Take Up Your Cross and Follow Me

Have you ever had to suffer for Christ? The Word of God clearly tells us that Jesus came to give us peace, joy, and assurance, but it also tells us that we are to take up our cross and follow Him. This can be a confusing thought. In this week’s sermon – the second message on the theme, A Mature Witness – we will talk about persecution and suffering in our day.

Scripture: Matthew 16:21-26

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"

Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?


Renewing Reflections

It is our prayer that Renewing Reflections will be a blessing in your life this coming week. This quote is taken from the sermon How Great Is Your Commitment? Delivered on Christian Crusaders January 24, 2010:

How great is your commitment? We all would like to admit that much growth is needed in our commitment to him, but as we examine our lives, we can say with Paul that God is at work in our lives. We have not arrived where we want to be, but we press on. Neither are we satisfied with our commitment to our Savior, but neither are we discouraged for we feel his presence.


Seventy-Six Years of Broadcasting Biblical Truth

In 2005, the Board of Directors of Christian Crusaders asked Rev. Steven Kramer to serve as Associate Speaker. In this capacity, Rev. Kramer will preach eleven times this year, and eventually will succeed Rev. Larsen upon his retirement. Rev. Kramer is currently serving as the senior pastor of Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church in Afton, Minnesota.

A staff of three employees, the Executive Director, Administrative Assistant, and Financial/Office Assistant, take care of the daily functions and responsibilities of the ministry. Volunteers help with mailings and other tasks.

Totally supported by donations from its beginning, Christian Crusaders relies on the gifts of listeners – through GEM Club (Gift Every Month) members, Broadcast Sponsors, memorial gifts and bequests from estates – to keep the program on the air. Because of these many contributions, this ministry is now in its seventy-sixth year and is the seventh longest-running Christian radio program in the United States.


Dietrick Bonhoeffer Quotes

• To endure the cross is not tragedy; it is the suffering which is the fruit of an exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ.

• We must learn to regard people less in light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.

• A Christian is someone who shares the sufferings of God in the world.

• Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.

• It matters little what form of prayer we adopt or how many words we use. What matters is the faith which lays hold on God, knowing that He knows our needs before we even ask Him. That is what gives Christian prayer its boundless confidence and its joyous certainty.

Peter Passed the Test

What does it take to become a mature witness for the Lord. Jesus discovered Peter had what it took to become a disciple. But do we?  Find out what we must first know before we can be responsible for teaching the word of God to others.

Scripture: Matthew 16:21-26

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.


Renewing Reflections

It is our prayer that Renewing Reflections will be a blessing in your life this coming week. This quote is taken from the sermon God Is Still Speaking delivered on Christian Crusaders August 10, 2003:

When does one come to accept the Bible as God speaking to us? . . . When the teachings of the Bible intersect with the facts of life, you will know that God is speaking. To hear His voice, we must read His Word. We must hear this Word preached. We need to discuss this Word with brothers and sisters in the faith. The Bible is the inspired Word of God and the foundation for what we believe and how we act. This is a basic truth that Christians believe.


Seventy-Six Years of Broadcasting Biblical Truth

Following Rev. Melchert’s retirement in 1956, Rev. Bruno Schlachtenhaufen, pastor of First Lutheran Church, Waterloo, became the second Christian Crusaders radio speaker. He served faithfully in this role until 1962, when he was elected the Iowa District President of the American Lutheran Church.

Rev. Homer Larsen, senior pastor of Nazareth Lutheran Church, Cedar Falls, Iowa, succeeded Rev. Schlachtenhaufen as radio speaker in 1962, and has been preaching over the airwaves since that time. Because of the longevity of his service and his powerful messages, he has become the voice of Christian Crusaders to thousands of listeners across the country.


On the Light Side

Some Useless Knowledge
• The most common last name in the world is Patel.
• The most common first name in the world is Mohammed.
• No word in the English language rhymes with the words month, orange, purple, or silver.
• A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.
• Our stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every 2 weeks or else it will digest itself.
• Our skin weighs twice as much as our brain.
• An ostrich's eye is larger than its brain.
• If you ever find yourself in the jaws of a crocodile, jam your thumbs into each of its eyes. It will release you instantly.
• The first bomb dropped by the Allies in WW II killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.
• If you are being chased by an alligator or crocodile, run in a straight path rather than zig-zag. They can't see straight.
• The best-selling book in the history of man is the Bible.
• The largest pyramid is not in Egypt but rather in the Yucatan (Mexico), built by the Mayans.
• The Amazon River is the largest river in the world by volume.
• If an octopus gets hungry enough, it will eat its own arms. Besides, it has eight. It can spare one or two.
• The speed of air that comes out of your nose when you sneeze is faster than a hurricane.
• It is impossible to keep your eyes open when you sneeze.