Salvation is free. Becoming “like” Jesus is costly. What we are describing here are two different but connected events. When a person by the conviction of the Holy Spirit invites Jesus into their hearts they are born again. The spiritual act of regeneration is the miracle of the new birth. Jesus explained this to Nicodemus in John 3 but he was slow to grasp the concept. What happens after we are born again? As we follow Jesus and immerse ourselves in God’s Word and the community of God’s people we begin to grow in our faith and experience character transformation. Salvation is free. Becoming “like” Jesus is costly. This Sunday I will be preaching from Luke 14:25-35. Jesus is describing the “cost of discipleship”. Discipleship is costly because it involves giving up our rights to ourselves and letting Jesus exercise Lordship over our lives. Our self-will and desire to be right always dies hard.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a pastor and theologian in Germany prior to World War II. He was executed by SS troops for his involvement in a failed plan to assassinate Hitler. He wrote a classic book on discipleship called, “The Cost of Discipleship”.  He put forth the idea of “cheap grace”. Our salvation is free yet it cost Jesus his life as he died on Calvary. As we learn to grow in our Christian life and see our tendency towards sin, selfishness and pride it often becomes clear that becoming “like” Jesus is costly. Character change is painful and human nature rarely cooperates with the process easily. In fact it can even be said character change doesn’t come without pain, suffering and hardship. This is not a popular message in our American culture.  In Luke 14:33 we find these words, “those of you who do not give up everything you cannot be my disciples”. This Sunday we will dive into the last ten verses of Luke 14 and attempt to grow in our understanding of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.
Be sure to stick around after church and participate in the Ministry Fair. Get a piece of pizza and see how you might find a place to serve.
God Bless You
Pastor Drew
