day. God, go
7:33 before them, give them the strength to do the service you've called them to, and God be with them every single step of the way. Keep their families close, keep them together as they continue to walk with you all the
7:45 days of their life. We give you all the glory, all the honor, and all the praise. In Jesus name. Amen and Amen. One more time. Could we give him some appreciation? Thank you. Thank you.
7:59 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Well, I feel like
8:11 we've already had church. So thank you for being here today. It's been something I've been wanting to do for a long time. We're finally able to pull it off this year. Hopefully, we can do this every year, to honor these
8:22 men and women that do such a great job in our communities to serve each and every one of us even though we don't ask for it. So with that, I want to remind you as I give messages, you can always use the
8:34 QR code and do q and a with pastor Jeff, q and a with PJ. I try to answer questions that you have about the text after every service. You can just ask those questions. I do my best to answer those about thirty minutes
8:45 after our second service. And with that, let's go before the Lord. Let's get ready to hear his living and active word among us. Our father in heaven, we do give you glory, honor, and praise. Lord, I thank you for these
8:55 men and women that have gathered here today on all of our campuses. Lord, that we can give honor to. Lord, we love them, and Lord, we are so grateful for each and every one of them in their service.
9:08 You modeled for us. And so today, Lord, as we hear you're living an active word, Lord, have a work in our lives. Do a work in and through us. Help us see what service really looks like.
9:20 And Lord, we are so encouraged because we believe that every time your word is faithfully and accurately proclaimed that it is you who are speaking. So our prayer this morning is, speak Lord for we are ready to hear. And
9:29 so now for all those who have gathered who desire to hear the Lord Jesus Christ speak directly to you, who will believe what he tells you, and who will by faith put into practice what he shows you, will you agree with me
9:39 very loudly this morning by saying the word, amen. Amen. Amen. Have you ever asked the question, what is it that causes people to want to run into a building that's on fire when
9:51 everybody else is running away from it? Or what is it that causes someone to drive into a place where there's an active shooter when everyone else is running away from it? Or why would you sign up for a career
10:03 that you know when you're at your home, and you're at your house, and you're saying your goodbyes in the morning? It may very well be the last time that you ever see each other because of the intensity of your job. And
10:13 the reason is is the call of service. Service is an attribute given by Jesus Christ. He's the chief servant. He's the model of all servants. We wanna take a look at what he has to say about
10:25 service today because what he models for us is what we need to model for one another because service is at the heart of everything that Christ wants to be done. So many times when we think about Jesus,
10:37 we think about what he did. He died on the cross. He rose from the dead. We think about his miracles and healing people. But at the heart of everything that Jesus did is he was a servant. He was a servant to his
10:49 father, and he was a servant to everyone he came into contact with. Means to serve. Whether we're a first responder or not, all of us in the
11:01 church are called what? Servants. We're called to serve one another. We're called to love one another and pray for one another. And how is it that we can do that? Because here's the truth, service
11:13 cost you... Service is challenging. Service is something that you need to really gut up for in order to be able to do the things that God wants you to do. So today, I want to
11:24 talk about service. And I want to talk to you about what serving costs, but yet why we must serve anyway. Because service does cost. The reason that many of us don't want to serve is because
11:36 the costs are just too high. But if you're a follower of Jesus Christ, servanthood is normal for you. So today, we're gonna be in Mark chapter ten. Mark chapter ten verses thirty five to forty five. And because it's a
11:48 pretty short passage, I'll read that. I'll give you four truths from this passage. The first three will be what it costs you to serve, and the final one will be why must you serve anyway. Okay? So Mark chapter
Pursue Sacrifice Rather Than Status
12:00 ten, starting in verse thirty five, Jesus is just finished for the third time telling his disciples he must go to Jerusalem, he must suffer, he must die, and on the
12:12 third day he's going to be raised from the dead. He spoke so plainly about what he was gonna do, And this is what happened. James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus saying, teacher, we want
12:23 you to do for us whatever we ask of you. And he said to them, what do you want me to do for you? They said to him, grant that we may sit one on your right and one on your left in your glory. But Jesus said to them, you
12:35 do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism which I am baptized? They said to him, we are able. Drink, and you shall be baptized
12:47 with the baptism with which I am baptized. But to sit on my right or to my left, this is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared. Hearing this, the ten begin to feel indignant with
12:59 James and John calling to himself... Calling them to himself, Jesus said to them, you know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lorded over them and their great men exercise authority over them,
13:12 whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. For even the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give
13:24 his life as a ransom for many. And here in that text, Jesus describes the heart of servanthood. He is really giving the heart of why he does everything that he does, and it's important if we're gonna be followers of
13:35 Christ that we need to understand what he wants us to see in the text. The the three costs of doing it and why we must do it anyway. And the first cost is this, we must pursue sacrifice rather than status.
