Take up your Cross

Jesus said, ‘Those who come after me, must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

Gospel Reading: Mark: 8 31-38

New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Predicts His Death

31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

The Way of the Cross

34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Footnotes:

1. Mark 8:35 The Greek word means either life or soul; also in verses 36 and 37.

Call to worship: (respond with the words in bold type)

Minister: Lord Jesus, you took up your cross,

and became obedient even to death.

Whenever you call

HELP US TO LISTEN

Whatever task you have in mind

HELP US TO ACCEPT IT

Wherever you lead us

HELP US TO FOLLOW YOU

Opening response

Minister: Lord, let us not waste a single moment of the precious life you have given us.

Let us lay down all that has hindered us in our spiritual journey so far.

All: We take up the cross of our own free will,

We will carry it for you, whatever that cross may be.

Minister: Lord forgive us where we have failed to serve you in the world,

Forgive us that often our thoughts and actions have been contrary to your word.

All: We take up the cross of our own free will,

We will carry it for you, whatever that cross may be. Amen

(source unknown)

The Wounds of Love: (a story about self-denial)

Aim

1) To show that no one need be ashamed to be a follower of Christ

2) To show that the ugliness of the cross can be a beautiful sign to those who understand its meaning.

When John reached the age of twelve he became very much aware and self-conscious of his mother’s hands. In all other ways she was a beautiful woman but her hands were terribly scarred.

John’s father noticed that something was troubling him. He also noticed that John had stopped bringing his friends home to play.

When the opportunity seemed right John’s father took him for a walk.

“I have noticed,” he said, “that you no longer bring your friends home like you used to.”

John bowed his head and made no reply.

“I was wondering why,” continued his father. ”Is there any reason?”

“No” was the reply.

“I see” said his father,” but I couldn’t help wondering if it was because of your mothers hands? It could be that you are embarrassed and you don’t want your friends to see them.”

John grew increasingly red faced, yet stayed silent.

“I think I should tell you how your mother’s hands came to be the way they are,” said his father, ”because when I married her she had the most beautiful hands. You were a toddler, when it happened and you were playing with your mother in the garden. She turned her back for a second and you ran into the house unnoticed. You pushed aside the fire-guard and stood so close to the fire that your clothes caught fire and the flames began to engulf you. On hearing your screams your mother ran to help and because there was nothing else available, she smothered the fire with her own hands. She saved you but sacrificed her own hands in the process.”

John couldn’t find any words to say and his father left him with his own thoughts.

It wasn’t long before John started to bring friends around to play and to have tea. He always made a point of discreetly asking his friends to look at his mother’s hands.

“You see,” he would say, “she got them because she loves me!”

(from Lloyd assembly books)

Suggested list of hymns and songs

Before the throne of God above (CP, HTC, MP, SF)

Broken for me, broken for you (CP, HON, HTC, ICF, MP, SFTS)

Come and see, come and see (HON, MP, SF, TS)

Here is love vast as the ocean ( SFTK)

How deep the Father’s love for us (SFTK)

I have decided to follow Jesus

Jesus is the name we honour (SFTK)

Jesus the name high over all

King of kings majesty (SFTK)

Lord for the years

My Jesus my Saviour

O Jesus I have promised

Take up your cross the Saviour said (HTC, MP)

There is a Redeemer

When I think about the cross Out of the Ark Music

Will you come and follow me? (BPW, CG, CP, HON, ICF, LAU, RS )

You’re the word of God the Father (SFTK)

I hear your voice: M Scott Best of United Folk

Come to Calvary: P. Scott Best of United Folk

(both available for download from http.wwwsheilahamil.co.uk

Drama about Commitment: Mr Muck

Enter a man wearing a raincoat, with a string tied round his waist as a belt. He looks dishevelled, has muddy boots on his feet and doesn’t look at all clean…and yet he believes in soap. In his large plastic bag, he carries a range of empty soap boxes. (all mentioned in the drama) They are numbered, so he can lift each one out as he mentions them, and he will show them to the audience and then place them on a table.

