Losing Your Life to Find It

In one paragraph

This message was the opening installment of a new series called "Jesus Would Get Canceled For That," preached outdoors at the park during Tribe's August outdoor services. Brian looked at what Jesus actually said about self-denial and asked whether those words would survive contact with a culture built around the self. The conversation moved between scripture and the congregation, with people...

Read together

1. Luke 9:18-27 main passage read aloud, covers who people say Jesus is, Peter's confession, prediction of death and resurrection, and the call to take up the cross daily
2. Philippians 3:3-11 Paul lists his credentials under the law then counts them worthless compared to knowing Christ and gaining righteousness through faith

What was said

• Identify one area of your life where you are still acting as your own boss, and spend time this week honestly asking Jesus what it would look like to hand that over to him.
• The next time you catch yourself worrying about something you cannot control, stop and practice the exchange Brian described: name the worry out loud and tell God you are relinquishing your right to carry it.
• Think of one person in your life, like Jamie did with her friend, where you have been holding back the truth about Jesus because you are afraid of what they will think, and take one small brave step toward that conversation this week.
• Sit with Philippians chapter three this week and make your own honest version of Paul's list, writing down the things you are currently counting on more than Christ, then ask him to help you count them as Paul did.
• Pick one right from the conversation in the sermon, whether that is control over your story, the right to hold a grudge, or the need to be liked, and ask God every morning this week to help you actually lay that one thing down.

Talk about it

1. Brian opened by asking the crowd what it practically means to 'lay down your life' for Jesus. What came to your mind when you heard that question, and did any of the answers people gave surprise you?
2. Several people named specific rights they give up when they exchange their life for Jesus, including the right to author your own story, the right to hold a grudge, and the right to worry. Which of those lands hardest for you personally, and why?
3. Bethany suggested that a lot of what we cling to, like control and the pursuit of happiness, may be an illusion rather than something real we are actually giving up. Do you agree with that, and does it change how you think about surrender?
4. Jamie shared that she had to be brave with a friend who was seeking help from a tarot card reader, and said laying down your life includes giving up the right to care what people think of you. Has following Jesus ever put you in a moment like that, and how did you handle it?
5. Brian used the picture of marriage to describe the exchange Jesus offers, dying to all others in order to gain something better. Is there a specific area of your life right now where you have not yet taken Jesus up on that exchange, and what is making it hard to let go?