Be Radical: Count the Cost and Follow Christ

Today I will join with other pastors at the Association office and begin our weekly discussion of David Platt's wonderful book Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream by David Platt.  This is one of the most important books written in recent years and will be a theme in our discussion this upcoming Sunday.  Are we willing to be radical for Christ?  Do we care more about turning our church into a prosperous business or into a group of believers - sold-out slaves - dedicated to building the Kingdom of God through the gospel of Jesus Christ.  If we are safe, then we are not radical.  If we are comfortable, then we are not Christian.  We are not followers of Jesus Christ who has called us to abandon our wants, desires, needs, reputations, resumes, careers, and our world for a better world and a better life in Him.  The gospel costs a lot, but well worth the investment.

Luke 9:21-26:

Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” 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 9:57-62:

As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”  Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”  Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”  Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”








For more:
Reviews -  "Radical" IPhone App
Reviews - "The Cost of Discipleship"  
Bonhoeffer on Anxiety  
Bonhoeffer on the Golden Rule 
Bonhoeffer on Treasures in Heaven  
Bonhoeffer on Matthew 5:7-9 
Bonhoeffer: The Meaning of Poor In Spirit and the Joy of Being Spiritual Bankrupt
Bonhoeffer:  "By Willing Endurance We Cause Suffering to Pass" 
Weekly Recommendation: "The Cost of Discipleship"
Bonhoeffer: Truth and the Cross