This bag, along with its contents, can be obtained from Church House, Percy Main. North Shields.

Hello, my name is Mr Muck,

I want to tell you about something that has really changed my life.

The main focus in my life used to be dirt, but now since I’ve discovered soap, I can’t stop talking about it. Soap is so special to me.

Do you catch my DREFT? There I go, bringing soap into the conversation.

Let me tell you my story? But you’ll have to help me out ‘cos sometimes I’m lost for words?

Well really it all happened in a FLASH.

It all started the other day with this girl in the local corner shop. She was standing behind the counter waiting to SURF me. I went up to her and she said “I know just what you need”.

I thought oh me LUX in. She must fancy me.

I was completely BOLD over. I felt like a real MR MUSCLE.

She told me how soap could really change my life…RESCUE me! Nay…REVIVE me!

I’ve never looked back. From that point on, soap meant everything to me. I really discovered something to SHOUT* about.

And now I just want to tell everybody about the life~changing message of soap. It doesn’t matter if folk think I’m SIMPLE.

So the first thing I did, was go to me DAZ house, to tell me mam and dad.

I thought I’ll BOUNCE my message off them, and see what they say!

I said to them “I’ve brought you some real words of COMFORT”

And I told them how soap could make all their problems VANISH.

My dad said to me “Son that’s a real PEARL of wisdom and I’m sure it will SHIELD me for the rest of my life.”

My dad said to me mam “Here go and rub that soap on your PALM OLIVE, it’ll do you the world of good.”

She looked at me with her bathroom cream cleanser in her hand and said “Hold on a JIF.” (aside…Only it’s CIF now) “You come in here and go on at us about soap, but you still look as dirty as ever to me”.

That was the FINISH*, as far as I was concerned, I had enough!

So I said to her. “Well you don’t expect me to wash in it do you? Do you?”

Drama: TAKE UP YOUR CROSS:

(An interviewer is just about to conduct a survey, but speaks first to the audience:)

Interviewer: The Cross was a fearful instrument of torture in Roman times; very heavy to carry, very cumbersome. The one who actually took up the cross was facing a road that would lead to death and he was never coming back! The survey I've been invited to do today asks the question:- ‘Do ordinary people in the street, in this day and age, have any understanding at all of the word ‘cross’ and what does it mean for us to take it up and follow Jesus?

(enter teenage girl) Excuse me Miss:- What do you think Jesus meant when he said, ‘If anyone would be a follower of mine let him take up his cross and follow me?’

Teenage girl: I got a lovely cross from me boyfriend for Christmas! It’s huge, chunky and all diamonds! It looks stunning with my black V neck top and leathers! I take it up and put it on whenever I can. Wherever I go, it goes! (Silent pause) Does that answer your question?

Interviewer: Thank you! (She walks on. Enter downcast married couple) Excuse me, would you both mind answering a question for a survey?

Married couple: Not at all! (couple frown)

Interviewer: What do you think Jesus meant when he said, ‘If anyone would be a follower of mine let him take up his cross and follow me?’

Wife: I know all about that from experience. I’ve carried my cross for forty long years just being married to him! I’ve had it to bear all right.

Husband: Aye and don’t think I haven’t had mine to bear too, having to put up wi’ you and your nagging! (they go away arguing…You can’t compare the weight of the cross I’ve had to bear with the weight you’ve had to bear!)

Interviewer: (looks uncomfortable)Thank you… (Enter intelligent looking man) Excuse me, would you mind answering a question for a survey we’re doing?

Intellectual: Not at all!

Interviewer: What do you think Jesus meant when he said, ‘If anyone would be a follower of mine let him take up his cross and follow me?’

Intellectual: Well it’s all obviously fraught with meaning, and very cliché-ish! But what I’ve never been able to comprehend is what is meant when people say Jesus DIED on the cross for us! I mean there’s another cliché!

Interviewer: Well let me explain it to you!