13:47 Being a servant means I pursue sacrifice rather than status. It's interesting. Jesus has just gotten done telling them. The one reason he's come to earth is what? It's to suffer and die for the sins of the world. If
13:59 Jesus Christ had not died on the cross for the sins of humanity, we would have no hope to have a relationship with God because he is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the father except through him.
14:09 You you remember when he... When Peter proclaimed he was the Christ, the son of living God, and he said on this testimony, this rock, I'll build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And then he
14:20 began to talk to him about that he's got to suffer and die. What happens? Peter pulls him aside and said, that's not gonna happen, Lord. And what does he say? Get behind me Satan. For you do not have in mind the things
14:29 of God, but the things of man. Why? Because serving and anytime you wanna serve and anytime you take a role of serving, it's gonna be opposed even by well meaning people because they know the cost. They know what it's
14:40 going to cost you. So pursue sacrifice rather than status. I mean, think about it this way. Think about it like this. When you think about growing up, I mean, all you young people here that are growing up, you're
14:49 thinking about your careers. Most of the time we think about, what do I enjoy doing and how much I can I get paid? A better question is, with the gifts that you have, who can you serve the most with what you have?
15:00 Pursue sacrifice rather than status. World. So James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, the two he called and said, Follow
15:12 me and I'll make you fishers of men, came up to Jesus saying this. And in in Matthew's gospel, it says his his mom was there too. The mom was there, which makes perfect sense. Kind of a, you know, Jesus being the youth
15:23 pastor. Here comes the mom and her two sons. Teacher, we want to do whatever we ask of you. And he said, what do you want me to do for you? They said, grant that we may sit one on your right and one on your left in your
15:35 glory. So, here's the deal. They come with their mom, and they're like, okay, listen. We we heard what you said about dying and all. We've heard that now three times, but here's what we're most concerned with. We're most
15:45 concerned with what you're gonna do for us. And many of us approach Jesus just like that. I mean, we talk about Jesus. We're talking about the God man that left heaven and came to earth that ceased. He's still the second
15:57 person of the trinity, but he put on flesh for all eternity. He humbled himself. He lowered himself. He came to this earth to take on abuse and suffering and death for the sin of humanity, rose from the grave, and
16:08 offers life to anyone who will repent and believe. And even knowing that, we're like, okay Jesus, what are you gonna do for me? You're gonna give me a raise or not? You're gonna give me a new job or not? You're gonna
16:18 bring me somebody that's worth dating or not? Like, here, I want you to do for me whatever I ask you to do. That's how many of us approach Jesus. So Jesus is playing that. Well, what do you want me to do? And the request
16:29 was really simple. Here's the deal. When you're in glory, we'd like one to sit on your right and one to sit on your left. That's it. Like for all eternity, we want everybody to know us. We wanna have status for all
16:40 eternity. And this is where Jesus is gonna flip it on its head as we go through this text, but they're missing the mark. They're pursuing status. They're pursuing status rather than pursuing sacrifice,
16:52 which is exactly what Jesus did. What I love about the Bible is that you know it was not written by written by just man. It was God who moved through the men to write it. Because even at the last supper, when Jesus
17:04 is showing humility and telling him what he's gonna do, and he knows he's just
17:08 hours away from being arrested, and he's a day away from being arrested, and he's a day away from being arrested, and he's a day away from being arrested, and he's a day away from being arrested, and he's
17:08 a day away from being arrested, and he's a day away from a day away from suffering to death. In Luke chapter twenty two and in verse twenty three, they're at the Last Supper. And they be... You know, Jesus told
17:20 them one was gonna betray me, and they begin to discuss among themselves which of them it might be who was gonna do this thing. The next verse, and there arose also a dispute among
17:32 them as to which of them was regarded to be greatest. Discussions going on. Who's going to do it? I wonder which one is. And oh, by the
17:44 way, which one do you think is the greatest? I mean, that's what they're talking about. At the Last Supper, the disciples are debating which of the disciples is doing the greatest work. Right? So,
17:56 so, so we read this and be like, I could not believe. If I met Jesus, I wouldn't be like, we do it all the time. We we approach God just like that. Like, what have you done for me lately? What are you gonna do? Are
18:08 you doing enough? And Jesus said, I've done everything for you. I died for you. I rose for you. Now go serve for me. But instead of pursuing sacrifice, we pursue status.
