Take Up Your Cross & Follow Jesus

In this moving sermon, Pastor David Bodanza invites us to rediscover what it truly means to follow Jesus. The Christian life, he reminds us, is not a path of ease or comfort—it is a call to daily self-denial, courageous faith, and deep devotion. Jesus Himself set the pattern: He "must go to Jerusalem," must suffer, and must die. His cross was no accident of history but the heart of God's eternal plan to save the world.

When Peter resisted the idea of a suffering Savior, Jesus corrected him sharply: "You are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man." Pastor David reminds us that we, too, often prefer comfort over commitment. Yet Christ calls us to something far greater—to take up our cross, to treasure Him above approval, success, or ease.

Following Jesus means exchanging self-centered living for Christ-centered purpose. It means losing our lives in order to find them—living not for fleeting gain but for eternal glory. The cross we carry is not punishment; it is privilege. It is the mark of a redeemed heart that loves Jesus more than the world.

The sermon closes with hope: every act of faith, every hidden sacrifice, is remembered by God. The Savior who carried His cross for us will one day return in glory to reward those who carried theirs. In the end, the crown of life will make every cross worthwhile.