Intellectual: Haven’t got time …sorry! Train to catch. (He hurries away. Enter bespectacled business woman)

Interviewer: Excuse me madam, What do you think Jesus meant when he said, ‘If anyone would be a follower of mine let him take up his cross and follow me?’

Business woman: Do you realize that by singling out the word ‘Cross’ (makes inverted comma sign with her hands)and not ‘including’ other symbols of world faiths at the same time is just not politically correct? Are you being deliberately offensive?

Interviewer: I didn’t intend to offend anyone madam, I was only asking …(She marches off. The interviewer feels like giving up, when a 'Gentleman of the Road' enters. He wears a raincoat, which is tied by a piece of string. He looks very cheerful)

Excuse me, would you mind answering a question for a survey we’re doing?

Gentleman of the road: Nope!

Interviewer: What do you think Jesus meant when he said, ‘If anyone would be a follower of mine let him take up his cross and follow me?’

GM: Well first of all I see the cross as a musical instrument!

Interviewer: (puzzled) A musical instrument? Which one?

GM: A cymbal… of self-sacrifice!

Interviwer: Ah yes! You mean denying oneself?

Gentleman of the road: Aye an’ it was also a bridge wasn’t it?

Interviewer: Well… yes it was, can you explain it a little more to me?

GM: You know over troubled waters …a bridge between broken man and Holy God…so Jesus could mend things like and bring the two together!

Interviewer: Yes… thank you and anything else?

GM: We have to take up the cross like the offer in them pantomimes!

Interviewer: Pantomimes?

GM: : Yeah Aladdin! New lamps for old! Do you follow?

Interviewer: Ah! Yes! I’m beginning to see where you are coming from! You mean a break with the old way of living and embracing the new! Denying oneself, and living for Jesus!

GM: If you like! And as I understand it, taking up your cross is also like signing up!

Interviewer: On the dole?

GM: No the army! It’s a commitment like! You listen to instructions, follow the rules and you do what you’re told to do and just get on wi’ it! And it ain’t gonna be easy!

Interviewer: I see what you mean. You're saying a follower of Christ must go into action, and ought to put their faith into practice! Amazing anything else?

GM: Yes. When we take up the cross, nowt’s wasted. Things given to God never are!

After a dark stormy nights come a glorious new mornings!(He shuffles away)

Interviewer: Wow! (gazes happily at the man!) There’s hope for us all!

(I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Gal 2.20)

(inspired by an article by Bob Gordon in his book ‘Explaining The Cross’.)

Children’s activity:

Hide pictures depicting a ‘cross’ around the room, and ask the children to find them, but set a time limit. Once they find them and they count how many they have found, they can draw a picture of Jesus on one of the crosses, to be shown at the close of the service.

Address: (A large cross lies on the floor at the front of church. During the sermon, members of the congregation will be asked to pick it up and take it away, but it’s a dead cert people will be so frozen to their seats, no-one will venture out. Warn the stewards to sit back and watch and not react. )

If I were to say now to you, ‘Would a member of the congregation please come and take up this large and heavy cross and carry it into the vestry?’ it just might stay there in this very place until the end of the service; unless of course one of the church wardens removes it at a more suitable time during the service, such as the Peace.

It’s not often a priest will make such a request of a congregation at the beginning of a sermon when everyone is quite comfortable and waiting to hear what I’m going to say.

What request?

Well, will someone please take up this cross and carry it to the vestry?

By now some of your hearts will begin pounding, because you know what it required, it’s just that you’d much rather someone else would get up and do it rather than yourself.

We often know what has to be done, don’t we? And we don’t always do what it is that needs to be done, and if we don’t, well it might not get done at all.

We ask ourselves whether we would be physically able to do such a job; we might get things wrong, make a mistake, we might fall flat on our faces, or drop it or stumble, or make complete fools of ourselves, and even worse …

people might talk about us behind our backs and say, ‘Who do they think they are!

And anyway, what if did do it and someone yelled out, ‘Not now you idiot!’

