Series: Shaping Church Culture
Theme: Commitment
Sermon date: 13^th October 2019
Readings:  Luke 14 verses 25-34 and Acts 2 verses 42-47

Icebreaker
In your group think of the many occasions in our everyday lives when we make a commitment to someone or something.
As a leader you should encourage the group to think about commitments made to other people e.g. in marriage, in work e.g. signing work contracts, when buying and selling e.g. when buying a house, to membership of organisations e.g. a brownie promise, when playing sport e.g. obeying the referee, when volunteering for an organisation e.g. a confidentiality agreement and as Christians when we promise to follow Jesus in baptism and confirmation.

Discuss what these commitments involve us in doing and what happens if we do not honour our commitment in these situations.

Study
Part one – Our commitment to being Jesus’ Disciples
In the passage we are going to read Jesus and his disciples were on their way to Jerusalem (see chapter 13 verses 22 to 24). Jesus was now being followed by large crowds of people. (Chapter 14 verse 25) and he is keen for them to understand what following him really meant referring to “entering through the narrow door”. In this passage he talks about the cost of committing to be a disciple.

Please read Luke 14 verses 25 to 34

Q1: In verse 26 Jesus talks about hating your relatives. Does he mean we are to hate our relatives?
This sounds strange to us but in the bible it is common to use “loving this and hating that” as a way of expressing preference in other words “to love this rather than that” In this context the love we have for our parents and other family members is to be surpassed by the love we have for Jesus so in comparison it will seem like hatred.
In the Message version this verse says “Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters – yes even one’s own self! – can’t be my disciple”

In verse 27 Jesus refers to his disciples needing to carry their own cross- what does this mean in the context of that time when everyone was familiar with Roman punishments?

Q.2 What does this mean for us today as Jesus’ disciples?
Encourage the group to think about how the Romans would make criminals carry their own cross which they would then have to be put to death on.

Q.3 Jesus uses two illustrations to demonstrate the importance of counting the cost before embarking on something. Which of these; the builder or the king going to war means the most to you?

Q.4 For both the builder and the king going to war what are the consequences of them not fulfilling their commitment? What are the consequences of us not fulfilling our commitment to being Jesus’ disciples?

Q.5 In verse 34 Jesus uses the analogy of salt in talking about discipleship. He has used salt as an illustration before (see Matthew chapter 5 verse 13 and Mark chapter 9 verse 50). How does his salt analogy relate to the cost of discipleship here?
 
Apparently salt can lose its flavour when it gets wet and then dries when nothing is left but a tasteless residue.
 
In summary this passage shows us that the narrow door of commitment as a disciple of Jesus means there is no space to squeeze into the kingdom if we are cluttered with reservations and provisos, with ifs and buts. You could look at this further by considering the parable of the great feast earlier in the passage (verses 15 to 23) when those invited offer their excuses.
 
Q.6 What excuses and provisos are we prone to using when it comes to our commitment to discipleship?
 
Part two - Our Commitment to other believers
 
Please read Acts chapter 2 verses 42 to 47
 
Q.7 What did those early disciples commit themselves to doing together? (You may want to write them down?)
 
The discussion should include breaking bread, giving, prayer, meeting together, teaching, fellowship, sharing their possessions, miraculous signs and praising God.
 
Q.8 Looking at the list of things these early disciples committed to doing together, do you picture these things happening in a larger church fellowship or within smaller groups similar to home groups?
 
Q.9 In our church fellowship today are all these things evident? Which ones do we have a tendency to overlook and why?
 
Q.10 Are these qualities of a church fellowship dependent on the commitment of those who belong to it? If so should we encourage people to be more committed to each other and how should we do that?
 
In discussing this topic please do not make the discussion accusatory but maybe consider what we can do to encourage commitment rather than what others should do. For example how can we encourage others to feel more involved or valued within our fellowship?
 
Q.11 In verse 47 Luke reports that these early disciples “enjoyed the favour of all the people” how do you think the community outside the church in Ashtead regard us? How would we like to be regarded?

PRAYER
(These are just some prompts and ideas):

• Prayerful reflection for ourselves –consider our level of commitment to being a disciple of Jesus - maybe whether we are reluctant to do things Jesus would want us to do because it could be costly to us?
• Pray about the changes we have talked about that we may need to make to encourage others in their commitment to Jesus and to each other.
• Pray for those we know of who may need particular encouragement at the moment to commit themselves to Jesus or to our fellowship.

Liz Marlow