What does it mean to take up your cross? He was talking about his followers throughout all of time. 23 And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. In chapter 23 we focused on Luke's context of this saying. And he did that for you, dear friend. He taught that following Him meant denying yourself and taking up your cross. The church should be a place where you come and are challenged to be better people, but we have become so afraid of offending anyone that we water down the words of Christ so they mean almost nothing. That’s not what it means to take up your cross. It is to say, here is who I am and here is what I hold dear, and here is how I will use those gifts and talents and my very being to accept the freedom and responsibility God gives me to resist evil and injustice and oppression in the world. Especially during Lent you may hear of people denying themselves a certain kind of food, a certain luxury, a certain pleasure. To “take up your cross” is something that has to take place in your thoughts. Some places of worship are more life entertainment venues than hospitals for the sick and wounded. How wretched I am! Yet the sermon for Sunday morning has to be prepared. Jesus promises his followers a cross. Amen. For you do not have in mind the things of God but the things of men.”. 1: Kingdom Character for Ministers. Jesus took up His cross and commands that you take up yours as well. “In this world you will have trouble.” “In this world you will bear the cross.”. Hold this cross in your hands. Yes, deny yourself. Amen. Topical Studies. How will he not also along with him graciously give us all things (See Romans 8:32)? Notice he does not say: “Deny yourself this or that thing.” He says: “Deny yourself.” Period. Doug Floyd Jeremiah 15:15–21, Psalm 26, Romans 12:1-8, Matthew 16:21–27. The pilot came out from behind the curtain wearing a parachute pack on his back.… Preached on March 4, 2012, for the Second Sunday in Lent, at St. John's Ev. If you do it everyday, you have all of eternity to look forward to. It also means taking up a piece of the world’s cross because you begin to have a hunch Jesus wants you to. The pilot came out from behind the curtain wearing a parachute pack on his back.… They dropped what they were doing and followed Him. What does true discipleship look like? So take up your cross, dear Christian. Even my righteous acts are filthy rags. “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36), Jesus asks. We have all seen depictions of this in movies and paintings and Icons. Or, to go to the heart of the matter, to “take up your cross” meant to treasure Jesus more than we treasure human approval, honor, comfort, and life. “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5 NIV1984). TAKE UP YOUR CROSS-accept,approve, applaud GRASS IN THE ROSE BUSH-don’t let a thought come in and take up residence in your mind. Our suffering is not a tribute to Jesus unless we endure it because we cherish Jesus. But that cross also brought forgiveness, reconciliation, transformation, love, and life. Note with Pastor Fuller what the Lord requires of us. Take up your cross daily refers to us denying our own abilities in our religious minds, to be holy enough for a holy God. By denying yourself. “Why God? He calls on me to put aside my selfish desires and put forward my spouse, my family, my job, my neighbor, country, and congregation? Instated by the Romans it was the cruelest form of capital punishment known to man. Your cross won’t be easy, predictable, or even manageable. Yes, dear Christians, those crosses will crush and destroy you if you grit your teeth, dig down deep inside, and try to bear up underneath them with all the strength you can muster. 26 "For what ...read more The cross is a universal symbol of suffering and hardship. You only have one job and it’s this: take up your cross. When Jesus says that we are to take up our cross, He is saying that we are to live as dead men. Won’t they ridicule me as a naive pushover? “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me & for the gospel will save it.’" You have heard this passage of Scripture before, haven’t you? We see disaster or tragedy strike both the good and the bad, sometimes striking quite close to home, and ask why. When I prepare the bread and the wine before liturgy, there are prayers for the sick and the dying as well as for all of you by name. But oh, how our crosses drive us to Christ as we deny our own power! Taking up our cross and following Jesus is sometimes hard and sometimes it hurts. September 8 – 9, 2018. Jesus’ disciples must have been shocked when He told them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matt 15:24). We all stumble in many ways. For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them, when he comes in his Father’s glory with his holy angels.” (Mark 8:31-38). While we were his enemies, God gave us his Son. He taught that following Him meant denying yourself and taking up your cross. If you do that, God will do the rest. Halfway to its destination, the engines started sputtering and failing. Other Sermons 31 Again he left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. They are the opposite of fearing, loving, and trusting him above all things. Your friends can’t understand what’s happened to you, but that’s because they’re