Pieces of the Puzzle

Every person, every business, every community develops a reputation.

Mention a favorite restaurant and someone remembers the food. Mention a particular store and someone remembers how they were treated there.

Churches develop reputations too.

So here is a question worth asking: What do we hope the church is known for?

Friendly. Caring. Generous. A place where people belong?

Those are all good things. But Jesus invites us to ask a deeper question: What does it mean to be a community centered on Christ?

The Christian life begins with an invitation: “Follow me” (Matthew 4:19). It begins with grace—with God moving toward us before we ever move toward God. And people welcomed by grace learn to make room for others.

But what does that life increasingly look like?

Matthew’s Gospel gives us an answer when someone asks Jesus a deceptively simple question:

Out of everything God asks of us, what matters most?

Jesus Goes to the Heart

In Matthew 22:34–40, a legal expert asks Jesus:

“Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
— Matthew 22:36

By this point in Matthew’s Gospel, religious leaders have repeatedly challenged Jesus, and Matthew tells us that this question is another test.

But it is also an important question. With hundreds of commandments in the Law, Jewish teachers wrestled with how they fit together and what stood at the center.

In other words: What holds all of this together?

Jesus answers by drawing from two passages in the Hebrew Scriptures—Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18:

“You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself.”
— Matthew 22:37–39

Then Jesus says something remarkable:

“All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”
— Matthew 22:40

Everything hangs here.

Like a door hanging on its hinges, everything else depends upon these two commands:

Love God. Love your neighbor.

Love is not simply one piece of the Christian life. Love is at the heart of the Christian life.

And if love is at the heart, Jesus’ answer raises a deeper question for anyone seeking to follow Christ:

What does it actually mean to love God with all that we are?

Love God With Your Whole Life

Jesus says:

“You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind.”
— Matthew 22:37

In other words, love God with all of you.

For some, loving God has been part of life for as long as they can remember. Others may still be discovering what it means to know or trust God. Wherever we find ourselves, Jesus describes a life increasingly turned toward God.

Our thoughts. Our desires. Our choices. Our relationships. Our priorities. The way we use our time and resources.

All of it.

Loving God with our whole lives means more than feeling affection for God. It means learning to trust God, seeking God in prayer and worship, listening for God’s direction, and allowing God’s love to shape what matters most to us.

Loving God is not something we add to the rest of our lives. Love for God begins to shape the way we live the rest of our lives.

That understanding is deeply rooted in the Wesleyan tradition.

John Wesley believed that the goal of Christian life was holiness. By holiness, Wesley was not talking about becoming more religious than everyone else. He was describing a life increasingly filled with love for God and love for others.

Jesus himself connects these things. Love God. Love your neighbor.

At the heart of holiness is love.

That gives us an important way to think about spiritual growth.

Sometimes we measure our faith by how much we know, how often we attend church, how many Bible studies we have completed, or how many years we have followed Jesus. Those things can help us grow, but they are not the goal.

The deeper question is:

Am I becoming more loving?

Jesus does not allow us to answer that question only by looking at our relationship with God. He refuses to separate love of God from love of neighbor.

Love Takes Shape in the Way We Live

First John puts the matter rather directly:

“Those who say, ‘I love God’ and hate their brothers or sisters are liars.”
— 1 John 4:20

Those are strong words. John is not giving Christians another group of people to condemn. He is confronting the contradiction of claiming love for God while refusing to love people.

Love of God becomes visible in the way we love people.

When Jesus says, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” he is quoting Leviticus 19:18. The surrounding verses show just how broad and concrete that love is.

God’s people are instructed to provide for the poor and the immigrant (Leviticus 19:9–10), not to steal or deceive (vv. 11–12), to pay workers fairly (v. 13), not to take advantage of people who are vulnerable (v. 14), to practice justice (v. 15), and not to stand by when another person’s life is threatened (v. 16).

These are not simply instructions for isolated acts of kindness. God is describing the kind of community God’s people are meant to become—a community whose life together is shaped by love.

In other words, biblical love is not simply a feeling.

Love does something.

Sometimes love listens. Sometimes love gives. Sometimes love protects. Sometimes love tells the truth. Sometimes love makes room. And sometimes love asks us to change.

Love seeks the good of another person, not simply the preservation of our own comfort.

That is where Jesus’ command becomes more challenging than it first sounds.

Love God.

Love your neighbor.

Simple enough to remember. Much harder to live.

