Terms of Discipleship; Luke 14:25-27

Delivered during the Sunday Morning Worship Service, 5/5/2024. After exposing a group of Pharisees to their hypocrisy and false sense of salvation, Jesus returns to the road and soon begins to attract great crowds. After focusing on the dangers of false religion, false piety and a false sense of salvation-- Luke seemingly switches gears to speak of the cost of discipleship. But as we study the text over the next few weeks, we will realize that Luke's train of thought continues to discuss Jesus' essential teaching on who will be included and who will be excluded from the Kingdom of God. In this passage, Jesus will speak of the radical separation discipleship requires-- both from earthly comforts and relationships, and the "old man or woman". We will define what it means to be a disciple and dispel the notion that discipleship is a secondary and voluntary aspect of salvation. Rather, we will establish that to be a Christian is to be a disciple. We will learn that to "accompany" Jesus is not the same as to "follow" Him, and that to be a "good" disciple, we need to learn and embrace His radical terms of discipleship.