still blinded by the god of this world (2nd Cor 4:3-4), and they haven’t yet been quickened by the Spirit of God (Eph 2:1-5), but if we are not willing to die to ourselves and live for Christ, then it’s going to be exceedingly difficult to take up our cross. Sermon for this week by Pastor James Brignac from Acts 4:1-22. Scripture: Mark 7: 31-37. They evil I don’t want to do, that I keep on doing. He has asked us to follow Him. Turning toward Peter and seeing his disciples, Jesus rebuked him and said, “Get behind me, Satan. Jesus tells his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24) Acts 4:8; Acts 4:31; Acts 1:8; Persecution. He did not spare him any pain, any suffering, any punishment. The cross that Jesus was crucified on was a very large chunk of wood. Show them a full size cross and remind them of how hard it would be to carry a real life size cross. Don’t put yourself first. Part of carrying that cross is also bearing the suffering that will go along with it. That’s not denying yourself. Those who live by the sword die by the sword, but those who die by their cross live for God. We focused on counting the cost of being a disciple. But so often what we see at that intersection is scary. What does Jesus mean when He says to His disciples, "Take up your cross..."? We worry about all the wrong things! And he was not just talking about the eleven there. In some ways, our crosses are like a sheep dog. Rather all those things that could lead us to question God’s love and power now drive us to the cross. Audio Recording. St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church Are those the choices we make? Electronic Greetings. General Prayer ... Take up your cross! " A Sermon for Lent 2 “If any want to become my disciples, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Mark 8.34) We stand – or in your case, sit – in a very ancient place. To take up your cross and follow Jesus means to take the thing you are giving your life to and giving that to God. Of course not. Maybe we need to put it down, or ask another to share the burden with us so we can recover our strength to carry it again. Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus. Deny your very self, your inborn thoughts and desires and wants. He was talking to you and me. They will crush you. September 8 – 9, 2018. By all means, take up your cross … Jesus said to his disciples and to the crowd following him, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (8:34). I am holy enough to God only when I come to Him through the blood of the cross. By denying yourself. 32 And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to … That truth still stands as a cornerstone of our faith today, challenging us to live in selfless surrender to our Savior. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, and whoever will lose their life for me and the Gospel will save it. That’s the cross. Luke adds "take up your cross daily" (Luke 9:23). So Jesus says, “Deny yourself. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34 NIV1984). Crosses like these: We face the death of a loved one and ask why God. Blessings in Christ, Pastor Snow. "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. John said, "And he bearing his cross went forth into a place...called Golgotha" (John 19:17). The good I want to do, I don’t do. That truth still stands as a cornerstone of our faith today, challenging us to live in selfless surrender to our Savior. Take up your cross so that you are driven to Christ’s cross. Rather give up your very self. Maybe you married your cross! Rather, deny yourself. And when Jesus asks what can be given in exchange for your soul, he’s not talking about some occult contract or deal with the devil. Again Jesus asks, what benefit there is if we gain the whole world but lose our soul? Our crosses are blessings. But Jesus could not carry His cross - and neither can you! Do it because of Christ who sacrificed himself for you. This sermon looks at both what it means, and also what it does not mean, for us to take up our cross for Jesus. Do it because of his Gospel that brings to you the Good News that eternal life is yours as a free gift through faith alone, faith in Jesus who died for your all sins and rose on the third day, just as he promised right before he said these words. For what benefit is it for person to gain the whole world and forfeit their soul? Jesus carried a physical cross made of wood and instrument of pain, torture, fear, and ultimately death. Isn’t that what the Lord calls on us to do in whatever roles he’s given us as husband or wife, parent or child, student or worker, as citizen and church member? Thoughts. Just think about how Jesus was treated and later how the Apostles were treated to see just how true those words are. When Jesus said, "If you are going to follow me, you have to take up a cross," it was the same as saying, "Come and bring your electric chair with you. There is a sense in which Christians must give their lives to God every day. Whatever we need help from time to carry that cross, weary, exhausted, follow... Lie heavy on your heart, soul, and unable to carry the bread with... Check out our Latest sermon Outlines and their best interests will be leaving our website to work Related Below. 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