So we remain glued to our seats, because we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves.

…..So… I ask again….is there anyone who will pick up this cross and carry it into the vestry? Please?

It takes a brave person to say ‘Yes’ and just do it.

(pause and wait for someone to do it. If anyone has already picked up the cross, commend them and reword the sermon to say…’had no-one picked it up we would have wondered whether we were physically able to do such a job. We may have worried in case we stumbled or let if fall etc.,)

Continue…

Thank goodness someone was listening! Thank goodness someone went into action!

Jesus was one who listened to his Father’s will, and he would have been well aware of what was written concerning the Messiah in the law, Jewish history and prophecy.

So he knew what his destiny was, and he still said a resounding ‘Yes’ to his Father’s will. He was obedient even to death.

In this morning’s gospel he asks the same of us., but he never called upon anyone to do or face anything which he was not prepared to do himself, a sign of a great leader.

Whatever task we have been given…whether it is the common task of all Christians to love one another, hate evil and overcome it with good; to rejoice; be patient and persevere; share faith and put that faith into action...

…or whether it is a specific task we’ve been called to as individuals, and only we can know exactly what that entails…

then let us not put off what we know we should do!

A person who picked up the cross in those days knew he would not be coming back. The old lives had to go…our pride, our prejudices, our greed and selfishness acknowledged and confessed.

‘

Jesus that told us It would be a hard and lonely road to walk with no reward at all ‘this side of heaven.’

Saying ‘Yes’ to God, meant a person’s life would never be the same again.

So how do we know whether it is God’s voice calling us?
How do we pave the way for him to speak, as a church and as individuals?

(Opportunity to discuss this question with each other in groups)

Faithful service is always likely to involve sacrifice, which may be unpredictable, inconvenient and intrusive, but Jesus is asking us for a basic decision to put him ahead of our own interests and desires. Only then will we find our ‘LIFE’ in time and eternity.’ (The people’s Commentary by John Proctor)

Additional words

The disciples would eventually realise through Jesus teaching that they would be offering their bodies as living sacrifices...to walk the way of the cross;, a task equally as dangerous as being at the mercy of the high seas in a storm.

There were many dangers ahead!

How would we fare today?

Already Christians are branded as being ‘out of touch’ middle class, intolerant, judgemental, ‘stuck in a rut people’ who have watered down God’s word. Too respectable to get our hands dirty!

This is where we should be as Christians...wherever and to whomever Jesus would go, that’s where we should be...

preaching his good news to the poor;

coming alongside prisoners to proclaim freedom to them;

helping the blind to see,

to go to the oppressed to release them.

But don’t many of us in the Western world expect, like everyone else to have a comfortable existence, to live in a stress free environment... to better ourselves, fulfil our dreams and ambitions, and be able to live without fear or threat to our world,.

We’re accepted by MOST people aren’t we; as long as we don’t take our faith too seriously?

Is this true, do you think?

Not so in other countries. To become a Christian and follow in the way of Christ means total commitment, it is a choice of life or death to some.

Refer to Secret Believers. (uses no real names and an unnamed country to hide the identity of these believers.

The baptism of 12 secret believers...(using a secret house and an inflatable paddling pool.)

Extract

‘Even as he spoke Br Andrew realised the deeper significance of the words he spoke to the men in front of him. This is what he preached to them:

‘Baptism means being buried in a grave with Jesus Christ. In a way what we are going to do in a few minutes is put ourselves and everything that belongs to us in the grave. Everything of the old life, before we were followers of the Lord Jesus, we bury forever. This will remind us that for the rest of our lives we now live in a new kingdom. That also means everything has become new. Our sinful past is completely gone forever. ...As you step out of the water, you can say, I am a new person’.

Butros, their leader and Br Andrew were struck by the intensity of these men, their eyes boring into them, trying to catch every single one of Andrew’s inflections, even while waiting for the translation.

Later each shared their own stories of conversion...

