Becoming Jesus People: An Introduction to the Twelve Habitudes

1 as in aptitude    a habitual attraction to some activity or thing

2 as in habit                  a usual manner of behaving or doing

Habit One: Getting Close

1. Come and See. John 1:39 – Everyone starts as an observer. Curiosity, a question, a friend's invitation. Jesus welcomes questions before he demands answers.

2. Follow Me. Matthew 4:19 – Curiosity has an expiration date. Eventually it has to become a decision. When Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James, and John, they left their nets. No negotiation.

3. Be With Jesus. Mark 3:14 – Before the twelve did anything for Jesus, they were simply with him. Presence comes before performance. This might be the most overlooked step in modern discipleship.

Habit Two: Learning to Live It

4. Learn the Way of Jesus. Matthew 11:29 – Jesus taught how life actually works under God's reign. Prayer, money, forgiveness, anxiety, enemies. Not abstract ideas. Instructions for how to live.

5. Practice the Way of Jesus. Matthew 7:24 – Jesus said the wise builder is the one who hears his words and does them. Knowledge without obedience is a house with no foundation.

6. Live in Community. John 13:35 – Jesus never discipled anyone alone. He formed a people. We are shaped as much by the friction and forgiveness of a small group as by anything we read on our own.

Habit Three: Being Sent

7. Serve Like Jesus. John 13:15 – Jesus did not lecture on humility. He knelt and washed feet. Some things you only learn with your hands.

8. Go With Jesus. Luke 9:2 – Jesus sent the twelve out to practice what they were learning in real conditions, then called them back to debrief. Formation and mission were never separated.

9. Receive Correction. Mark 8:33 – The disciples got things wrong constantly. Peter rebuked Jesus. James and John wanted to call down fire. Jesus did not discard them. He kept forming them. Correction is not rejection. It is love with a purpose.

Habit Four: Reproducing the Life

10. Become Like Jesus. Luke 6:40 – The goal was never just to know what Jesus knows or do what Jesus does. It is to become the kind of person he is. Love, patience, humility, courage.

11. Make Disciples. Matthew 28:19 – At some point the question shifts from how am I growing to who am I helping grow. Every disciple is meant to become a disciple maker.

12. Go and Send. 2 Timothy 2:2 – Jesus entrusted his entire mission to a handful of ordinary, unfinished people, trusting that what he placed in them would carry forward for generations.

Come and See Week 7 — John 1:43–51 — Following Jesus: From Curiosity to Conviction

Roadmap to Trace the Discipleship-Calling Web:

John testifies → Andrew + John follow (v.35–39) → "Come and see"

Andrew FINDS Peter (v.40–42) → Simon renamed Cephas

        ↓

Jesus FINDS Philip (v.43–44) → "Follow me"

        ↓

Philip FINDS Nathanael (v.45–46) → "Come and see" [same phrase, now passed on]

        ↓

Nathanael sees Jesus, is fully KNOWN (v.47–49) → confession cascade [Rabbi, Son of God, King of Israel]

        ↓

Jesus reframes the confession upward (v.50–51) → Bethel relocated, Son of Man

Key Word Depth to Truly Understanding the Passage:

Chain Start – V45 – “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, the One the prophets foretold”

1. (V47) True Israelite, No deceit/guile - Jacob (Israel) lies and steals a blessing

1. Genesis 27:35-36 — "An Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile" is a pointed joke about Jacob. Jacob — renamed "Israel" — was history's classic trickster, deceiving his father and brother to steal a blessing. Jesus calling Nathanael a true Israelite "with no guile" is a direct, almost humorous contrast: here's an honest son of a dishonest patriarch. Isaac says Jacob came μετὰ δόλου ("with deceit") to steal Esau's blessing. This is the only other place this specific word-family clusters around a named "Israelite." Jacob = Israel = the deceiver. Nathanael = a true Israelite = no deceit. John is setting up a deliberate contrast between the nation's namesake and this ordinary man. 
2. Psalm 32:2 blesses the one "in whose spirit there is no guile" a psalm specifically about a person whose sin has been covered. Jesus may be pronouncing Nathanael clean, not just honest.

