Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 6
“What if Jesus meant every word he says?” is presented as a practical pivot; which specific teachings of Jesus do you find easiest to treat as ideals rather than commands, and what would have to die in you for those words to become “shoe leather”?
Another way to ask: Which teachings of Jesus do you most often treat like nice ideals instead of real commands? What would need to die in you for you to actually live them out?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The transcript doesn’t list specific sayings of Jesus beyond a general example (“love your enemies”), but it teaches that treating Jesus’ words as real commands requires taking up the cross—letting self-will die so obedience becomes practical life (“shoe leather”). What would have to die is the desire to keep “our own way” while still feeling faithful.
- Cliff quotes Dean Taylor’s pivot: “What if Jesus meant every word he says?”
- He admits we don’t do it perfectly, but “that’s the goal… to take it seriously and to put it into the shoe leather of our lives.”
- He connects this to hard discipleship: Jesus said, “take up his cross,” and “the cross is an instrument of death.”
- He describes the internal barrier: “conflicting desires… we want kind of our own way.”
- He defines entry into simple life as “deny ourselves, to become broken, yielded, and to follow him.”
- The host applies it to Jesus’ teaching: “love your enemies… simple… very difficult,” matching Cliff’s theme.