Sermon Recap
Losing Your Life to Find It
Part 1 of 3 in Jesus Would Get Canceled for That
Parte 1 de 3 de la serie Jesus Would Get Canceled for That
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Brian Hunter · August 9, 2026
“Then he said to the crowd, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?’”
Scripture Referenced
Recap
Brian kicked off a new outdoor-summer series called “Jesus Would Get Canceled for That”, a look at things Jesus said that would get him in serious trouble in today’s culture. Week one started with Peter’s confession in Luke 9: Jesus asks who people say he is, then turns it personal, “who do you say that I am?” Peter answers, “You are the Messiah sent from God,” a claim that would have gotten the whole group in trouble in their own culture, let alone ours.
From there Jesus says something that cuts directly against the grain of a culture obsessed with the self: self-help, self-expression, self-fulfillment, self-discovery. Brian’s point wasn’t that those things are worthless, just that people tend to overdo whatever’s worth doing. Jesus’s answer to an identity crisis isn’t “find yourself”, it’s “lose yourself.” Hang on to your life and you lose it. Give it up for Jesus’s sake and you actually save it.
That’s a hard sell in a culture that treats self-expression as close to sacred. But the series’ whole premise is that a lot of what Jesus said sounds offensive precisely because it cuts against what we’ve decided is unquestionable, and that’s exactly where he tends to be onto something.
Touch Points
- Where do you find your sense of identity right now, and how much of it would survive losing it?
- What’s the difference between healthy self-development and the “hang on to your life” Jesus warns about?
- Peter’s answer to “who do you say I am” cost him something. What would an honest answer to that question cost you?
- What’s one place you’re holding onto tightly that Jesus might be asking you to give up?