1. The Crown Without the Cross
There was a time when Christianity meant crucifixion before comfort.
Men and women followed Christ knowing it could cost them everything.
But today, we have exchanged the old rugged cross for a polished stage.
We preach about destiny, success, and favor — but not about dying to self.
We speak of blessings, not of brokenness.
We love the Savior who died for us, but not the cross that must kill us.
The Church has learned to celebrate the crown while forgetting the cross.
2. The Discipleship We No Longer Preach
True discipleship begins with death — the death of pride, of sin, of self-will.
There is no Christianity without crucifixion.
Yet modern preaching has turned the gospel into an invitation to improvement, not surrender.
Jesus never said, “Come and be comfortable.”
He said, “Come and die.”
The Puritan Thomas à Kempis wrote,
“The cross is always ready, and everywhere awaits you. You cannot escape it.”
But we try — through entertainment, comfort, and compromise.
And in fleeing the cross, we have fled the power of God.
3. The Hollow Gospel
What fills our pulpits today?
Motivation instead of repentance.
Applause instead of conviction.
Crowds instead of conversions.
We have built ministries where men are made to feel good rather than made to be godly.
We have removed the nails from our message and wonder why there is no power.
The early Church turned the world upside down with twelve men — because those twelve had been crucified with Christ.
Leonard Ravenhill warned,
“We preach a Jesus that costs nothing, and that’s why He’s worth nothing to so many.”
A gospel without the cross is no gospel at all.
4. The Forgotten Call to Self-Denial
The command to take up the cross was not a suggestion — it was a sentence.
In those days, the cross was not jewelry; it was a death instrument.
Christ was calling men to lose their lives for His sake — not improve them.
How far we have fallen from that call!
We want salvation without sanctification, liberty without lordship, revival without repentance.
We want heaven while holding on to the world.
But the Christ who saves us also slays our old nature.
There is no resurrection without crucifixion.
5. When the Church Imitates the World
When the Church forgets the cross, she begins to resemble the world she was meant to redeem.
She measures success by numbers instead of nearness to God.
She entertains the goats instead of feeding the sheep.
She sings louder to hide her lack of brokenness.
We are not called to be popular, but peculiar.
The cross separates, sanctifies, and simplifies — until all we desire is Christ alone.
J.C. Ryle wrote,
“A Christianity without the cross is a Christianity without Christ.”
And yet that is the religion of our age — form without fire, words without weight.
6. The Power of a Crucified Life
When the cross returns to the center, power returns to the Church.
The man who has died to self cannot be offended, bribed, or silenced.
The woman who has been crucified with Christ fears no loss, because she owns nothing but Him.
This is the secret of spiritual authority — death to the old man, life in the Spirit.
Paul said, “I die daily.” That was not poetry — it was reality.
And because he died daily, he lived powerfully.
If the Church would die again, she would rise again.
7. The Invitation Back to Calvary
The Spirit of God is calling His people back to the foot of the cross — not to admire it, but to mount it.
There is still room there for every proud heart, every secret sin, every stubborn will.
Revival will not come through the next event, but through the next crucifixion.
Until we are nailed again — to humility, to holiness, to His will — we will remain powerless.
But when we die with Him, we rise with Him.
And the world will once again see Christ — not in our sermons, but in our scars.
8. A Prayer of Surrender
O Lord Jesus, forgive us for loving comfort more than the cross.
Forgive us for preaching a gospel without death, a faith without fire.
Nail our pride, our ambition, our sin to the tree where You died.
Teach us to glory only in the cross.
Let the Church lose her life again, that she might find it in You.
Make us crucified followers, not casual fans.
Amen.
