Following Jesus is meant to be much more engaging than simply following steps to a program. It’s highly relational in nature. An invitation to something different than manufactured and monitored religious rituals, it’s an experience with God himself.

It will challenge you at times
It will comfort you at times
It will enrich you, enlighten you, stretch you and continually call you forward…

Following Jesus is about discipleship
"A disciple is someone who knows and follows Jesus, is becoming like Jesus, and is committed to the mission of Jesus.”

Jesus reframed religion and it’s invitation of following rules per say and he redefined it into relationship - he mentioned 3 key images that he so often talked about…
Father - Child
Vine - Branches
Shepherd - Sheep

Jesus extended an invitation to follow to every single kind of person imaginable. To rich people, poor people, people who were spiritual, that weren’t spiritual, religious, irreligious, all kinds of people he would say: just follow.

Jesus was extraordinarily comfortable with people who weren’t anything like him and apparently as you read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, apparently people who were nothing like Jesus, were very comfortable with him.

We dare not become a church that is content to gather together and believe the right things and behave the right ways and stop there.

Because, if we do we will find ourselves standing outside the very room that Jesus inhabits as he comes to call the sick and the sinners and those who need something more — who need a Savior. The truth is = we all do!

the Pharisees’ message, it was simply this: change and then you can join us. Change and you can join us.

Jesus came along, turned it upside down. Jesus showed up and said, join us and you will change. Join us and you will change.

#1) being a sinner does not disqualify you, it’s actually a prerequisite.

Every single person that Jesus invited to follow him and every single person that said yes was a sinner.

The only people that resisted following Jesus were the people who thought they were perfect and don’t need a Savior.

#2) Being an unbeliever doesn’t disqualify you.

Maybe you say I can’t follow Jesus, I don’t even believe in any of that stuff about Jesus. *listen, none of Jesus’ earliest followers believed fully either right out of the gate. One even got a nickname for unbelief (doubting Thomas). In fact, many of the early followers never came to believe until Jesus actually rose from the dead, but I mean what kind of faith does that take. You see a man die, buried and then he’s back. It’s not like you have to kind of drum up faith…. it took some of them to the very end before they believed. It doesn’t matter how little faith you have or even if you have no faith, you are invited to become a follower of Jesus which means you don’t have to believe he’s divine…you’re invited to investigate, just like those early followers.

#3) Active following forces me to focus on where I am, rather than where you are not.

This is why we each are invited to follow. If I stay aware of my responsibility and next steps.

*if you ever felt judged by a church and neglected by a church it’s probably because you got surrounded by a bunch of Christians who believed everything right, behaved everything right - but somewhere along the way they quit following and started coasting - they just got busy evaluating and judging others instead of working on their own next steps. None of us ever ‘arrive’ this side of heaven, there is always a NEXT STEP for us with following Jesus!

The other way to say this is: the more aware I am of the work God has yet to do in me, the less critical I am of what God is yet to do in you.

…every single day of your life you could get up and ask the question: am I following, am I following? Jesus, show me my next step.

Thanks again for being with us tonight!

May you have a blessed week ahead friends. Check out the app for upcoming events and we look forward to gathering again next weekend!