January 23, 2026
You are the Christ - Part 5
Mark 8:34-35
01/23/2026
34 And he called to him the crowd with his disciples
and said to them, ``If anyone would come after me,
let him deny himself and take up his cross and
follow me.
35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but
whoever loses his life for my sake and the
gospel's will save it.'' (ESV)
On January 18, the Church celebrated the Confession of Saint
Peter. We prayed:
Heavenly Father, You revealed to the apostle Peter the
blessed truth that Your Son Jesus is the Christ.
Strengthen us by the proclamation of this truth that we
too may joyfully confess that there is salvation in no
one else.
The Church is built on the Confession of Peter, that Jesus
is the Christ, the One who died and rose again for our salvation
from sin, death, and the power of the devil. How, then, do we
live as Christians?
And he called to him the crowd with his disciples and
said to them, ``If anyone would come after me, let him
deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For
whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever
loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save
it.''
We are called to remain faithful to Christ Jesus even in the
face of persecution and rejection. The devil, the world, and our
own sinful flesh conspire to pull us from the love of God. We
may not be martyrs in that we lose our lives because of our
faith, but we are rejected by this world for confessing that
Jesus is the Christ.
That confession of our faith shows that we fear, love, and
trust in God above all things. In so doing, we know that we have
life everlasting in Jesus Christ, for He has redeemed us from sin
and death.
Please join us at Trinity Lutheran Church this Sunday, and
every Sunday, at 9:00 a.m. to receive more of this good news.
May our Lord grant that we confess Jesus as the Christ and
trust in Him alone. Amen.