The Great Discipleship Puzzle; Luke 9:57-62

Delivered during the Sunday morning worship service, 04/23/2023. After being rejected by a Samaritan village Jesus and His entourage hit the road-- His face resolutely turned towards Jerusalem. "Discipleship" is His central focus as He addresses three men who profess their intent to be disciples but have mitigating circumstances that impede them. We will carefully analyze the validity of their excuses and the sometimes harsh way Jesus exposes the real reasons they hesitate to follow Him. Using several well-known analogies from Jesus' other discussions of radical discipleship, we will recognize that discipleship is like a great puzzle with many pieces, scattered throughout Scripture. In this message we will begin to identify and arrange those pieces, to grasp how central radical discipleship is to the establishment and growth of the Kingdom of God, and ultimately to understand our place as followers of Christ in the Great Discipleship Puzzle.