Choosing Endurance Over Escape

In one paragraph

Brian picked up where he left off the previous week, working through a single idea he calls "choosing endurance over escape." The sermon centers on two cups that appear in the gospel accounts of the crucifixion: the cup of suffering Jesus accepted in Gethsemane, and the cup of wine mixed with myrrh that he refused at Golgotha. The question he kept returning to was why Jesus spat that second cup...

Read together

1. Matthew 26:36-39 Jesus praying in Gethsemane, asking if the cup of suffering could be taken from him
2. Matthew 27:32-35 Simon of Cyrene carrying the cross, Jesus offered wine mixed with gall, crucifixion
3. Mark 15:21-24 Parallel crucifixion account, Jesus offered wine mingled with myrrh but refused it
4. Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man but ends in death, used to illustrate self-caused suffering
5. Psalm 23 Referenced briefly as quiet waters and green meadows versus the valley of the shadow of death
6. James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy when facing trials, because testing produces perseverance so you lack nothing
7. 1 Peter 5:10 After suffering a little while God will restore, support, strengthen and place you on a firm foundation
8. Psalm 50:7-15 Read during the offering, God owns everything and calls for a sacrifice of thanksgiving
9. Song of Solomon Come away with me my beautiful one, referenced as an invitation to lay down your life and follow him

What was said

• Fill out a connect card and check the box for the text blast so you know where Tribe is meeting each week.
• When you hit a moment this week where the easy way out is right in front of you, pause and ask yourself honestly which cup you are reaching for.
• If you have been thinking about water baptism, talk to Brian after service or reach out to him before October 13.
• Bring winter clothes or candy to the TMC this week to support the Wind River Reservation harvest festival trip.
• Close your eyes before you go to sleep one night this week and let the Holy Spirit speak to you about any area of your life where you have been drinking from the cup of escape instead of trusting God with the harder road.

Talk about it

1. Brian read from Matthew 26 where Jesus asks the Father to take the cup of suffering from him, but then says 'yet I want your will to be done, not mine.' What do you think it cost Jesus to say that, and what does it look like in your own life to get to that same place?
2. Brian described the cup of escape as the default cup, the one most people around us are drinking from constantly. When you look back, what has the cup of escape actually delivered for you compared to what it promised?
3. The Spurgeon quote said that adversity 'is our true friend' and that we should receive it as 'the prophecy of coming joy.' Does that ring true from your own experience, or does it still feel like a hard thing to believe? Why?
4. Mike shared that marijuana helped him sleep but severed his connection to God, and that trusting God through that was its own form of suffering. What is something in your life right now that feels like the easier path but is quietly cutting you off from hearing God?
5. Brian and others in the room talked about how suffering produces obedience, and one person made the point that choosing suffering because your Father asked you to is a totally different thing from just choosing hardship for its own sake. What is the difference in your heart between those two, and how do you tell them apart in a real situation?