Bible

Follow along with me as I read Luke 14:25-35
➢ ‘And turning to them, He said, if anyone comes to me and does not “hate” father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters- yes, even their
own life- such a person cannot be disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.’

➢ In discipleship, we must be ready to accept the effects of what or who we follow. It might entail us giving up on everything we own or even laying
them down just for the sake of us accepting to follow Jesus.
➢ The accounting for these effects is the act of counting the cost of discipleship.
➢ In this story a large crowd was traveling with Jesus. Thereafter, Jesus used different illustrations to explain to them what they will have to let go of for the sake of accepting to be the disciples of Jesus Christ.
➢ The different illustrations demonstrate the essence of true discipleship. One must let go of physical possessions and regard other relationships inferior to the sole purpose of pursuing Christ.
➢ Take an illustration in Luke 14: 26 where Jesus says that anyone who comes to him and does not hate his father or mother, wife and children, brothers or sisters- yes even their own life -such a person cannot be his disciple. In this instance, he does not literally mean that we have to hate our family but he is using this to explain the high cost we must count for the sake of knowing him.
➢ Someone then can ask why we should accept to follow Jesus if discipleship is costly and we have to count its cost. This can simply be answered by a verse from Matthew 11: 28- 30
“For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
➢ This is an encouragement that following Christ and letting go of everything to hold on to Him is easier, beneficial and less troublesome than refusing to follow Him. He gives us the invitation to allow him to walk with us through all challenges of life

Questions

1. What does counting the cost mean? Accounting for the effects of discipleship
2. What are the different illustrations Jesus used to explain the effects of discipleship? Luke 14:26, 14:28-32.
3. What are the different things you can let go for the sake of Christ? Let the children answer