Friday, January 7, 2011

Counting the Cost from the Comfort of our Churches

This Sunday I'll be preaching a sermon titled "Counting the Cost" as part of an eight week sermon series inspired in part by Dr. David Platt's book, "Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream."

Sitting in comfortable (relatively speaking, I guess) padded pews in a sanctuary that is heated in the winter and cooled during the summer, I wonder how many of us have actually counted the cost of following Jesus. I wonder if we really even think there is a cost to following Jesus.

Sure, being a Christ-follower won't necessarily get you invited to sit at the "cool kids table" but do we who live in the USA in 2011 really have to make any significant sacrifices to be a Christian? As Christ-followers, are our lives really all that different from anyone else around us? Sometimes it seems that we Christ-followers blend in to the world around us so well that it almost seems like we must be wearing camouflage.

I guess the real question is, Would we actually choose to follow Jesus if it involved danger or discomfort -- let alone persecution -- to ourselves or the ones we love?

Below are a few links to videos on youtube highlighting the cost of following Christ in many parts of the world. I wonder, would I continue to be a Christ-follower (and a pastor) if I lived in any of these places? Have I really counted the cost? I'm afraid if I did, I might find myself wanting.

(Or go to youtube and search phrases like "persecuted church", "persecuted Christians" to see MANY MANY more.)

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