Talks, Sermons and Reflections

Matthew 16:21-end It’s a well known passage, and there is so much here. But this morning I would like us to look at a single verse in our passage. Jesus said, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me'. It is one of those verses that we think we ought to understand, but when we look at it more closely we realise that there is far more to it than we first thought. So there are three things that we need to do: 1. To deny ourselves I guess that this is the first step of commitment. If we commit ourselves to something then it means giving up other things. The athlete training to win the gold will deny themselves the beer and the kebabs and the nights out with the lads, in order to keep fit and to get up in the morning to go for the two hour session in the gym. The soldier preparing to go to war will deny him or her self comfort and ease in order to train so that they stay alive. The young lawyer in the city will deny themselves any ...