God First, Family Second: Reordering Our Priorities

Devotional

Day 1: Choosing the Cross You Can’t Leave Behind

The cross is not just a symbol but a daily choice to carry what reshapes your vision. Like finding a blue glass cross in Greece that demands your “yes,” discipleship requires recognizing the weight worth bearing. Jesus never hides the cost: following him reorders relationships, ambitions, and comforts. This isn’t about guilt but clarity—what we cling to reveals what we truly worship. The call to take up your cross is an invitation to trade temporary security for eternal alignment. What cross have you hesitated to pick up, yet can’t walk away from? [28:14]

“Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’” (Matthew 16:24, ESV)

Reflection: When has a costly “yes” to Jesus clarified your purpose? What practical step could help you carry that cross more freely this week?

Day 2: Perseverance on the Court of Life

Faith grows in the grind of missed shots and fumbled passes. A ten-year-old’s spaghetti arms straining to score a basket mirror our halting efforts to live Christ’s way. God plants grit in ordinary moments—not just in victories but in showing up sweaty and determined. The gospel doesn’t promise ease but equips us with divine stamina. Every small act of trust, like a child’s wobbly dribble, becomes part of a greater story. Where is God asking you to keep shooting even when fatigue whispers “quit”? [26:40]

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13, ESV)

Reflection: What mundane struggle feels fruitless? How might Christ’s strength meet you precisely there?

Day 3: God First in a World of Pink Cadillacs

Mary Kay’s motto—“God first, family second, career third”—collides with a culture obsessed with hustle. Success glitters like a pink Cadillac, but Jesus redirects our gaze: discipleship means valuing presence over productivity. The kingdom isn’t built through résumés but through surrendered priorities. Like a failed makeup saleswoman discovering her true calling, we’re invited to trade transactional living for eternal investment. What ladder have you climbed that now blocks your view of Christ? [21:46]

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31, ESV)

Reflection: Where does your schedule or bank account reveal misaligned priorities? What one adjustment would honor “God first” today?

Day 4: Dusting Off Feet, Holding Onto Hope

Jesus sends disciples into rejection with radical trust: no backup plan, no suitcase, just peace offered freely. Shaking dust from sandals isn’t bitterness but holy resolve—to keep moving where light is welcomed. Our mission isn’t to force doors open but to faithfully knock. Like a youth minister discerning her call through trial, we’re shaped by both “yes” and “no.” Where have you lingered too long at a closed door, afraid to walk toward new soil? [24:03]

“Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him.” (Luke 10:5–6, ESV)

Reflection: What rejection or closed door still stings? How might Christ be redirecting you toward fertile ground?

Day 5: The Sword That Clarifies Love

Jesus’ sword slices through half-hearted loyalties, not to sever bonds but to sanctify them. A mother’s pride in her son’s basketball triumph is good, yet fleeting—true love roots joy in the Giver, not the gift. Division arises when Christ’s claim confronts our idols of family, comfort, or control. Like reordering Mary Kay’s motto into a covenant, the gospel demands that even precious things bow to the Eternal. What relationship or dream have you placed on equality with God? [26:01]

“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:37, ESV)

Reflection: What good thing risks becoming an ultimate thing? How could loving Christ first deepen—not diminish—that love?

Sermon Summary

Jesus calls together a ragtag group of disciples, fishermen and tax collectors and regular guys who were not studied, not learned, and not especially impressive. The gospel shows Jesus teaching them by showing them what he can do, preaching, teaching, healing, and then sending them out to do that same work in his name. Jesus tells them not to take anything, to be received by the people, and if they are not received, to dust off their feet and go somewhere else.

The gospel then gets tough. Jesus tells these already called disciples that following him will not always be sweet or easy. Darkness and chaos will meet them. Some people will not want the message, the healing, or the light they bring. Jesus does not pretend that discipleship is simple. He speaks about division, about father against son and mother against daughter, and about a sword instead of the kind of peace people usually expect.

That hard word does not make Jesus less loving. It shows that Jesus puts priorities and perspectives into place. “God first, family second, career third” becomes the frame for hearing the gospel. A life built on doing, doing, doing, achieving, succeeding, and climbing the ladder has to be flipped on its head. God comes first, not because family or work do not matter, but because family and work only fall into their right place when God is first.

The love of family is still real and deep. A child making a basket after struggling down the court can fill a parent with pride and joy. God is not absent from that joy. God gives perseverance, confidence, strength, and everything needed for that moment. God first does not erase the loves of life. God first reveals where those gifts came from and how they are meant to be received.

Jesus also says that a disciple must take up the cross. The cross cannot only be something handed over by someone else. At some point, the cross has to be chosen, picked up, and carried. The gospel invites a reorientation of priorities, not with shame, but with the mercy of a new day, confession, forgiveness, and renewal. Jesus calls, Jesus gives what is needed, and Jesus remains the way, the truth, and the life.

