Our character reflects whomever we follow. A disciple should ultimately be a carbon copy of their teacher. As He continues The Sermon on the Plain, Jesus describes what it tangibly means to follow Him and be transformed into His likeness.

Anybody can love a person who loves them back, but Jesus expects more of His followers. As the Sermon on the Plain continues, Jesus upends His disciples’ understanding of how to react when they are taken advantage of because of their faith.

Despite the incredible things that are happening through Jesus, He needs the disciples to understand the reality of what they are doing. This will not be a path to wealth and power; quite the opposite. In our message this week, Jesus sets the stage for what true blessing and success look like.

Things are starting to heat up with Jesus’ ministry, and the religious establishment is getting more and more uncomfortable with this new teacher. In an attempt to trap Jesus, the Pharisees question Him on Sabbath rules and end up getting put in their place.

This week we are discussing how Luke describes the initial calling of some of the disciples. They left everything to follow Jesus! The insight we learn from their stories can encourage us. We must recognize that Jesus is the LORD, choose to FOLLOW Him daily, while acknowledging that we need Him because we are SINNERS.

After being baptized, Jesus went into the wilderness for 40 days. There He was tempted by Satan in three significant ways. How did Jesus handle these temptations? Let’s look together in Luke chapter 4 to learn how to handle temptations we might face.

To begin His ministry, Jesus chose to be baptized by John in the Jordan River. John was baptizing people for the repentance of their sins. But why would someone who had no sin to repent choose to be baptized?

Luke is a first-class historian. His orderly account of what God did through Jesus’ ministry is captivating and eye-opening. As we start our study, we will better understand who Luke is, who he was writing to, and why he took the time to record these events in such meticulous detail.

Ultimately, we cannot control anyone else. Experiencing community is dependent primarily on our commitment to character. Will we choose to be the kind of people who experience fellowship, or will we choose to be people who allow wedges to be driven between us and others?

Fellowship in the church starts with the understanding we are all the same but then builds with the understanding we are all different. When we embrace the gifts God has given us and the gifts He has given to our brothers and sisters in faith, we can experience the fullness of being part of the Body of Christ.