Week 3 – Fred Gallop – July 26, 2020
In this uncomfortable message, we will be examining what “taking up your cross” meant to a first century audience. From there, we will see what it means for us to this day as we look at how Jesus suffered on His cross for us.
Main Scripture:
Mark 8:34 NLT Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower (disciple), you must give up your own way (deny yourself), take up your cross, and follow me.
Big Idea: We signed up to die.
- What taking up my cross is NOT…
- Jesus took up His cross.
Matthew 26: 36-39 NLT 36 Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” 37 He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. 38 He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” 39 He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
- Me taking up my own cross.
Romans 12: 1-2 NLT And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.