There are people we find easy to love and others we struggle to understand. There are relationships where love is complicated. Some hurts cannot simply be brushed aside. Sometimes discerning what love requires takes prayer, wisdom, courage, forgiveness, justice, and healthy boundaries.

So what do we do with the truth that none of us loves perfectly?

We Are Still Learning to Love

Even after years of following Jesus, we discover places within ourselves where love still needs to grow.

We lose patience. We make assumptions. We hold onto resentment. We choose what is comfortable instead of what is loving.

Following Jesus is not something we finish. Neither is learning to love.

Perhaps, then, a better question than “Have I arrived?” is:

Where is God inviting my love to grow?

Maybe toward someone I find difficult to understand.

Maybe in a relationship where I need to listen more carefully.

Maybe in the way I speak about people with whom I disagree.

Maybe in making room for someone whose experience is different from mine.

Maybe even in learning to receive grace and love for myself.

John Wesley believed that God’s grace does not simply meet us once and then leave us on our own. God’s grace continues working within us, helping us grow in holiness and love.

Methodists traditionally call this sanctifying grace.

As Paul writes, God is at work within us, enabling us to desire and work toward what pleases God (Philippians 2:13).

God is still at work in us.

Still softening what has become hard.

Still healing what has been wounded.

Still challenging what has become self-centered.

Still teaching us how to love God and our neighbors more fully.

We have not arrived. We are being formed.

And if all of this leaves us thinking, I don’t love like that very well, the Christian life does not begin with our ability to love God or our neighbor.

It begins with God’s love for us.

We Love Because God First Loved Us

First John brings us back to the foundation:

“We love because God first loved us.”
— 1 John 4:19

Notice the order.

God loves first.

We do not love God so that God will love us. We do not love our neighbors to prove that we are good Christians. Holy love is not something we manufacture by simply trying harder.

God’s love comes first.

As Paul reminds us, “God shows his love for us, because while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Grace meets us before we have everything figured out. Grace meets us before we have learned to love well.

And grace does not leave us where it found us.

God’s love meets us, works within us, and begins reshaping our hearts and lives. As we learn to trust that love, the love we receive begins to flow through us toward others.

Love received becomes love lived.

It becomes compassion when someone is hurting.

It becomes courage when someone needs an advocate.

It becomes listening when someone needs to be heard.

It becomes generosity when someone is in need.

It becomes truth when silence would be easier.

It becomes making room when our instinct is to protect our own place at the table.

Not perfectly. Not all at once.

But grace keeps shaping us toward holy love.

What Will We Be Known For?

So what do we hope Christians—and Christian communities—will be known for?

There are plenty of good answers.

But somewhere near the top of the list should be this:

They love.

Not simply that we talk about God’s love, but that people experience something of God’s love among us—in the way we speak, in the way we treat people with whom we disagree, in the way we care for those who are hurting, in the way we seek justice, and in the way we make room for one another.

Jesus told his disciples:

“This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.”
— John 13:35

Perhaps the question to carry with us, then, is not simply, “Do I love God?”

Perhaps it is:

“Where is God’s love inviting me to grow?”

We will not love perfectly. We are still being shaped, still learning, still following.

But we do not begin with our ability to love.

We begin with God’s love for us.

“We love because God first loved us.”
— 1 John 4:19

And by the grace of God, love received becomes love lived.

May that love shape us.

May that love become visible in us.

And may that be what followers of Jesus become known for.

Most of us know what happens when there are more people than places at the table.

Someone scoots over. Someone finds another chair. Plates get moved a little closer together. Another place setting appears.

Somehow, we make room.

And when we pull up another chair, we are saying more than, “There’s enough space.” We are saying, “There’s a place for you here.”

There is a difference between welcoming someone and actually making room for them. Making room means another person’s presence matters enough that we are willing to adjust. We move over. We create space. We make room not simply in the room, but in our lives.

That distinction matters for anyone trying to follow Jesus.

The Gospels repeatedly show Jesus making room for people others would rather keep at a distance. One of the clearest examples comes in Luke 5:27–32, where Jesus encounters a tax collector named Levi.

Before long, Jesus is sitting at a table surrounded by exactly the sort of people some believed should not be there.

Jesus Makes Room for Levi

The story begins with a familiar invitation. Jesus sees Levi sitting at a tax collection booth and says:

“Follow me.” — Luke 5:27

But notice who receives the invitation.

Levi is a tax collector.

Tax collectors were not simply unpopular in Jesus’ day. They worked within a system that collected money for Rome, the occupying power, and that system provided plenty of opportunity for dishonesty and exploitation. For many people, Levi would have been someone to avoid, not someone to invite into your circle.

