Mark 8:27-38 [NLT] Jesus asks a life-defining question: “Who do you say I am?” Jesus tells His disciples that must suffer & die. Mark 8:31-33 (NLT) 31 …the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead. Jesus tells His disciples that must suffer & die. Mark 8:34-38 (NLT) 34 Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. 1. Give Up Way 34 “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, … 2. Take Up Way 34b …take up your cross, and follow me. 3. Question the Way 35 “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake… you will save it.” 36 “What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” 37 Is anything worth more than your soul? “You don’t realize Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.” ~ Timothy Keller 4. Stay the Way 38 “If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” What Now ? Repeatedly ask yourself two questions: “Who do you say I am?” “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, but forfeit his soul?” Expect the everyday cost of love to pay off. Continuing The Conversation 1. What are some of the more common things people seem to be building their identity on instead of Jesus? 2. What might it practically look like to “give up your own way” in your daily life? 3. Has following Jesus ever cost you something? 4. How might Jesus’ two questions help you continue on “carrying your cross”? 29 “But who do you say I am?” & “36 “What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?”