1 of 19

Costly Discipleship

Month 7| week 2: PREPARE

2 of 19

WELCOME!

3 of 19

breaking point

Let’s Play!

Icebreaker game: Breaking Point

Materials Needed: Two rolls of toilet paper, two plastic cups, bottles of water

Ask the group for four volunteers; then divide them into two teams. Instruct one member from each team to roll out their toilet paper across a long table. Give the other students a cup and a bottle of water; then ask them to sit on the far end of the toilet roll.

Explain that the student with the remainder of the roll will be reeling it back up, but only after their partner has placed a cup at their end of the roll and filled it up with water. The goal of the game is for the student with the roll to reel in their cup with as much water as possible WITHOUT tearing the paper. If the paper tears, their team must remove as much water as they see fit and then restart the game. The team who reels in the most water is the winner. Feel free to have as many teams to participate as time and materials allow.

4 of 19

Digging deeper

5 of 19

Why did you lose water?

6 of 19

Key idea

Jesus is leading us on the way of everlasting life.

Jesus calls us to follow him along a path of discipleship that will take us to unexpected and even difficult places. Jesus is leading us on the way of everlasting life, but it is a way that often involves sacrifice and hardship as we say no to the sins and momentary pleasures that would derail us toward the wrong path.

This way might seem hard to walk at first, but Jesus promises: His yoke is easy and his burden is light. Matured followers of Jesus know that there is more joy and satisfaction to be found walking with him through hardship than there is in walking without him through times of comfort and selfish pleasure.

Just as you follow the instructions of a guide on a strenuous hike or your coach in a hard workout, you can rely on Jesus’ guidance as he trains you in this new life of discipleship. Soon his ways will become natural to you, and the temptation to sin will lessen. The closer you are to God’s voice, the more familiar and satisfying it will be to follow him.

7 of 19

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:1-2

8 of 19

As Jesus hung on a cross, what do you think the "joy set before him" was?

As Jesus hung on a cross, what do you think the "joy set before him" was? (Take a few moments for students to share.)

The joy set before him was the fulfillment of Jesus' purpose. The joy was you. He came so that you could be reconciled to God. He came to the earth and lived a perfect life, died, and rose from the dead to rescue you and bring you back into a relationship with God.

As followers of Jesus, our race of discipleship will take us through hard paths, difficult choices, and even the death of some of our desires. But anything we may lose does not compare to the satisfaction which is ours when we live in relationship with God.

In light of this prize, Jesus reminds us that the cost of discipleship is nothing compared to the joy we discover in his company along the way. Often, we will look back on our most challenging times as also our most precious because of what we discovered about God’s fierce love for us and the joy of his presence.

9 of 19

Then he said to them all: Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

Luke 9:23-26

10 of 19

What do you think jesus meant in this verse?

11 of 19

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

Romans 6:6-8

12 of 19

So what…

How does denying yourself help you to share the Gospel in a culture that is all about indulgence?

Tool time

13 of 19

To make sense of the life of discipleship, let's look at the diagram we discussed last week.

Does anyone want to explain what it means? (Take a few moments for students to share.)

The cross is the only way from one side to the other. Our old lives were leading us to death. We were enemies of God and our lives were marked by isolation, loneliness, and shame.

A life of following Jesus is one where this first decision to deny our own ways and to accept God's ways is lived out with a thousand daily choices that repeat this exchange. Our ways for God's ways. Our thoughts for God's thoughts. Our sins for his forgiveness.

Just as providing us this bridge back to a relationship with God cost Jesus his life, discipleship will cost us. Every day we must choose to love God and others in ways that might be uncomfortable, inconvenient, and even painful.

This life of grace means forgiving when you don't feel like it, loving others when it is hard, and not giving in to our desires to put ourselves first.

This can be challenging when everyone around you is pursuing what feels good for the moment. But you know the way to true success; you recognize the path to true and lasting happiness.

14 of 19

What are some of the ways you can choose God’s way and not your own this week?

15 of 19

Key idea

as followers of a crucified Jesus, we are called to a life of discipleship with Christ.

16 of 19

Gospel tool

How can you put God first in your life?

17 of 19

who can i invite this week?

18 of 19

Let’s pray

19 of 19

Thanks

See you next time!