Yet Jesus sees something others do not.

The people around Levi may have believed they already knew who he was and what kind of future was possible for someone like him. Jesus refuses to allow Levi’s past to determine the limits of Levi’s future. Jesus sees someone who can follow, grow, serve, and become part of what God is doing in the world.

So Jesus says, “Follow me.”

And Luke tells us:

“Leaving everything behind, Levi got up and followed him.” — Luke 5:28

Notice the order: grace comes first.

Jesus makes room for Levi before Levi has done anything to prove himself. Change will come—Jesus makes that clear later in the story—but change is not the price Levi pays to receive the invitation.

The relationship begins because Jesus makes room for him.

Then something beautiful happens.

The person for whom Jesus has made room begins making room for others.

Levi Pulls Up More Chairs

Luke tells us:

“Then Levi threw a great banquet for Jesus in his home. A large number of tax collectors and others sat down to eat with them.” — Luke 5:29

Levi has only just begun following Jesus, and one of the first things he does is create space for other people to meet him.

He does not abandon all his old relationships. He invites the people he already knows to share a table with Jesus.

Imagine that table.

These are people who probably know what it feels like to be avoided, judged, or kept at a distance. Now there is a place for them.

A chair has been pulled up. Food is being passed. Stories are being shared. And Jesus is right there in the middle of it all.

Perhaps this is one of the simplest pictures of evangelism we could imagine.

Levi does not have all the answers. He does not treat the people he knows like projects. He simply creates a place where they can encounter Jesus for themselves.

Sometimes that happens around an actual table. Sometimes it begins with a conversation, a friendship, a cup of coffee, or simply taking the time to hear someone’s story.

We make room for people to encounter the Christ who has made room for us.

But not everyone is pleased with Levi’s guest list.

When the Table Gets Uncomfortable

Luke tells us that the Pharisees and their legal experts complain to Jesus’ disciples:

“Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” — Luke 5:30

Their concern is not simply that Jesus talks to these people. Jesus eats with them.

In Jesus’ world, sharing a table communicated relationship and belonging. That is precisely what makes this meal uncomfortable.

Jesus keeps ending up at tables with the “wrong” people.

Before criticizing the Pharisees too quickly, however, it may be worth considering how naturally we do something similar. Most of us gravitate toward people we know and understand. We prefer the company of people who make us comfortable, share our assumptions, or see the world much as we do.

So Levi’s table raises an uncomfortable question:

Who could Jesus bring to the table that I would struggle to sit beside?

Who am I tempted to keep at a distance? Whose story have I already decided I understand? Who have I quietly concluded does not belong?

Jesus responds to the criticism:

“Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. I didn’t come to call righteous people but sinners to change their hearts and lives.” — Luke 5:31–32

Jesus is not at Levi’s table because nothing matters.

Jesus is there because people matter.

The table is not the end of discipleship. It creates space where discipleship can begin.

Jesus comes near. Relationships form. Grace works. Hearts and lives begin to change.

Grace creates places where transformation can happen.

Sometimes that place is as ordinary as a table with another chair pulled up.

Welcome Is More Than Being Friendly

Paul offers a similar vision in his letter to the Romans:

“So welcome each other, in the same way that Christ also welcomed you, for God’s glory.” — Romans 15:7

Paul is writing to Christians who do not always agree. They come from different backgrounds, hold different convictions, and have different understandings about how their faith should be lived out (Romans 14:1–6).

Apparently, making room for one another was no easier for the early church than it is today.

Paul does not pretend their differences are meaningless. Nor does he tell them to determine who is right and ask everyone else to leave.

Instead, he calls them to a way of life in which our own preferences do not always come first:

“We who are powerful need to be patient with the weakness of those who don’t have power, and not please ourselves. Each of us should please our neighbors for their good in order to build them up.” — Romans 15:1–2

Sometimes love asks us to adjust. Sometimes love asks us to listen to someone whose experience is different from our own. Sometimes love asks us to move over and make room.

That does not mean ignoring healthy boundaries or pretending that harmful behavior is harmless. Christian hospitality does not require abandoning wisdom, accountability, or safety.

But hospitality does require more than toleration.

Toleration says, “I suppose you can stay.”

Hospitality says, “There is room for you here.”

Levi’s story pushes that idea even further. The person beside us is not simply someone we allow into the community. They are someone Christ may be calling, shaping, and using as part of the community.