18:20 Jesus said, if you want to be the greatest, you become the the servant. And Jesus modeled this for us. And in Philippians chapter two verses three and four, it says, do nothing from selfishness or
18:32 empty can see, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves. Now, if you said, well, I really need to know the bible. Just meditate on that for the next thirty years and put it into
18:41 practice. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but in humility of mind consider others more important than yourself. When you're at the gas pump, when you're at the grocery store, wherever you go, when you're in
18:53 the airport, whenever you talk... Just consider the person you're talking to more important than you. He says, do not merely look out for your own personal interest, but also for the interests of others.
19:05 And then he said, have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had who became man, who lowered himself to the point of death, even death on the cross. Friends, we live in a culture that talks about upward mobility all the
19:14 time. What's your next position? Is it a lateral move or is it a vertical move? And how much more do you get paid? And we think of vertical moves and all this. Jesus was all about descending the
19:26 ladder. He was all about lowering. He had everything and gave it all up so he could come and be nothing. Like, and as a Christian, if Jesus is who you follow, then the question shouldn't be, what am I gonna get out
19:38 of this life and what influence am I gonna have? It's who can I serve with the gifts that I have? How can I give the greatest service to others? We see it with the four
19:50 friends in Mark chapter two. Remember the paralyzed man that they lowered to Jesus? We were just in Capernaum for those of us that were in Israel. We we saw right where this took place. Coming to Jesus, but the house was
20:01 already full, but they didn't say, oh, too bad it's full. Maybe Jesus doesn't have time today. They knew the only hope for this guy was to get him to Jesus, so they climbed up on the roof. They removed the thatch.
20:10 They lowered the mat. And when
20:10 Jesus saw the faith of the friends, he and when Jesus saw the faith of the friends, he said, son, your sins are forgiven. Well, that upset the religious leaders because they're like, what is he talking about forgiving
20:21 sins? Only God can forgive sins. And Jesus knew him what they were saying. He said, listen, What's easier to say? Your sins are forgiven or pick up your mat and go home? But so that you know that I have the ability to
20:31 forgive sins, pick up your mat and go home. And the man picked up his mat and walked out in front of everybody. This man who had been paralyzed his whole life. I mean, Jesus is able to do everything, but what it was he
20:41 doing? He's serving. Everybody he met, he was serving. He was telling them the truth. He was building them up. He was letting them know what was going on. And even the night of the last supper in John
20:53 chapter thirteen, discussion. Jesus steps up, takes off his outer robe and begins
21:05 to get on his knees and wash the disciples feet. And washing feet in the first century was a slave's job because feet were dirty, because they didn't have shoes like they have. Everybody wore sandals
21:17 everywhere. And so it was the job of the slave to wash the feet. And what was Jesus saying? I will get down and wash your feet. Same way I wash your feet, you also
21:29 wash others. What was he trying to say? There's no job of service that's beneath you because there was no job of service that was beneath Jesus. And sometimes even in church, right? Even in church, we can invite people
21:40 in to serve. We can say there's opportunities to serve and here's what we begin to say. I don't know that I have time for that. I don't know if that's the kind of service that I want. I don't know if those are the kind
21:49 of people I wanna serve. I don't know that... Right? But you were created to serve. If you're a Christian, it's your greatest desire. So instead of thinking about success and status,
22:01 start thinking about serving. Your gifts for the greatest good to serve others. Pursue sacrifice rather than service. Second is this,
22:13 count the cost of suffering and death. Count the cost of suffering and death. If you if you serve, you gotta count the cost. Notice what Jesus says. He says in verse thirty eight, Jesus said to
22:25 them, you do not know what you are asking. He's like, okay, Grant, did I sit on your right and left? He goes, you don't know what you're asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism
22:32 with baptism with which I am baptized? They said to him, yeah, we can do that. We can do whatever you do, Jesus. Well, clearly they couldn't, and you need to understand that when Jesus was talking about his cup, he's
22:42 talking about the wrath of God being poured out on on him for the sin of the world. Nobody else could do that. The baptism was undergoing God's wrath all the way to the point of his death. Nobody else can do that. But
22:52 metaphorically, suffering and dying, that's the lot of every Christian. Did you know that? I mean, the Bible says that anyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Suffering is a
23:04 normal part of the Christian life. If you've been told, hey, if you give your life to Christ everything works out well, you were lied to. If you give your life to Christ, you have one who will walk it through with you
23:15 when it's not right. But there's no such thing as a perfect marriage or a perfect dad or a perfect mom or a perfect sister or a perfect brother or a perfect family or a perfect neighborhood. There's no such thing.