2. (V48) I saw you under the fig tree - Hebrew idiom for a time of Torah reflection and devotion

1. Micah 4:4, Zechariah 3:10, 1 Kings 4:25 — “under his own vine and his own fig tree”. The fig tree isn't scenery, it's a euphemism. "Sitting under one's fig tree" was rabbinic shorthand for private Torah study or prayer (echoing Micah 4:4, 1 Kings 4:25). Jesus isn't just noting Nathanael's GPS coordinates; he's saying "I saw you in your most private, unguarded moment of devotion."

3. (V51) The one who is the stairway between Heaven and earth - Jesus as a.) The New Bethel [House of God] b.) Jesus as the reversal of Babel [the one who unified all people groups]

1. Genesis 28:10–17 — Jacob's dream at Bethel: a stairway/ladder set on the earth, its top reaching heaven, with angels of God ascending and descending on it. Jacob wakes and says "this is the gate of heaven." John 1:51 quotes this almost verbatim — but relocates the ladder. It's no longer an object Jacob sees; it's a person Nathanael will see. Jesus, "Son of Man," becomes the connecting point between heaven and earth that the ladder used to be.
2. Daniel 7:13–14 — "Son of Man" as a title. Not a humility title in Daniel — it's a figure who approaches the Ancient of Days and receives an everlasting kingdom. When Jesus adopts this as his preferred self-designation, he's making a much larger claim than "human being." Nathanael's political title ("King of Israel") gets immediately reframed and expanded by Jesus into this cosmic one.
3. Genesis 11:1-9 — What Babel broke by human pride, the Son of Man will heal by divine descent. He is quietly claiming to be the reversal of Babel's fracture: the one who will gather, not scatter; the one who unites every tongue and nation around a single point of access to God, rather than dividing them further.

Becoming Jesus People: An Introduction to the Twelve Habitudes

1 as in aptitude    a habitual attraction to some activity or thing

2 as in habit                  a usual manner of behaving or doing

Habit One: Getting Close

1. Come and See. John 1:39 – Everyone starts as an observer. Curiosity, a question, a friend's invitation. Jesus welcomes questions before he demands answers.

2. Follow Me. Matthew 4:19 – Curiosity has an expiration date. Eventually it has to become a decision. When Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James, and John, they left their nets. No negotiation.

3. Be With Jesus. Mark 3:14 – Before the twelve did anything for Jesus, they were simply with him. Presence comes before performance. This might be the most overlooked step in modern discipleship.

Habit Two: Learning to Live It

4. Learn the Way of Jesus. Matthew 11:29 – Jesus taught how life actually works under God's reign. Prayer, money, forgiveness, anxiety, enemies. Not abstract ideas. Instructions for how to live.

5. Practice the Way of Jesus. Matthew 7:24 – Jesus said the wise builder is the one who hears his words and does them. Knowledge without obedience is a house with no foundation.

6. Live in Community. John 13:35 – Jesus never discipled anyone alone. He formed a people. We are shaped as much by the friction and forgiveness of a small group as by anything we read on our own.

Habit Three: Being Sent

7. Serve Like Jesus. John 13:15 – Jesus did not lecture on humility. He knelt and washed feet. Some things you only learn with your hands.

8. Go With Jesus. Luke 9:2 – Jesus sent the twelve out to practice what they were learning in real conditions, then called them back to debrief. Formation and mission were never separated.

9. Receive Correction. Mark 8:33 – The disciples got things wrong constantly. Peter rebuked Jesus. James and John wanted to call down fire. Jesus did not discard them. He kept forming them. Correction is not rejection. It is love with a purpose.

Habit Four: Reproducing the Life

10. Become Like Jesus. Luke 6:40 – The goal was never just to know what Jesus knows or do what Jesus does. It is to become the kind of person he is. Love, patience, humility, courage.

11. Make Disciples. Matthew 28:19 – At some point the question shifts from how am I growing to who am I helping grow. Every disciple is meant to become a disciple maker.

12. Go and Send. 2 Timothy 2:2 – Jesus entrusted his entire mission to a handful of ordinary, unfinished people, trusting that what he placed in them would carry forward for generations.

"Come and See" — John 1:35–42 | First Disciples

Big Idea: Following Jesus begins with seeing who He is, continues by staying with Him, and leads us to bring others to Him.