We are not people graciously making space for outsiders at our table.

We are all people for whom Christ has made space.

Who Is Missing From the Table?

That brings the question closer to home.

Who is already in your life for whom there might be room for a deeper relationship?

Whose story have you never really heard?

Who do you see regularly but rarely notice?

Who might need someone to move over and pull up a chair?

It does not have to begin with something dramatic.

Notice one person. Learn one name. Hear one story. Share one meal. Ask one question and stay long enough to hear the answer.

Because we never know what God might do in the space we create when another person discovers, “There is room for me here.”

And perhaps you are not ready to pull up a chair for someone else. Perhaps what you need most today is to know that Christ has made room for you.

That is where Christian hospitality begins.

Not with our ability to be sufficiently welcoming. Not with our determination to become better people. Not with our ability to earn a place at the table.

It begins with grace.

Christ sees us. Christ calls us. Christ welcomes us. And those who discover they have been welcomed by grace can begin extending that grace to others.

As Paul writes:

“So welcome each other, in the same way that Christ also welcomed you, for God’s glory.” — Romans 15:7

Grace received becomes hospitality offered.

So look around your table. Look around your neighborhood, workplace, community, and everyday life.

And ask a simple question:

Is there room for one more?

Maybe there is one more chair to pull up.

One more story to hear.

One more person to see.

Because Christ has made room for us.

And people who gather around Christ’s table will always be learning how to pull up another chair.

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Scripture References: Luke 5:27–32; Romans 14:1–6; Romans 15:1–7

Following Jesus: A Church Centered on Christ

Scripture: Luke 19:1–10; Titus 3:3–7

So much of life seems to work in a certain order.

You prove yourself, then you’re accepted. You work hard, and then you’re rewarded. You meet the expectations, and then you belong.

We learn it pretty early in life. Get the grades. Make the team. Do the job well. Say the right things. Meet the expectations.

After a while, it’s easy to begin believing that acceptance is something we have to earn.

Sometimes we even bring that same way of thinking into our relationship with God. We imagine that we need to get our lives together first. Make better choices. Become a little more faithful, a little more loving, a little more like the person we think God wants us to be.

Then maybe we’ll be ready for God.

But grace works in a very different order.

In Luke 19:1–10, Jesus encounters a man named Zacchaeus. His life is complicated. His choices have affected other people. His reputation in the community isn’t good.

Most of us know what eventually happens: Zacchaeus changes.

But the most surprising part of the story may be when he changes.

Before Zacchaeus changes anything, Jesus sees him.

Jesus calls him by name.

And Jesus invites himself to his house.

Grace comes first. Transformation follows.

The Person Behind the Label

Everybody in Jericho already knows who Zacchaeus is. Luke tells us that he isn’t simply a tax collector. He is a chief tax collector, and he is rich (Luke 19:2).

Tax collectors worked within the Roman system, collecting money from their own people on behalf of an occupying power. The system also provided plenty of opportunity to collect more than was owed and keep the difference.

Zacchaeus hasn’t merely survived within that system. Apparently, he has done quite well for himself.

So the people of Jericho already have him figured out. They have a word for him: sinner.

When Jesus announces that he is going to Zacchaeus’ house, the crowd grumbles:

“He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
—Luke 19:7

They don’t say, “Zacchaeus.”

They say, “a sinner.”

We can do the same thing.

We take one thing we know about someone—a choice they’ve made, a struggle they’ve had, something they’ve done, or a group they belong to—and allow that one thing to become their whole story.

Divorced. Addict. Immigrant. Republican. Democrat. Troublemaker.

Sometimes a label may tell us something that is true. Zacchaeus really has made choices that have hurt people. Later in the story, even he seems to acknowledge that (Luke 19:8).

But a label can tell us something about a person without telling us everything about that person.

The crowd looks up into the tree and sees everything they already believe about Zacchaeus.

Jesus looks up and sees Zacchaeus.

The crowd sees a category.

Jesus sees a person.

Jesus Looks Up

Zacchaeus climbs a tree because he wants to see Jesus (Luke 19:3–4). But then something happens that changes the whole story:

“When Jesus came to that spot, he looked up…”
—Luke 19:5

Zacchaeus thinks he is looking for Jesus.

But Jesus is already looking for Zacchaeus.

Jesus stops. Jesus looks up. Jesus sees him. And then Jesus calls him by name:

“Zacchaeus, come down at once. I must stay in your home today.”
—Luke 19:5

Notice the order.