Key Takeaways

1. God first reorders everything else God first is not a slogan for a wall or a business card. It is a way of putting life back into its true shape when achievement, work, and personal drive have started running the whole show. Family and career are not thrown away, but they stop being gods when God takes first place. [21:46]
2. Jesus calls ordinary people forward Jesus does not begin with impressive people who have everything figured out. The gospel shows fishermen, tax collectors, and regular guys being called, taught, and sent. Discipleship begins with the call of Jesus, not with a polished resume or a perfect spiritual life. [22:52]
3. Following Jesus can create tension Jesus does not hide the cost after calling disciples into the work. His word can cut through even the closest loyalties because no human relationship can carry the weight that belongs to God. The sword is not cruelty, but a sharp reordering of loves that have gotten out of place. [25:19]
4. God gives what is needed God’s grace can be seen in a child’s perseverance, confidence, strength, and joy. Ordinary moments are not spiritually empty when God is the giver behind them. The right response is not to despise earthly joy, but to recognize the hand that made joy possible. [27:11]
5. The cross must be picked up The cross can be admired, gifted, displayed, and worn, but Jesus calls for more than possession. Taking up the cross means making the decision to follow when that following becomes personal. The disciple does not merely inherit symbols of faith, but chooses the way of Jesus. [28:56]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[16:28] - The Hard Gospel Reading
[16:59] - A Life of Doing and Achieving
[19:26] - The Mary Kay Invitation
[21:46] - God First, Family Second, Career Third
[22:52] - Jesus Calls Regular Disciples
[24:03] - The Cost Jesus Names
[25:19] - Priorities, Division, and the Sword
[26:21] - Family Love and God’s Gifts
[27:51] - Taking Up the Cross
[29:20] - Reorienting Life Again
[29:58] - Jesus Gives Everything Needed

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Matthew 10:34-39
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” [25:27]

Observation questions

In Matthew 10:34-39, what kinds of relationships does Jesus name when he talks about division within a household?
What order of priorities is described with the phrase “God first, family second, career third,” and what parts of life does that order speak to most directly? [21:46]
What are some of the things Jesus had already been showing his disciples to do before giving them this hard teaching about the cost of following him? [23:14]
What are some specific gifts God was said to give in an ordinary family moment of joy and success? [27:21]

Interpretation questions

Jesus says he came not to bring peace but a sword. How should that be understood in light of his call to put God above every other loyalty? [25:55]
Jesus speaks about loving father, mother, son, or daughter more than him. Does this mean family love is wrong, or does it mean family love has to be placed under a greater love? [26:02]
Jesus calls ordinary people to follow him and then sends them out. What does that suggest about what makes a person ready or useful for the work of the kingdom? [22:52]
Jesus says a disciple must take up the cross. What is the difference between admiring the cross, receiving it as a symbol, and actually picking it up in a personal way? [28:56]

Application questions

Where does life feel most driven by doing, achieving, succeeding, or staying in control right now? What might it look like in that specific area to put God first instead of simply asking God to bless what is already being chased? [18:29]
Which relationship or responsibility is most likely to compete with wholehearted obedience to Jesus right now: family, work, reputation, comfort, or something else? What makes that area especially hard to surrender? [25:14]
Jesus calls regular people, not impressive people. Where might there be a tendency to hold back from serving because of feeling unprepared, ordinary, or not spiritual enough? [23:01]
When has following Jesus brought tension, misunderstanding, or resistance in a family, workplace, or friendship? How was that handled, and what would faithfulness look like if that situation happened again? [24:19]
There are moments of real joy in family life, work, or daily life that can fill the heart completely. How can those moments be received as gifts from God without feeling guilty for enjoying them? [27:11]
Taking up the cross has to become personal at some point. What is one concrete step of obedience, trust, repentance, or sacrifice that needs to be chosen instead of postponed? [27:55]
Jesus gives a new day for confession, forgiveness, and renewal. If priorities feel out of order right now, what would a simple reorientation this week actually look like in prayer, time, habits, or attention? [29:33]

Sermon Clips

67s

“``Is it God first? Are there ways in which that could be tweaked or changed or is there a challenge there? If it needs to be reoriented, that's okay. If you're right on track, even better. I know I'm not right on track. And I thank God that we get a new day every day to reorient, that we get our confession that we'll say in a little bit to remind us that we are forgiven and we can be renewed day in and day out. We know that Jesus calls us to come and follow. We know that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. We know that he gives us everything we need. May this week be a place where you can rest in that and you can order yourself in a way that glorifies God and brings that to light.”

33s

“That's not the Jesus that we know and love. Right? Jesus brings people together. He doesn't cause all this chaos and friction and tension and divide. But what Jesus is reminding us is that we have to put our priorities and perspectives into place. And that when we do put God first and we follow God, then those other things fall in line and we know what the priority is.”

56s

“If it needs to be reoriented, that's okay. If you're right on track, even better. I know I'm not right on track. And I thank God that we get a new day every day to reorient, that we get our confession that we'll say in a little bit to remind us that we are forgiven and we can be renewed day in and day out. We know that Jesus calls us to come and follow. We know that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. We know that he gives us everything we need. May this week be a place where you can rest in that and you can order yourself in a way that glorifies God and brings that to light.”

53s

“Perhaps that has been a moment for you in your life as well. This week, I invite you to look at your priority and perspectives in life. Is it God first? Are there ways in which that could be tweaked or changed or is there a challenge there? If it needs to be reoriented, that's okay. If you're right on track, even better. I know I'm not right on track. And I thank God that we get a new day every day to reorient, that we get our confession that we'll say in a little bit to remind us that we are forgiven and we can be renewed day in and day out.”

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St. Michael's Episcopal Church Colorado Springs This sermon · AI assistant

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