Given By Rev Madison Shockley on September 16, 2018
The reading today is one of the core passages of our faith. If you want to be a follower of Jesus, you must take up your cross. When this passage was written, the law of the land was through the Roman Empire. It was a peace through force, terror, and brutality. The cross was a unique way of torture and execution reserved for revolutionaries. Jesus had the nerve to say to his followers, take up the cross. It was a voluntary act of resistance. If you are willing to die, the authorities had no hold over you. You are free to live the life that Jesus called you to live. The cost of membership is all that you are. The cost of discipleship is difference than the cost of church membership. You may be afraid of what society or your friends may say about your faith practice. We cannot be complacent. If you do not feel the pinch of that cost, you are not living your faith to the full extent. Find your cross!
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