Zacchaeus hasn’t confessed anything. He hasn’t given any money away. He hasn’t made things right with anyone he may have harmed. He hasn’t done anything to prove that he deserves Jesus’ attention.

Jesus comes near first.

That’s grace.

In the Wesleyan tradition, we call this prevenient grace—the grace of God that goes before us.

Before we recognize God, God is already reaching toward us. Before we take a step toward Christ, Christ has already taken a step toward us.

Titus describes it this way:

“When God our Savior’s kindness and love appeared, he saved us because of his mercy, not because of righteous things we had done.”
—Titus 3:4–5

Titus gives us the theology.

Zacchaeus shows us what it looks like.

Grace walks right up to the tree. Grace looks up. Grace calls him by name. Grace comes home with him.

Grace comes first. Transformation follows.

Grace Changes Us

Grace coming first doesn’t mean that nothing in Zacchaeus’ life needs to change.

Something happens when Jesus comes near.

Zacchaeus says:

“Look, Lord, I give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone, I repay them four times as much.”
—Luke 19:8

That’s not a small adjustment.

Grace is reshaping the way Zacchaeus lives—his relationship with money, with his neighbors, and with anyone he may have harmed.

But once again, notice the order.

Jesus doesn’t stand beneath the tree and demand that Zacchaeus prove he has changed before Jesus will come to his house.

Jesus comes near first (Luke 19:5–6).

Grace isn’t God overlooking everything in our lives that needs to change. Grace is much more powerful than that.

Grace meets us where we are and continues working within us. God’s grace forgives, restores, and reshapes us as we grow in love of God and neighbor.

As Paul writes, “it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13).

Grace isn’t God’s reward for transformation. Grace is God’s power that makes transformation possible.

Grace Changes How We See People

Zacchaeus isn’t the only person being challenged in this story.

There’s also the crowd.

They have already decided who belongs and who doesn’t (Luke 19:7). Churches can fall into the same pattern.

Who belongs?

Who is ready?

Who believes enough?

Who has changed enough?

Who has their life together enough?

But a church centered on Christ learns to see people the way Jesus sees them.

Remember the tree.

The crowd looked up and saw a sinner.

Jesus looked up and saw Zacchaeus.

That’s the kind of vision grace gives us.

Grace teaches us to see people not simply for where they are right now, but as people created and loved by God—and as people in whom God’s grace is still at work.

From the beginning of Scripture, human beings are described as created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26–27). The labels we give one another can never tell the whole story of a person who bears that image.

That doesn’t mean discipleship doesn’t matter. Zacchaeus makes that clear. Encountering Jesus changes the direction of his life (Luke 19:8–9).

But we have to remember the order.

Welcome isn’t the reward people receive after transformation. Welcome creates space where grace can begin transforming lives.

That’s what it means to be a church where grace comes first.

None of us is finished yet.

Every one of us is still being shaped by grace. Every one of us is still learning to follow. Every one of us still has a next faithful step.

We trust that the God who began a good work in us continues that work in us (Philippians 1:6).

A church where grace comes first isn’t a gathering of people who have already arrived.

It is a community of people who have been welcomed by grace, are being changed by grace, and are learning to offer that same grace to one another.

There Is Still a Next Step

Jesus’ invitation to the first disciples was simple:

“Follow me.”
—Matthew 4:19

But the story of Zacchaeus reminds us that even before we begin following Jesus, Jesus has already come toward us.

Grace comes first.

As 1 John puts it, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

Yet grace doesn’t leave Zacchaeus sitting in the tree. Jesus says:

“Zacchaeus, come down.”
—Luke 19:5

That’s his next step.

Once Zacchaeus responds, grace begins reaching into every part of his life—his home, his possessions, his relationships, even the places where harm may have been done (Luke 19:6–8).

The same is true for us.

Some of us have been following Jesus for decades. Some may still be trying to figure out what following Jesus means. Even after years of following, we continue discovering what faithfulness looks like in new seasons and circumstances.

Following Jesus when life is going well may look different from following Jesus through grief, uncertainty, illness, or change. New situations ask something new of our faith.

Discipleship is never something we finish.

We keep listening. We keep learning. We keep growing.

And through it all, God’s grace continues to meet us and invite us forward.

There is always a next faithful step.

Maybe it’s something that needs to change.

Maybe it’s a relationship that needs healing.

Maybe it’s someone we need to see differently.

Maybe it’s simply trusting that God’s grace really is for us.

