Mark these Key Words: Follow, Faith, Ransom
Matthew 16:24-27
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds.’”
What Cross are you carrying for Jesus?
A Cross that we can carry for Jesus is to be bold for His name, and share our faith with our friends/family. Jesus gave it all for us, and part of denying our self and picking up our Cross is to proclaim and share what He did for us on the Cross.
How are you “denying yourself” to follow Jesus in your current lifestyle?
In order to deny yourself, you must be willing to give up everything and anything to chase after and follow Jesus. What are you hanging onto? Maybe a girlfriend, or the American dream, whatever it is, you must be willing to set it aside for the calling that Jesus has on your life. God will honor this mentality! “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?”
Matthew 17:20
“And He said to them, ‘Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.’”
In what ways are you exercising your faith lately?
What mountains are there in your life currently? You can exercise your faith by spending time in prayer as a group for those mountains, and trust that God can do a lot with just a little faith.
Matthew 18:3 & 4
“And said, ‘Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’”
What is Jesus saying to you personally in this passage?
God is concerned with your humility. Jesus displayed the greatest act of humility as He gave His life for the world (Philippians 2:6-8). He calls you to humble yourself as much as possible, and wants you to have the innocence of a child when it comes to your faith.
Matthew 19: 5 & 6
“and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”
How are you honoring your future wife in the way you are treating girls in the past 30 days?
Purity is of utmost importance to God! One day, you will be joined with another woman/man. It is never too late to start over and walk in purity. Be willing to do whatever it takes to have purity of the eyes, mind, heart and soul (Job 31:1, Hebrews 12:1).
Matthew 20:26-28
“It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for man.”
How are you living this passage out with your mom lately? Your team/classmates?
Serving your mom could look like doing the dishes, mowing the lawn, or taking her out to dinner. With your team/classmates you could serve them by writing an encouraging note, picking up their tab at a restaurant, or asking them how you can pray for them.
Matthew 22:35-40
“One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, ‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ And He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
The greatest commandment! I’m Third! How are you living out that motto and how do you intend to live it out this week?
(Personal Answer)
APPLICATION:
How do these passages relate to me today? What changes does it bring to my life?
LOCKER ROOM:
What are some practical ways that you can practice “putting yourself last” this week?
MEMORY VERSE:
Matthew 20:28 “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
MY PRAYER
Adoration: Father, today I praise You for…
Confession: Father, please forgive me for…
Thanksgiving: Father, today I’m thankful for…
Supplication: Father, the people and things that I wish to pray for today are…
