Sunday Sermon Starter 8-13-12

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When we have benefited from something all of our lives it is easy for us to take its cost for granted.  A prime example of this would be the freedom we enjoy as citizens of America.  Everyone living today has always had their freedom.  However, that freedom was not free.  It demanded the blood of countless men and women be shed to earn it.  Another example would be Christianity.  We have always had access to the blessings made available by the presence of New Testament Christianity and that causes us to sometimes take it for granted.  But Christianity didn’t just happen.  It required an immense sacrifice to be made and a significant cost to be paid.  That is the subject of our sermon starter for today:

Title:  The High Cost of Christianity

Text:  Luke 9:21-26

Main Point:  We apply great worth to those things of great cost.  That value can be determined by intrinsic worth or with sentimental value.  Some things might have great intrinsic value but be worth little sentimentally while others could have great sentimental value and be worth nothing intrinsically.  But when it comes to Christianity it is priceless in both ways.  God’s blessings may be made available to us all for free, but they certainly did not come cheap.  This is the very point of Jesus’ words in the text.  So while many miss the larger picture of Christianity’s cost the Bible reveals exactly what it has cost and does cost for us to be blessed in Christ.

Discussion Points:
§        The Cost to the Christ – the purpose of Christ’s incarnation and presence on this earth was ultimately to die so that through His death the purpose of redemption might be accomplished.  Isaiah prophesied of this in Isaiah 53 and Christ’s remarks in Luke 9:21-22 is in complete harmony with that fact.  It was His great cost that gives us the opportunity to be who we are, Christians (Romans 5:1-8; Hebrews 10:9-17).  Let us not underestimate the great cost paid by Jesus whereby we might be blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:3).

§        The Cost to the Christian – depicted in our text is the Christian life which implies sacrificial living.  Christ sacrificed and so must we.  But what is required of the soul who will come after Jesus?  Jesus answered that timeless question in Luke 9:23-26.  Just as Christianity was established at great cost to the Savior it is enjoyed at great cost to the saved.  Notice the three-fold requirement of any who come to Christ: we must (1) deny self [humble submission and realization that we must be subject to the Master], (2) take up our cross daily [be willing to sacrifice the things of the world even if it puts us at deference with the world], (3) follow Jesus [obedience to every expectation contained in the manifold will of God.  What examples do the scriptures cite of such cost?  We must (1) respect, read, and study our Bibles [2 Timothy 2:15], (2) follow God’s instruction [Matthew 7:21], (3) worship in spirit and in truth, making it and our presence at such assemblies a priority [Psalm 122:1], (4) be given to prayer frequently and fervently [1 Thessalonians 5:17], (5) represent Jesus through our Godly influence [Matthew 5:16], (6) love righteousness and truth [Matthew 5:6], (7) oppose evil and error {Jude 3], (8) control our tongues and the way we interact with others [James 1:26], (9) earnestly care for the lost [Matthew 28:18-20], (10) maintain righteousness and steadfastness in our lives, enduring to the end [1 Corinthians 15:58].  Such a life does not come without immense sacrifice upon our part and that truly illustrates the high cost of Christianity to the Christian.

§        The Cost’s Consequence – any time I ever buy anything of substantial cost I immediately afterward ask, “was it worth it?”  Our judgment in earthly transactions is limited at best and often we find out later that the product was not worth the cost.  Other times we realize that for the price of purchase the item received was a bargain.  Was the cost worth it to Christ?  Yes (Ephesians 1:15-23)!  Is the cost worth it to Christians?  Yes (Revelation 21:1-4)!

Yes, the cost was and is great, but the blessings far outweigh the cost.  Our cost is little compared to the price already paid.  Christianity may cost all that we have, but in the end it is well worth it all!

-Andy Brewer

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