Whatever that step may be, we don’t take it to earn God’s grace.

We take it because grace has already come near.

Grace comes first. And then grace invites us to follow.

This post is part of our series, Following Jesus: A Church Centered on Christ*, exploring what it means for a congregation—and for each of us—to center our life on Jesus and continue taking the next faithful step.*

Scripture references: Luke 19:1–10; Titus 3:3–7; Genesis 1:26–27; Matthew 4:19; Philippians 1:6; Philippians 2:13; 1 John 4:19.

Scripture: Mark 1:14–20

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to become distracted?

We begin with good intentions. We want to follow Jesus. But before long, our schedules, our worries, our ambitions—even good things—begin pulling us in different directions.

Everything has a center.

Our solar system has a center. Every planet is held in its orbit by the sun. A wheel has a hub. Remove the hub, and the wheel wobbles and eventually falls apart.

Even our lives have a center. Whether we realize it or not, there is always something around which we organize our lives.

For some, it is family. For others, it is success, security, achievement, or comfort. Sometimes it is fear. Sometimes it is the desire to be accepted. Whatever is at the center eventually shapes everything else.

It shapes our decisions. It shapes our priorities. It shapes the way we spend our time, our money, and our energy.

The same is true for a church.

Every church has a center. Some are centered on tradition; others on programs or personalities. Those things can be wonderful gifts, but they were never meant to hold the center.

The church has only one center: Jesus Christ.

That raises an important question:

What does it mean for Jesus to be at the center of our church?

It means becoming a community of people who continually orient our lives around Jesus and help one another follow him.

This message begins a new sermon series exploring that question, starting with the first words Jesus speaks in Mark’s Gospel.

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Jesus Announces a New Reality

Scripture: Mark 1:14–15

When we hear this passage, it is easy to focus on the disciples leaving their nets—and we will come to that. But before Jesus ever says, “Follow me,” Mark tells us something even more important.

Jesus begins with an announcement:

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” (Mark 1:15, NRSVUE)

These are more than the opening words of Jesus’ ministry. They announce that everything has changed.

Notice what Jesus does not begin with. He does not hand people a list of rules or launch a new religious movement. He begins with good news.

“The kingdom of God has come near.”

For centuries, Israel had confessed that God is King. The Scriptures proclaimed God’s reign over creation and God’s care for God’s people. Now Jesus declares that God’s reign has broken into history in a new and decisive way.

The kingdom is not merely a promise for someday. It is God’s rule breaking into the present through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

This is why the gospel is called good news.

The King has come. And that changes everything.

Notice what Jesus does not say. He does not say, “If you repent, then God’s kingdom will come.” He says, “The kingdom of God has come near.”

God has already acted.

Before anyone repents, before anyone believes, before anyone leaves a fishing net, God has come near.

That is grace.

God always takes the first step. The invitation to follow always begins with God’s initiative, not ours.

Because God has come near, Jesus now says:

“Repent, and believe the good news.”

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Jesus Calls for a New Direction

Scripture: Mark 1:15

If the kingdom has come near, then Jesus says there is only one appropriate response:

“Repent, and believe the good news.”

Those are familiar words. In fact, they are so familiar that we can easily miss what Jesus is actually saying.

When many of us hear the word repent, we think about feeling guilty or being sorry for our sins. Certainly repentance includes confessing our sins, but Jesus means something much bigger.

Repent literally means “to change your mind,” but Jesus is calling for something deeper—a complete reorientation of life. It is turning toward God’s kingdom and away from every other kingdom that competes for our allegiance.

It is not merely regret.

It is choosing to live under a new King.

Then Jesus says:

“Believe the good news.”

Here again, our English language can be misleading.

We often think believing means accepting certain facts as true. Yes, Jesus is the Son of God. Yes, Jesus died and rose again. Those truths matter deeply.

But in the first century, faith meant even more than intellectual agreement. It carried the idea of allegiance—of loyalty, trust, and faithful commitment.

I remember hiking one time when the trail was not clearly marked. We came to a fork in the path, and from where we stood, both trails looked right. We studied the map, looked around, and still were not sure.

Then someone who knew the trail came along and simply said,

“Trust me. This is the way.”

At that moment, it was not enough to believe they knew the trail.

We had to decide whether we were willing to follow.

That is the difference between believing something and entrusting yourself to someone.

In the same way, many people admire Jesus. They may even believe all the right things about him.

But following Jesus means entrusting your life to him.

It means placing your whole life under his leadership, trusting that when you cannot see the whole journey, he knows the way.

