Our passages for today come from Matthew 10:16-31

Most of us humans have a need to be generally liked by other people.

Scientists will tell you that is from the need to be part of a community so that we can reproduce, have shelter and have human contact.

But that need is also our Achilles heel. We sometimes want to be liked so badly that we won’t tell the truth or say anything that might offend someone.

We might lose likes on Facebook, or they may unfriend us!  I think the term these days is ghost us.

Today, being a Christian offends people.  People in Western cultures and countries are being arrested for speaking about God.

People are being arrested for sticking to their principles.

People are being killed for the good news of Jesus

and Jesus predicted it.