23:26 There's no perfect job. There's no perfect income. There's no perfect... So, there's no perfect health. And so we go through different sufferings in our way, and we wanna count the cost. Because if we're gonna follow
23:36 Jesus, we need to know what he's asking. As a matter of fact, when Jesus called his disciples in Mark eight thirty four, he says, if anyone wants to come after me, he must what? Deny himself, take up his cross, and
23:46 follow me. Jesus said, if you're gonna be my followers, it's no longer about you, it's about me. If you're gonna be my followers, you need to resolve in your mind that you're already dead, and that you're gonna live for
23:56 something even greater. You're not gonna live for this world, you're gonna live for the life to come because that's what it looks like to be a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. So count the cost of suffering and death.
24:06 They said, yeah, we're able to do that. And he... Here's what he says, the cup that I drink you shall drink and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. In other words, you will suffer and die.
24:18 And we know in Acts chapter twelve, James, the one he's talking to here, he was the one of the first apostles to be killed by the sword. James was ban... I'm sorry. John was banished and abandoned on the island of Patmos
24:29 and wrote, five different books in the New Testament. But they suffered and they eventually died. And Jesus said, you need to understand if you're gonna serve me that suffering is a part of that. That death is a part
24:41 of that. And he said this, but to sit on my right or my left, this is not mine to give, but it is for those whom... For who it has been. And the coming kingdom, God's already prepared where you're
24:53 gonna sit. God's already prepared where
24:56 you need to be. As a matter
24:56 of fact, there's a parable that says, during that banquet, don't sit too close because if you sit too close, it'll be embarrassing if you get moved back. Right? I mean, you probably wanna hang back here. Right? Just hang
25:08 back for a while. Get invited up. You don't wanna be like right next to Jesus.
25:11 Like, I
25:12 think I'm right here. I think I'm at the head table. Don't go for the head table. Just say, I'm just lucky to be here. Put me where you want. I'm just thankful. Right? That that... But God's already prepared what that's
25:23 gonna look like. But you need to count the cost of doing it. I mean, Luke fourteen talks about no one to sit down and build a tower without counting the cost first because if they sat down to build a tower and then ran
25:33 out of money, they would look foolish. I mean, you need to count the cost of what it's going to look like to follow Jesus because to follow Jesus in our culture looks very different than not following Jesus in our
25:42 culture. You will be very accepted if you don't follow Jesus in our culture. But if you choose to follow the teachings of Jesus in our culture, there will be people that don't like you. There may be jobs that don't
25:53 hire you. There may be schools that don't accept you. There may be consequences for what you actually say. That... As a Christian, we count the cost because it's so worth it.
26:06 He forgave all my sins, and my eternity's set, and everything's gonna be perfect, and he's already setting that up, and he goes with me because he lives in me. How can I exchange that? I don't want that. I can handle the
26:17 suffering. And listen, the more you suffer, the more you'll know what Jesus went through for you. Because there's not one of us that would suffer and say, man, Jesus doesn't have any clue what it's like to suffer
26:29 like me. He knows. I mean, he suffered more than any single person on the planet. But count the cost of suffering and death. I mean, the Bible says in Hebrews nine
26:41 twenty seven, in as much as it's appointed on demand to die once and after that comes judgment. I mean, you have to understand that we have to count the cost. Everybody who's a first responder, they've counted the cost
26:53 before they signed up for the job. They knew what was gonna cost them. It cost them time. It cost them money. It cost them family. It cost them a lot of different things. And what you may not know, that Warden Jones was
27:03 referring to is, you know, we hear about government shutdown. I know I hear about government shutdown, and sometimes I'm like, good. What do they do anyway? But when the government when the government shuts down,
27:14 correctional officers still serve, police officers still... I mean, they just don't get paid, but they still serve. Right? And you have to understand they they've counted the costShow more
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