That is exactly what we see in the next verses.

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Jesus Invites Ordinary People

Scripture: Mark 1:16–20

The very first people Jesus calls are not priests or scholars. They are not political leaders or religious experts.

They are fishermen.

Simon.

Andrew.

James.

John.

Ordinary people going about an ordinary day.

They are not looking for Jesus. They are simply casting their nets, doing what they had done countless times before.

Then Jesus walks into their ordinary lives and speaks two words that changed everything:

“Follow me.” (Mark 1:17)

Notice what Jesus does not ask.

He does not ask if they have memorized the Scriptures, overcome every weakness, or reached spiritual maturity.

He simply invites them to follow.

Just as striking is what Mark does not tell us.

He does not tell us Peter understood everything about Jesus. He does not tell us Andrew had unwavering faith or that James and John had all their questions answered.

They did not have complete understanding.

They had a beginning.

That is what discipleship is.

Not having all the answers.

Not arriving at perfection.

But saying “yes” to the next step Jesus places before us.

That may be one of the most encouraging truths in this story.

Jesus does not wait until people have everything figured out before calling them.

He calls them first.

Then, as they walk with him, they learn, they grow, they stumble, they fail, they are forgiven, and they keep following.

Isn’t that true for us as well?

None of us begins this journey with perfect faith.

None of us has every question answered.

We are all still learning what it means to follow Jesus.

That is true for me too. Even after seminary, and even after serving as a pastor for several years, I am still learning and growing.

The good news is that Jesus does not say,

“Come back when you’ve figured it all out.”

He simply says,

“Follow me.”

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A Church Centered on Jesus

When Simon and Andrew left their nets, they were not simply changing careers.

They were re-centering their lives around Jesus.

From that moment on, everything would be shaped by one question:

Where is Jesus leading us?

That is what it means to be a church centered on Christ.

It is not that we all have the same gifts, experiences, or stories.

It is that together we keep asking one essential question:

How is Jesus calling us to follow?

That question shapes everything.

• It shapes our worship.
• It shapes how we love one another.
• It shapes how we serve our neighbors.
• It shapes how we welcome those who walk through our doors.

If Jesus is truly at the center, everything else finds its proper place around him.

Throughout this series, we will continue exploring what it means to live by grace, grow in love, welcome others, and take the next faithful step.

Because the goal is not simply to become a better church.

The goal is to become more faithful followers of Jesus Christ.

When we keep saying “yes” to his invitation, the church becomes exactly what Christ intends it to be.

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Keep Your Eyes on Jesus

Our journey is beautifully summarized in the words of Hebrews 12:1–2:

“Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.”

The writer of Hebrews uses the image of a journey.

The Christian life is not standing still.

It is not checking off a list.

It is not proving that we have arrived.

It is a lifelong journey of following Jesus.

How do we stay on that journey?

Not by constantly looking at ourselves.

Not by comparing ourselves with someone else’s faith.

Not by becoming distracted by all the things competing for our attention.

We keep our eyes on Jesus.

Because wherever our eyes are fixed, our lives will eventually follow.

A church centered on Christ is a church that keeps its eyes on Jesus.

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A Continuing Invitation

When Jesus walked along the Sea of Galilee, he did not begin with a list of requirements.

He simply said,

“Follow me.” (Mark 1:17)

That invitation has never changed.

Jesus does not say,

“Figure everything out first.”

He does not say,

“Come back when you’re perfect.”

He simply says,

“Follow me.”

Some people have been following Jesus for many years.

Others are just beginning.

Still others may be wondering whether they are ready to take that first step.

Wherever you find yourself today, hear this good news:

Jesus is still calling.

Perhaps the most important question is not whether we have arrived.

The most important question is this:

What is Jesus inviting me to do next?

A church centered on Christ is simply a community of people who keep saying “yes” to Jesus’ invitation to follow.

When we do, our worship changes.

Our relationships change.

Our priorities change.

Our communities change.

Not because we become perfect,

but because we keep following the One who is.

Over the past several weeks, I’ve been reflecting on what Christian joy really is. Not the passing happiness that depends on circumstances, but the deep and lasting joy that comes from God.

The Bible reminds us that our joy begins because God delights in us (Zephaniah 3:17). It grows as we learn to trust God’s care (Matthew 6:25–34), and it gives us courage because God has been faithful in the past and will remain faithful in the future (Joshua 1:9; Hebrews 13:8).

That leads to an important question:

What is joy for?