Opening Story: In 1931, C.S. Lewis walked and talked for hours with J.R.R. Tolkien and Hugo Dyson — twelve days later, Lewis came to believe in Christ. Someone stayed up until 3 a.m. for Lewis. Who stayed up for you?

Walking Through the Text:

• John the Baptist points two disciples away from himself and toward Jesus: "The Lamb of God" (v36)
• They immediately follow Jesus — the pattern of belief: hear, come, find truth (v37)
• Jesus turns and asks, "What do you want?" — an invitation everyone must answer (v38)
• "Where are you staying?" — they wanted more than information; they wanted transformation (v38)
• "Come and see" — one of Scripture's great pivot points; a curious seeker meets an abundant God (v39)
• They spend the day with Him — relationship grows by doing life together, not just hearing words (v39)
• Andrew immediately finds his brother Simon and says, "We have found the Messiah" (v40–41)
• Jesus meets Peter, knows his full story, and renames him Cephas — chosen in spite of, and ahead of, his failures (v42)
• Andrew never seeks the spotlight — the truest discipleship happens behind the scenes

Embody: Pick one person. Before Sunday, send them one message (2 sentences or less) naming one true thing Jesus has done in your life. Just Andrew's sentence: "We have found something. You need to see this too."

Extend: Someone already came to mind when you heard that question — that's not coincidence. Go be Andrew for someone today. Find them. Say the sentence. Bring them to see for themselves.

Finding God in the music.

Structure:

1. The Song

• Listen together.

2. The Longing

• What ache is underneath?

3. The Scriptures

• Where has God already answered this?

4. The Gospel

• How does Jesus fulfill this longing?

5. The Invitation

• How should we live?

Better Than Advertised | John 1:29–34

We spend much of our lives waiting for something to finally deliver on its promise—the relationship, the career, the dream, the next thing. But eventually, most of us discover that what we hoped would satisfy us is often smaller than advertised.

John the Baptist points us to someone different.

When John sees Jesus, he declares, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Jesus isn't another temporary solution to humanity's deepest problem. The sacrifices of the Old Testament could cover sin for a time, but Jesus comes to take it away.

At the Jordan, John sees the Spirit descend on Jesus and remain on Him. The Messiah has arrived—not as another philosophy, program, or set of instructions, but as a Person. God Himself has come near.

And this confronts one of our deepest idols: control.

We keep trying to build our own way back to God through effort, achievement, morality, and self-reliance. But the Gospel tells us that salvation isn't something we accomplish. It's something we receive through surrender to Jesus.

The freedom we're looking for isn't on the other side of more effort. It's on the other side of surrender to the Lordship of Jesus.

Jesus isn't just as good as advertised.

He's better—and unlike every promise that has ever let us down, He's not going anywhere.

John 1:29–34

Jesus is better than advertised: He is the Lamb of God who takes away our sin, the Son of God who reveals the Father, and the One who baptizes us with the Holy Spirit.

#John1 #Jesus #Gospel #ChristianSermon #JohnTheBaptist #LambOfGod #HolySpirit #Faith #Surrender #EastviewBaptist

ScriptureBig Idea

Come and See | Week 4 | John 1:19–28 | “Who Are You?”
John the Baptist: The Voice Preparing the Way                      Phase 1 Question: What is God like? 

Big Idea: The healthiest identity of self isn't found in becoming the most important person in the room but in becoming who God called you to be and using it to point to Jesus. 

(We are not the Point, we are here to point, to the Point!)

1. DON'T CONFUSE IDENTITY WITH IMPORTANCE — v.19–21

"I am not the Messiah." / "I am not [Elijah]." / "No [not the Prophet]."

2. FIND YOUR IDENTITY IN GOD'S STORY — v.22–23

"I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness... make straight the way."

3. USE YOUR IDENTITY TO POINT TO JESUS — v.24–28

"Among you stands one you do not know... I am not worthy to untie his sandal."

ONE-SENTENCE 

John knew exactly who he was, refused every identity that wasn't his and used the one that was to point everyone to Jesus. Have you arrived at the end of yourself, to point to the greater one?

LANDING LINE

Finding God in the music.

Structure:

1. The Song

• Listen together.

2. The Longing

• What ache is underneath?

3. The Scriptures

• Where has God already answered this?

4. The Gospel

• How does Jesus fulfill this longing?

5. The Invitation

• How should we live?

