Discovering your Contagious Faith Style

Devotional

Day 1: Feet for the Unseen Paths

Jesus stood on a mountainside, dust clinging to His sandals as He commissioned eleven ordinary men. “Go,” He said, “make disciples of all nations.” The command wasn’t reserved for preachers or experts. He spoke to fishermen, tax collectors, doubters – then promised His presence to the end of the age. Their feet would carry Good News to places they’d never planned to walk. [00:26]

This commission still sends us. Jesus’ final words weren’t a suggestion but a calling woven into baptismal identity. He trusts cracked vessels to hold living water. The disciples’ inadequacy didn’t disqualify them; His presence empowered them.

You’ve walked past neighbors, coworkers, and strangers who’ve never tasted grace. Contagious faith begins when your ordinary feet move toward others. What road have you avoided because it feels too rocky or routine?

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:19-20, NIV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to show you one person He’s placing on your path this week.
Challenge: Write the name of that person on your mirror or phone lock screen.

Day 2: Hands Holding Different Gifts

Paul listed gifts like inventorying a toolbox: prophecy, serving, teaching, encouraging. The Corinthian church had argued over which gifts mattered most. But Paul insisted the Spirit distributes abilities not for prestige, but to build up others. A hand can’t envy the eye’s vision; the ear can’t quit because it’s not a foot. [02:30]

God designed your unique gifts to fill gaps in the Body. When you withhold your strengths, the church limps. Contagious faith thrives when teachers speak, servers cook, encouragers write notes, and givers fund ministries – all palms open, none competing.

What gift do you downplay because it feels unremarkable? Where have you compared your role to others’ instead of celebrating how your piece fits the puzzle?

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.”
(1 Corinthians 12:4-6, NIV)

Prayer: Thank God for one gift He’s given you, then name one person whose gift complements yours.
Challenge: Text that person today: “Your gift of ___ blesses me because ___.”

Day 3: Three Cords in Auburn’s Heat

Mitch sat cross-legged on a refugee’s floor, eating lamb stew. For months, conversations avoided Jesus. He helped fill out forms, shared jokes, and listened to war stories. Trust grew like calluses – slowly. Years later, three men called: seeds planted over tea had bloomed into faith. [08:10]

Contagious faith often works in seasons, not sermons. The Holy Spirit uses shared meals, folded laundry, and patient presence to soften hearts. You may never see the harvest, but your faithfulness tills the soil.

Who needs you to stop agenda-driven talks and start washing dishes beside them? When have you rushed results instead of investing in the unglamorous work of waiting?

“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
(Ecclesiastes 4:12, NIV)

Prayer: Confess impatience in relationships where you’ve prioritized efficiency over love.
Challenge: Invite someone outside the church for coffee or a meal – no spiritual agenda.

Day 4: Toddlers and Unrecorded Holiness

The couple agonized over their daughter’s bedtime protests: “God, I don’t like!” They acted out Bible stories with stuffed animals – no cameras, no crowds. Weeks later, her prayers became giggles of “God, I love you!” Heaven noticed what history wouldn’t. [12:49]

Most kingdom work lacks spotlight moments. Changing diapers, fixing sinks, or praying with toddlers shapes eternity. Contagious faith thrives in small obediences that mirror Jesus’ hidden years in Nazareth.

What mundane act have you dismissed as insignificant? Where is God calling you to plant seeds only He will see sprout?

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

Prayer: Ask God to reveal His glory in one routine task you’ll do today.
Challenge: Perform one chore or job duty today as an act of worship, praying while you work.

Day 5: Calloused Hands, Daily Crosses

Jesus told followers to take up crosses daily – not as jewelry but as instruments of death to self. Roman crosses weren’t metaphors; they were splintered, blood-stained, and public. His disciples froze, realizing He meant literal surrender. Yet resurrection always follows crucifixion. [17:18]

Your cross might be forgiving a betrayer, serving without thanks, or speaking truth to a mocking coworker. Contagious faith costs comfort but gains eternal weight.

What sacrifice have you avoided because you’re waiting for a “bigger” assignment? Where is Jesus asking you to die to pride today?

“Then he said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.’”
(Luke 9:23, NIV)

Prayer: Name one area of self-protection you need to surrender to Jesus today.
Challenge: Initiate a difficult conversation or act of service you’ve been avoiding.

Sermon Summary

The Great Commission names the calling: go and make disciples, baptize, teach, and trust Christ’s presence to the end of the age. The charge sits familiar in the ears, yet the heart often admits that the practice feels hard and the fruit feels thin. Contagious faith names the kind of life that spreads joyfully, the kind of witness others want to catch, and honest reflection says that many need help to take a bold step with a neighbor or colleague.

Paul insists that there are different kinds of gifts, different kinds of service, different kinds of workings, and the same Spirit, Lord, and God at work in all. Evangelism isn’t a solo game. It’s a team effort. The threefold cord not easily broken sets the approach: the body goes together. The gifts are forms of service for the common good, not private perks. The point is simple and freeing: each person is wired to contribute, and the body’s combined witness is stronger than any lone effort.