‘I found the teaching of Jesus very strange, in our culture when someone hits us, we hit him twice. But Jesus says if someone slaps you, you turn the other cheek..’

Another had this to say...

I had difficulty with the legal aspect of my faith. It was like slavery. I was doing the daily prayers out of a sense of duty, not from the heart. So I began searching for another way. I found the injil.(NT) I now follow Jesus because I can do it from my heart and with love. I am not being forced to do it....

One man said, I had a dream where I saw a pile of books floating in dirty water. He tried to clean up the mess, and when he had pulled out all of the muddy, soiled books, there remained one book that was perfectly clean and pure. Three days later he met a man who gave him a bible.’

A few days later, three of these twelve men had been arrested and tortured, one died in prison...

Perhaps in the west, we have yet to understand something about offering ourselves as a living sacrifice!

Is this how we any of us viewed our own baptism? To go to our own funerals?

Was Jesus call upon our lives a real challenge?

Would our response have been different, if we lived in such a country as this?

What does this say to us of our commitment today?

‘Even in some Christian lives there is a lack of ‘meaning, purpose and hope, coupled with an indifference to the welfare of others. It is the opposite of zeal and joy in the service of God.’ * (John Ortberg.)’

Alternative activities for young people/children: A BASKETBALL CHALLENGE

Needed: one basketball

Ask for two or three young volunteers, (not small children) but tell them first what they will have to do, so the children can decide for themselves whether or not they can do what you are asking them to do.

They will be required to demonstrate some basketball skills.

They will each in turn be invited to dribble the basketball down the aisle to the back of the church, then without stopping, they must return to the front.

Each child will have only one turn.

Set each one off with a ‘Ready, Steady, Go’ command or blow a whistle; then make remarks commending them about their style, their speed, their ball handling skills, etc.,

The congregation may want to applaud each one on their return to the front.

Then the volunteers will be asked to do the same once again, each in turn, BUT, three obstacles will be placed first in the aisle. You will need three more volunteers (adults or children) to space themselves out down the aisle and hold a card up each. The idea is for the basketball players to try and manoeuvre their way AROUND each obstacle there AND back.

On these three cards will be written these words:

PRIDE…POSSESSIONS…POWER

Children’s short address:

When Jesus said we must go on a journey for him, and take up our cross and follow; he also said we must deny ourselves. What does that mean?

Well when we decide to follow Jesus and walk the way of his teaching, there are three big obstacles that can get in the way. Jesus faced the same obstacles in the desert when he was tempted by the devil.

PRIDE… to have too high an opinion of one’s own importance. ..to be self-centred and look down on others.

POSSESSIONS…to want to own more than anyone else. ..to be greedy and want more and more…self indulgence

POWER …the desire for fame or control or popularity…a desire to be noticed…self importance.

Note how the word self keeps appearing! This little ‘i’ (hold up a piece of red card cut into a small letter i) wants to be a big ‘I’ (hold up a large red cut- out card of the letter ‘I’)

It is only when the BIG I is crossed out… (Cross the two into the shape of a cross) that we understand what is meant by self denial.

Jesus gave up everything for us, and died to show us what love for others was all about.

We are called to put the ‘selfish self’ to one side and consider others in God’s world.

Additional Prayer:

Lord I want to get into the fray.

I want to play a role in the biggest adventure story of all time.

Use me to make a difference.

Use me to impact a young person for you.

Use me to solve someone’s problems.

Use me to soothe someone’s pain.

Use me to answer someone’s prayer.

Use me to feed someone who is hungry.

Use me to rescue a child.

Use me to bring someone to you.

Use me to ease someone’s loneliness.

Use me to raise a godly family.

Use me to deepen someone’s faith.

Use me to cheer someone on.

Use me to help a broken person understand ,

that he’s precious in Your sight.

Use me to touch lives in your name...

I don’t want to observe cathedrals through my bus window.

I want to roll up my sleeves and build one!

Lord use me to build a living cathedral

to Your glory.

Amen

(Lee Strobel: Celtic Daily Prayer. Page 399