Welcome to Week Fourteen of our Bible Study! This week we look at Luke 14:25-35. In this passage, our Lord discusses the cost of discipleship. This idea that there is a cost associated with becoming a Christian may be foreign these days, but Jesus spoke quite a lot about it. And if you think about it, this ties in nicely with the many parables about the Kingdom. Specifically, everything Jesus did while on earth was about the Kingdom, beginning it, establishing it, calling people into it, building it, etc. And the Great Commission is another statement about the Kingdom, right? “Go and make disciples” could just as well have been, “Go and build the Kingdom of God.” So, we will jump into this passage this week and see what the Lord has in store for us. As always, I welcome your participation and look forward to seeing you all Sunday evening at 7:30 pm.
About Zoom: We will use Zoom for this Bible
study. If you are using a computer, just type in www.zoom.com and select “Join a Meeting” at the
top of the page, then enter the meeting ID: 696 778 0839.
If you are
using a phone, iPad or other portable device, then you will need to download
the free Zoom app. Once you have the Zoom app, just open it and select “Join” a meeting, and use this
ID: 696 778 0839. I would encourage everyone to go
into their Zoom settings and add in a name, at a minimum, so everyone can see
who you are.
Alternately,
if you don’t want to download the app, you can open your device browser and
enter www.zoom.com and follow the instructions above.
Regardless
of what device you use, once you join, you will enter a waiting room and then I
will admit you. I will typically open the meeting about 10 minutes early so
folks can get joined and work through any technical issues. You are free to
join with or without video, but if you want to talk, which I really encourage
everyone to do, please turn your camera on so we can see you.
I have the
meeting set up so that it automatically mutes everyone when you join, so don’t
forget to “unmute” when you want to talk. Again, I encourage everyone to
discuss topics, answer questions, ask questions or otherwise participate in the
discussion. Please jump in if you have information to help clarify a point or
you just need to talk. It’s all fine!
I learned about cost even before I was a Christian. I visited a Methodist church back in the 80s. I wanted to get my son baptized (even though I was not a Christian). The pastor sensed this, and asked me to attend for a few months and then he would do the baptism. Soon after that I was contacted by someone to get my pledge. So it ended up costing $10/week for 8 weeks to get my son baptized. After he was baptized I left that place, almost to never return. 5 years later I found a real church and pastor and discovered the true cost of discipleship, as well as what discipleship is.
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