Good Decisions

Message Notes:

Two key passages for today’s message:

•Matthew 13:45-46 —45 “The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”

•Mark 8:34 — Then Jesus said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

Note: If there are goals we would like to achieve in life — and we have not achieved them — it is normally because there are other things that we want more.

Three steps to personal growth:

1. If we make a sharp, well-defined, intentional decision

2. then order our lives around that decision

3.we can do amazing things

This can apply to many aspects of life ( marriage, personal health, spiritual health, etc.)

The Latin word from which we get the English word “decide” — is made up of two words:

•“to cut”

•“away or from or off”

•In other words, every good decision requires evaluating what is important and then cutting away whatever hampers that decision.

That is the meaning of Matthew 13:45-46 and Mark 8:34.

Discussion Questions:

Have you ever tried to figure out — “what is the most important person or thing in your life?”

If Jesus is the most important person in your life, what are the implications:

•for your family?

•for work?

•for your hobbies?

•for your free time?

If you were to make Jesus the pearl of great value in your life, what will be high on your list of people or things to be jettisoned?

Read and comment:

•If you are not as holy and loving as the earlier followers of Jesus were,     your own heart will tell you that it is neither through ignorance nor inability, but purely because you never thoroughly intended it.

Read and apply: Matthew 13:45-46 and Mark 8:34.