Mark 9:30-50 What does true discipleship look like? What’s the difference between someone who just says they’re a Christian and a true disciple of Jesus? That is what Jesus starts to unpack in this section as he heads to Jerusalem.
Sermons on Discipleship
Philippians 3:1-16 Do you think you’re a Perfectionist? Or maybe someone close to you is? Some studies say that around 80% of gifted people are, so in London you’re not alone! We’ll be thinking through what Perfectionism is, where it leads us, and what hope there is in the Gospel for Perfectionists.
Matthew 4:4 Are you someone who eats?! Of course! Our physical bodies need food to sustain them; the physical life we have needs food in order to continue. And it’s the same with our spiritual life, our soul. Jesus said “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Luke 9:18-27 Let’s be honest, following Jesus can be hard graft. Standing up as a follower of Jesus in your office is more likely to get you grief than praise and sometimes we’re tempted to ask the question ‘is it really worth it?’ Jesus is totally realistic about what it means to follow him and he doesn’t pull his punches when he says “deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me.” So is it really worth it? Whether you’re weighing up whether to follow Jesus at all or wondering about keeping going after years of doing it this talk is for you.
I wonder how would you react if you saw a church leader having lunch with a group of people who were guilty of fraud? Or maybe a Bible study leader hanging out with known drug addicts? Would you be a bit shocked, perhaps even judgmental, that they would even consider associating with such people? This is how Jesus was treated by the religious people of his day. We can distance ourselves from God not only in obvious rejection of him, but also in our religious morality – and this can be the more dangerous if it goes undetected…
A lawyer asks Jesus “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” This is one of the most fundamental questions that everybody at some point asks, about what will happen when we die – we might phrase this question today something like “How can I be sure I’ll be saved in the end?” If we profess to be God’s people, then this will show in how we live our lives – not only in how we love God, but also in how we love others. Jesus challenges us not to think about who we are to love, but to be loving…
John 12:1-11 Most people agree that faith can be a good thing so long as people don’t take it too seriously – moderation in all things. But is that right? Where do we draw the line between fanaticism and passion?