What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus? Is being a Christian simply a matter of praying a prayer or raising your hand in a church service? Because we do not live in a place in the world where our lives are at stake when we profess our faith in Christ, we can forget that being a disciple of Christ is a costly thing. It is costly in terms of your relationships, costly in terms of hardship, and costly in how you must deny yourself. Jesus advises us not to ignore the costs, but to dwell upon them; before we take one step, we must be “Counting the Cost” (Luke 14:25-35).

I. Following Jesus is Costly (14:25-27)
A. Allegiance to Jesus
B. Sacrifice for Jesus

II. Following Jesus is Deliberate (14:28-32)
A. Can You Afford to Follow?
B. Can You Afford Not to Follow?

III. Following Jesus is Life Changing (14:33-35)
A. Not Who You Were
B. A Disciple is a Disciple

Questions for consideration: (1) What things in your life pull you away from a first loyalty to Jesus? (2) Why do you think Jesus seems to make it difficult to follow Him? (3) What is the danger in not renouncing all for Jesus? What would be the hardest thing for you to give up to follow Jesus?