This sermon unpacks Jesus’ hard words in Luke 14:26 about “hating” family and even one’s own life. It clarifies that in Hebrew idiom, “hate” means “to love less,” so Jesus is calling His followers to detachment—to love Him above all else. Too often, we cling to created things—family, success, wealth, or even our own lives—as if they could bear the weight of being God. When we do, they crack under the pressure, and both they and we suffer. Jesus asks us to “give it up”—to open our hands and he...