Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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INTRO
A King with a Cross
INTRO SURVEY
SURVEY
What are you interested in learning about?
What’s the biggest struggle you have in life?
(Most stressful)
How can we help you?
(Teaching; fun times)
What’s your favorite part of our youth group?
What’s your favorite part of our youth group?
1) What makes a person a Christian?
()
SG QUESTION
What makes a person a Christian?
- Church attendance
- Good deeds
- Being baptized
- Church membership
- Being born into a Christian family
- Calling yourself a Christian
TRANSITION:
Don’t you think we should let Jesus decide?
(It is Christianity after all)
Think about what has happened in Mark
1) In the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, Jesus calls the disciples to follow him!
- So following Jesus = being a disciple = being a Christian
2) Jesus just revealed his identity!
--> He’s the Christ
- Christ is not his last name --> It’s title that means “anointed”
- Specifically, anointed by God to be king!
- For all these Jewish people ruled by Rome, this meant salvation!
- Jesus: “Yes I’m King --> I’m also going to die”
All of Mark, these huge crowds are following Jesus around to hear his teaching and see his miracles!
- Look at what he says in v. 34!
- “If you want to be my disciple, you have to take up your cross and follow me”
The disciples and the crowd had no clue that Jesus would die on a cross!
- To them, the cross was a symbol of death!
- It was how people were executed!
- The Romans were such jerks that they made you carry your own cross to the place where you would be crucified!
ILLUSTRATION:
We see a cross, and we think of it as a sign of hope and goodness
- These people hear, “Cross” and think torture, shame, and death!
- “Take up your noose and follow me to the tree where they’ll hang you”
- “Sit down in this electric chair and we’ll wheel you to the outlet”
- “Strap yourself in so they can give you a lethal injection”
Jesus is being radical!
- He’s saying that being a Christian involves a radical sacrifice!
Deny yourself --> Stop living your life as if you are the most important person
Take up your cross --> Die to yourself
Follow Jesus --> Live for Jesus!
Being a Christian means dying to yourself and living for Jesus!
- It’s the shift from a self-centered life to a Jesus-centered life
- It’s letting your dreams and ambitions die and chasing after Jesus’ dreams and ambitions!
- It’s looking at Jesus and saying, “You can do whatever you want with my life.
I trust you”
- It’s trusting all of Jesus and none of yourself
TRANSITION:
Now let me be clear --> That’s not how you get the crowds to love you!
- Jesus isn’t trying to win a popularity contest!
- He’s ride-or-die!
- You’re either with him, or you’re not!
- But this how Jesus defines a Christian!
So why would anyone be Christian?
2) Why would anyone be a Christian?
()
Jesus gets to the heart of this question in the next few verses
If you live for yourself, you’ll actually lose your life!
- A self-centered life leads to destruction
- And honestly --> What could you gain that would be more valuable than your own soul/life?
You need to see how this practically gets worked out in our lives!
- First, you need to realize that you will give your life to something!
- We all have dreams, hopes, and ambitions!
We normally think --> “As long as I’m chasing my dreams, hopes, and ambitions, I’m saving my life; I’m good.”
- Graduating high school and college
- Achieving things in sports
- Making money and doing better for yourself
But we also have problems --> Sins, addictions, and shortcomings!
“If I’m overcome by the ‘bad things’ in life, its more obvious that I’m not okay”
- Becoming an alcoholic or drug addict isn’t on anyone’s to-do list
- Being poor our whole lives isn’t anyone’s life goal.
- We don’t want to be a bad son/brother/father
- Yet all of these things could possibly happen!
Your dreams aren’t not necessarily bad, but they are terrible idols
- If you give yourself completely to your own dreams and hopes, you’ll become a enslaved to them!
- If you give yourself completely to your own dreams and hopes, you’ll become a enslaved to them!
- Your own plans for your life are a terrible King
- You are a terrible captain of your own ship!
EXAMPLE #1:
I spent every year of my life from the 4th grade up thinking, “I want to play college basketball”
- So you know what I did?
--> I worked my butt off!
- During HS, I was at the gym 6:30 every morning to workout before school
- I had a light on the goal at my house
- I played hour after hour after hour in the dark
I read about basketball --> Did special workouts --> Played summer ball
- Had a good HS career!
- Had a chance to go to my local college!
Guess what?
--> It was awful
- We stunk as a team, and I was the worst one on the team.
- I was at the end of the bench, and I wasn’t moving anytime soon
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