The Cross I Bear

March 15, 2026
What cross are you bearing today? The story of Simon of Cyrene reveals how a forced detour became the defining moment of his life—and transformed his family forever.

SERMON NOTES

MARK 15:16-25 (NLT)
(16) The soldiers took Jesus into the courtyard of the governor’s headquarters (called the Praetorium) and called out the entire regiment. (17) They dressed him in a purple robe, and they wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head. (18) Then they saluted him and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!” (19) And they struck him on the head with a reed stick, spit on him, and dropped to their knees in mock worship. (20) When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified. (21) A passerby named Simon, who was from Cyrene, was coming in from the countryside just then, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. (Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus.) (22) And they brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha (which means “Place of the Skull”). (23) They offered him wine drugged with myrrh, but he refused it. (24) Then the soldiers nailed him to the cross. They divided his clothes and threw dice to decide who would get each piece. (25) It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him.

 

"Sometimes we may wish that God would send us… a full explanation! But even though we cannot know all the particular reasons for our crosses, we can look at the cross and know God is working things out." – Timothy Keller

 

WHEN YOUR LIFE GETS CONSCRIPTED, JESUS REWRITES YOUR SONG

 

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

  1. Just for fun: Mondegreens are misheard song lyrics. What song lyrics have you misheard?
  2. Imagine you're Simon of Cyrene—you've saved for years, traveled 800 miles for Passover, and suddenly Roman soldiers force you to carry a bloody cross, disqualifying you from worship. How would you have felt at that moment? What would you have been thinking or praying?
  3. Matt shared about losing basketball in 5th grade—something that felt devastating at the time but led him to music and ministry. What's a cross you've been forced to bear? What is an unexpected detour or loss that derailed your plans? How did you interpret it at the time? 

 

SERMON AUDIO

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