Take Up Your Cross | Luke 9:23

• Begin your discussion by reviewing last week’s memory verse, Matthew 11:28-30. Offer your group members the opportunity to recite it from memory. This week’s verse is Luke 9:23, “And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’”

• Share about an experience you’ve had, whether in work or relationships, where you were surprised by the cost of maintaining it. For example, you made a purchase with hidden expenses or a friendship starting easy, but growing difficult over time, etc.

• Read Luke 9:23-27. What is Jesus saying in these verses? Who is Jesus speaking to? What is the reward for those who answer Jesus’ call?

• Notice the preceding context in verses 21-22. What might Jesus’ hearers expect when they are told to “take up your cross daily”?

• Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes, “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.”  What does self-denial look like in your life? Is there “a daily cross” you have hesitated to take up? How can we as a group support one another to deny ourselves and follow Jesus?