Prepare for Sunday

February 17th 2026

Ponder

This week Jesus looks at a large crowd of people following him (Luke 14:25-35). And instead of rejoicing in his own fame and large followership, he challenges these followers to consider what it means to truly follow him. It's costlier than we realize. It costs our whole life. As Hans Bayer once said, discipleship is nothing less than giving Jesus a blank check. We surrender our life to his purposes. At first this seems impossibly scary, narrow, and bad. But according to Jesus, it is the truest path to freedom.

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The Cost of Being a Disciple

25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said:

26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.

27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?

29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you,

30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?

32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.

33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

34 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?

35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.

“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”