Sunday, June 6, 2022 – Today we are discussing one of those hard topics that Jesus teaches – He says that we are to “Take up your cross and follow me”. I’ll be honest with you, I struggled this week in the preparation of this message, yet I believe that the Holy Spirit brought clarity to my thinking. The concept of “taking up my cross” is a very personal command from Jesus, yet it’s really not about me at all, it’s all about Jesus and the redemption that He provides on the cross that He took up. In the day Jesus was speaking, the cross was not what we consider it to be today. We consider the cross a religious emblem, but in Jesus' time, it was an emblem of death for those that deserved to be punished. The cross that Jesus willingly hung on and died on was not about punishment, but totally and wholly about redemption. So when Jesus says that we are to take up our cross, understand that it's not about punishment for us any more than it was for Him. Rather, it’s how we can share in the redemption process of our life along with Jesus. The enemy used the cross to bring death, God used the cross the bring life, eternally. Worship along with us and let’s celebrate the way we can have abundant life as learn how we can take up our cross and follow Jesus…