Week 2: Chapter 1 — Someone Worth Losing Everything For

1.Platt opens with a vivid account of meeting underground church Christians in Asia — believers who risked imprisonment and death simply for gathering in Jesus's name. How did that contrast affect you as you read it? What emotions did it stir?

2.Jesus repeatedly used phrases like "deny yourself," "take up your cross," and "lose your life" (Luke 9:23–25). Platt argues that we have so softened these phrases they have lost their force. What do you think Jesus' original audience understood when He said "take up your cross"? How does recovering that original meaning change what He was asking?

3.Platt notes that Jesus never seemed to try to make following Him sound appealing to the crowds — He consistently raised the cost rather than lowering it. Why do you think He did that? What does that tell us about His character and His goals?