The Disciple: Take Up Your Cross

The Disciple Sermon Series

Message 5: Take Up Your Cross

November 1, 2020

Lombard Bible Church

Scripture: Matthew 16:24-26

How would Jesus’ disciples in the first century, like Peter, have taken Jesus’ words? Very .

DENY YOURSELF: Denying yourself is instead of living for what , live for what . 

TAKE UP YOUR CROSS: What does it mean to take up your cross daily and follow Jesus? Every day, wake up and be to God in what He’s calling you to do, no matter how . 

FOLLOW ME: To follow Jesus is to surrender your life to Jesus in how He loved and loved  

YOUR OWN SERMON NOTES

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Share something you’ve wasted a lot of time on (past or present). Be specific. 
2. Jesus has a greater purpose for us than us wasting our time on ourselves. Read Matthew 16:24-26. What did you hear? Either from the Scripture or the message this past Sunday? 
3. Jesus’ first command in this passage is to deny ourselves. What do you think Jesus means by that (there’s no one right answer)? Can you give an example of a Christian you know that emulates (or emulated) “denying themselves”? What’s one way it could look like for you to deny yourself for Christ? 
4. Jesus’ second command in this passage is to “take up your cross” (or take up your cross “daily” -Luke 9:23). 
   1. Have you ever suffered because of your faith in Jesus? If so, describe your experience. 
   2. Or Have you ever known someone else who suffered because of their faith in Jesus? Share their story. 
5. Jesus’ last command is to “follow me,” a standard rabbi statement where the teacher invites their students to imitate their actions and behavior. Is following Jesus difficult for you? How so? Even if its difficult, is following Jesus worth it? Why? 
6. We’re going to end with a special prayer practice called “Visio Divina.” that the preacher Charles Spurgeon once used in a sermon in 1905. Close your eyes and set your mind’s eye standing on a beach, surrounded by blue water, soft sand, and seashells. All of a sudden you see them coming. Why its people, a long, seemingly endless line of people who have come and gone in faith before you, all of those whom the world was not worthy. You can see the procession coming towards you and Who’s at the lead? Why its Jesus, the one we rightly call master and Lord. We know Him by the prints of the nails in His hands and His feet. Observe that Jesus carries a cross and that it is a very heavy one. But now look, see the long line following Jesus. They differ in some respects but they are all alike in one thing to Jesus Himself, every one of them carries a cross. There is no exception to this rule. From the master down to the last disciple it is a procession of cross-bearers. You can see each person as they pass. There’s Jesus at the lead whose cross took on the sins of the whole world. You keep on looking and you see the disciples, the cross their very lives, you keep on looking at the procession and you can even see some faces you recognize. Who do you see? Who in the faith has come before you? Who do you know that followed Jesus faithfully, carrying their cross till they went to be with the Lord? Who do you see walk past, carrying their cross? … And each person is joined by many, countless faces of people we see bear their cross that they might follow Jesus. But we see them all, family, friends, all those who bear their cross for Christ.  And As we see the procession walk towards the light, ready to transform them all from cross bearers to crown wearers, and now we hear it, we can hear the voice of Jesus beckon us as well: Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.” What will you do? … Consider and meditate: what would it mean for you to be faithful to Jesus’ call? Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me? … 
7. Pray for one another