Sorry, no funny stories this time.
When Joey asked me to preach at the Victory-Fort 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. services, I knew I was supposed to talk about what it means to follow Jesus and carry a cross—especially the carry the cross part.
Warning: this will be one of those “afflict the comfortable” messages, rather than the usual “comfort the afflicted.”
But if you need comfort, Paolo is preaching about “Hope” at the Victory Fort 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. and LA is preaching about “God’s Provision” at Victory QC. And, not sure if it will be comforting or afflicting, but Ferdie, Julius, Rico, and others are preaching about “Angels & Demons” all day at Victory Ortigas.
We usually preach the same topic at all of our Metro Manila locations, but this week is a break between series, so we are all going in different directions.
My main thought:
Every day we have a choice between comfort and the cross. If we are serious about following Jesus, we must choose the cross.
My main verses:
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 loses their life for me will save it.” Luke 9:23,24
This is the first time the cross is mentioned in the book of Luke. And it is one of the few passages that is recorded in each of the four gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It is so important that it is recorded more than once in two gospels—Matthew and Luke—making this statement is one of THE MOST EMPHASIZED sayings of Jesus in the Bible.
Probably pretty important that we take one Sunday and see what it means for us.
I doubt this will be one of the most popular podcasts ever.