So Jesus called the crowds and they gathered with his disciples and he said to them,

if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Because whoever would save his life, take up his cross and follow me.

Because whoever would save his life is going to lose it.

And whoever loses his life for my sake in the Gospels will save it. Because what does it profit a man if it gains the whole world and forfeits his life?

Because what can a man give in exchange for his life?

Because everyone who is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation,

I'm going to be ashamed of him when I come in the glory of my father and the holy angels.

So... and the holy angels. So if you want to follow Jesus,

then you deny yourself and you take up your cross

and you get behind him because, because, because.

Because.

I'm going to linger here at the surface level of grammar

and words for just a moment to make two points.

First, if any graduates can read Mark 8 34 to 38

and not see the four layers of argumentation

that Jesus gives for following him, then in your case, we have failed.

Because that's what we do here.

We have linked arms to learn how to see us what we do.

We teach people to see what's there, really there.

So that's the first point.

Second point.

...