John 1:14–18 | Phase 1: Come and See (What is God like?) | Week 3 | “Grace and Truth”

Big Idea: In Jesus, God has come near, given Himself and made Himself known.

OPEN

• Read John 1:14–18
• Every worldview answers: is God distant or near?
• v.1–5 → Who is Jesus | v.6–13 → How does humanity respond | v.14–18 → What is God like
• Answer isn't a doctrine — it's a Person.

________________________________________________________________________________

1. GOD COMES NEAR — v.14a

"The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us."

• Word = God, uncreated, eternal → became flesh (sarx = ordinary, mortal body)
• Not humanity climbing to God — God descending to us
• Babel (up) vs. Bethlehem (down)
• "Dwelling" = eskēnōsen = "tabernacled" / pitched His tent
• Eden → Tabernacle → Temple → Christ
• Message paraphrase: "The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood"

Truth: Not distant — present. Immanuel.

Illustration: Love that never shows up isn't love. God didn't send a letter — He sent Himself.

Apply:

• Stop searching for a far-off God
• Jesus entered our weakness (Heb 4:15)
• Your wilderness → Emmanuel is already there

Transition → He didn't just show up. He opened Himself completely...

2. GOD GIVES HIMSELF — v.14b–17

"Full of grace and truth... we have all received grace upon grace."

• "We have seen his glory" — glory revealed through ordinary/suffering, not despite it
• "Grace and truth" = echo of Exodus 34:6 — God's own self-description to Moses (hesed/emet) → OT's summary of God's character now has a face
• v.16 — "grace upon grace" = wave after wave, never runs dry
• v.17 — Law (Moses) vs. Grace & Truth (Christ)
• The greater Moses (prophet) has arrived [Deuteronomy 18:18-19]
• Not law vs. grace as enemies — Law was gift too
• Moses delivered a message. Jesus is the message.

Key Truth: Jesus doesn't just tell us what God is like — He embodies it.

Illustration: Road sign vs. Guide — a sign points, a guide walks with you and IS the destination.

Apply — ask yourself:

• Truth without grace? (harsh, weaponized)
• Grace without truth? (soft, no backbone)
• Jesus: "Neither do I condemn you" + "Go and sin no more" (John 8:11) — same breath

Transition → But John's biggest claim is still ahead...

3. GOD MAKES HIMSELF KNOWN — v.18

"No one has ever seen God... (the Son) has made Him known."

• No one has seen God fully — not even Moses (Ex 33:20–23)
• "Made known" = exēgēsato — exegete, unfold, interpret
• Jesus isn't a spokesperson — He's God's own self-explanation
• John 14:9 — "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father"

Key Truth: Want to know what God is like? Look at Jesus.

Illustration: Can't stare at the sun directly — but see it perfectly reflected in still water. Jesus = exact reflection (Heb 1:3).

Apply — don't build your picture of God from:

• Fear
• Assumptions
• Tradition
• Painful experience

Build it from Christ alone.

RECAP

Incarnation (14) → Testimony (15) → Reception (16) → Fulfillment (17) → Revelation (18) 

Christ = subject AND substance at every step.

ONE-SENTENCE SUMMARY

The God who seemed distant has come near in Jesus, poured out His grace and truth and perfectly revealed Himself; so we could truly know Him.

CLOSING INVITATION

• Come near — because God already has.
• Receive — grace upon grace, available now.
• Look at Jesus — God's final, fullest revelation.

Landing line: If you've ever wondered what God is truly like, John answers with one word: Jesus.

Come and See – Week 2  Who Is Jesus?        John 1:6–13 — Into the Light

Big Idea: The true Light demands a response: reject Him and remain in darkness, or receive Him and become a child of God.

1. The Light Is Announced (v. 6–9)

John's mission was not to be the Light, but to point people to the Light.

2. The Light Is Rejected (v. 10–11)

The Creator entered His creation, yet many refused to recognize Him.

3. The Light Is Received (v. 12–13)

Those who receive Christ receive a completely new identity.

One Sentence Summary

Jesus, the true Light, came into a dark world; though many rejected Him, everyone who receives Him by faith is born into God's family.

Closing Invitation

Come into the Light.

• Stand in awe that the Creator entered His creation.
• Receive Him by faith.
• Leave as one who now carries His Light into the world.