Is Christian joy simply something to enjoy privately, or is it meant to bless others?

Scripture gives a clear answer. Joy is meant to overflow. It creates community. It opens doors. It makes room for others.

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Joy Creates Community

The prophet Zechariah paints a beautiful picture of God’s restored people:

“Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem… and the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.” (Zechariah 8:4–5, NRSVUE)

Notice what defines this vision. It isn’t impressive buildings or growing numbers. It’s people living together in peace.

Older adults can sit together without fear.

Children can play safely.

Neighbors enjoy one another’s company.

Joy is measured by relationships.

That challenges how many of us define success. We often focus on attendance, budgets, or facilities. Those things certainly matter, but Zechariah invites us to ask deeper questions:

• Do people feel safe?
• Do they feel known?
• Do they know they belong?
• Can newcomers find more than a seat—can they find a community?

Where those things exist, God’s joy is taking root.

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Cana Reveals God’s Abundance

John tells us that Jesus’ first public sign took place at a wedding (John 2:1–11).

John intentionally calls it a sign, not simply a miracle.

A sign points beyond itself.

The miracle isn’t just about turning water into wine. It reveals something about Jesus—and about God.

Jesus begins His public ministry, not in the Temple, but at a celebration.

When the wine runs out, Jesus quietly provides far more than anyone expects. Six large stone jars become somewhere between 120 and 180 gallons of excellent wine (John 2:6–10).

This isn’t simply solving an embarrassing problem.

It’s revealing God’s generous heart.

Where Jesus is present, grace is abundant.

Mercy overflows.

There is more than enough.

The first sign in John’s Gospel reminds us that God’s kingdom is not marked by scarcity but by abundance. God delights in bringing joy into ordinary lives and everyday celebrations.

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Joy Becomes Hospitality

The Book of Acts shows what happened when that joy shaped the life of the early church.

Luke writes:

“Day by day… they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people.” (Acts 2:46–47)

Notice what attracted people.

Luke doesn’t credit a brilliant strategy, an impressive building, or clever marketing.

People were drawn to a community marked by:

• Joy
• Generosity
• Gratitude
• Genuine care

Christian hospitality is much more than entertaining guests.

It is participating in God’s welcome.

Every time we notice someone standing alone…

Every time we invite someone to sit with us…

Every time we share a meal…

Every time we listen with compassion…

We reflect the welcome God has already extended to us through Jesus Christ.

The early Christians understood that they had first been welcomed by grace.

Because they had been welcomed, they welcomed others.

Their joy became hospitality.

Their hospitality became one of the clearest witnesses to the gospel.

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Small Acts Reflect God’s Kingdom

Most people don’t remember every sermon they’ve ever heard.

Many of us do remember the people who welcomed us.

The Sunday school teacher who learned our name.

The family who invited us to lunch.

The church member who noticed us sitting alone.

The neighbor who offered encouragement during a difficult season.

Those ordinary moments often become holy moments because they allow people to experience Christ’s love in tangible ways.

Hospitality doesn’t always require grand gestures.

Sometimes it looks like:

• offering a sincere welcome,
• sharing a meal,
• helping a struggling family,
• encouraging a teacher,
• supporting children as a new school year begins,
• or simply making room for someone who feels forgotten.

These simple acts quietly proclaim:

“There is a place for you.”

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Joy Is Meant to Be Shared

Throughout this journey of rediscovering Christian joy, one truth has become increasingly clear.

God delights in us (Zephaniah 3:17).

God cares for us (Matthew 6:25–34).

God goes before us (Joshua 1:9).

And God sends us.

Joy was never meant to stay inside our hearts—or inside the walls of the church.

It is meant to overflow into the lives of others.

Every act of kindness…

Every invitation…

Every expression of generosity…

Every moment of hospitality…

becomes a living sign of God’s kingdom.

One Question to Carry This Week

As you go through your week, consider one simple question:

Who needs to experience God’s welcome through you?

Perhaps it’s a neighbor.

A coworker.

A grandchild.

A friend who has drifted away from church.

Someone sitting alone.

Someone carrying burdens no one else can see.

You may never perform a miracle like Jesus did at Cana.

But every one of us can offer an invitation, extend compassion, share a meal, or make room for another person.

Sometimes those ordinary acts become extraordinary signs of God’s grace.

May our churches—and our lives—reflect the joy of God’s kingdom: places where children are valued, older adults are honored, strangers become friends, neighbors become family, and everyone discovers there is always room at Christ’s table.