Contagious faith styles help name that wiring: friendship building, selfless serving, story sharing, reason giving, and truth telling. The contrast between transactional outreach and relational presence shows why this matters. Door-knocking tried to force a decision and mostly provoked slammed doors. Friendship with refugees took hours at a table, trust grew, and years later fruit surfaced from seeds sown in ordinary meals and shared life. The witness came naturally once love had paved the way.

The body keeps leveling the field. An eye cannot be the whole body, and the unpresentable parts receive special honor. So much real ministry happens off the stage: a coffee with a friend, a prayer in a quiet room, an unseen act of service, a shoulder offered to cry on. God notices what the world will never record. Holiness can feel boring because it is made of small, unseen, faithful choices, but that is precisely the soil where contagious lives take root.

The cross stands front and center shaping a certain kind of person. The live question is sharp: what kind of husband, wife, parent, friend, worker does the cross create? Cross-shaped people love neighbors, forgive enemies, serve, and let lesser lords go in order to follow Jesus. Jesus calls disciples to deny themselves, take up a cross, and follow daily. One cross a day. A life carried like that becomes the kind of life others want to follow. Renewal then looks ordinary and costly: participation, prayer, presence, hospitality, courage, service, and witness. The Spirit gives the gifts and the energy. The ask is simple and expectant: pray for open doors, use the wiring God has given, and let the cross write the script.

Key Takeaways

1. Evangelism is a team effort Evangelism draws strength from the whole body, not a single heroic voice. The Spirit gives different capacities that fit together like a threefold cord, so no one has to carry the load alone. Shared witness lets friendship, service, story, reason, and truth amplify one another. That is why the church should lean into team, not solo. [03:37]
2. Gifts serve the community’s good Spiritual gifts are forms of service designed to bless the body and reach the world. Treating them as personal upgrades shrinks their purpose and saps their power. When gifts are offered for the common good, the church’s witness grows both healthier and more compelling. The same God animates all of it. [04:33]
3. Friendship builds trust for witness Relational presence turns down pressure and turns up genuine conversation. Meals, time, and shared life create space where questions can surface and stories can be heard. Fruit may show up long after the moment, but trust is the soil where faith often sprouts. Friendship is not a tactic, it is love that tells the truth. [08:37]
4. God honors quiet, unseen faithfulness Much of the kingdom’s work will never trend or be tallied, yet God knows every quiet yes. Small obediences in hidden places shepherd souls and build homes where grace can breathe. Holiness may feel “boring,” but its steady cadence forms lives that actually endure. The unnoticed work is never unnoticed by God. [12:49]
5. The cross shapes contagious people The cross creates a kind of person who forgives, serves, and lays down lesser loves. Daily self-denial does not shrink life; it clears room for a larger mercy to flow. A cross-bearing life says something truer than arguments alone ever could. That shape is what others eventually want to imitate. [17:18]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:26] - The Great Commission charge
[01:18] - What makes faith contagious
[02:30] - One body, many gifts
[03:37] - Evangelism is a team effort
[04:33] - Gifts for the community’s good
[05:29] - Finding your faith style
[06:01] - Lessons from door-knocking
[07:46] - Friendship that opens doors
[09:23] - The body’s hidden honor
[12:49] - God sees the unnoticed
[16:05] - What the cross creates
[17:18] - Daily cross-bearing invitation
[18:27] - Praying for open doors
[19:13] - Commissioning prayer

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV)
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 (ESV)
"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone."

Observation questions

According to 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, what three aspects of Christian life are described as having "varieties," and what unites them?
In the sermon example about refugee ministry, how did friendship-building lead to opportunities to share faith over time? [07:46]
What contrast does the sermon highlight between "transactional outreach" (like door-knocking) and "relational presence"? [06:01]

Interpretation questions

Why might Paul’s metaphor of the body (1 Corinthians 12) be especially relevant for understanding evangelism as a team effort rather than a solo task?
The sermon claims "holiness can feel boring because it is made of small, unseen, faithful choices." How do these "small choices" connect to Jesus’ call to "take up your cross daily" (Luke 9:23)?
How does the cross "shape contagious people" in practical ways, such as forgiving enemies or serving others? [16:45]

Application questions

Which of the five "contagious faith styles" (friendship building, selfless serving, story sharing, etc.) feels most natural to you? What’s one situation this week where you could lean into that style?
Think of a relationship where trust is still growing. What small, consistent step (e.g., shared meals, listening) could you take to create space for genuine spiritual conversations? [08:10]
The sermon emphasizes "unseen faithfulness" like quiet prayers or acts of service. What’s one "invisible" way you can serve someone this week, even if no one else notices?
Reflect on a time when you tried to share your faith but felt pressure to "force a decision." How might a relational approach have changed that interaction? [06:52]
The cross calls us to "let lesser lords go" (e.g., pride, comfort). What’s one "lesser lord" you need to release to follow Jesus more freely in your daily relationships?

Sermon Clips

44s

“Friends, most of the most important ministry doesn't happen here on a Sunday morning for this hour we're together. What happens when someone just meets with a friend for coffee? When you reach out to that struggling parent? When you just make time to pray for your loved ones or for that person that you really struggle with. Perhaps it's just serving there without recognition. So it's just being a shoulder to cry on for those that need it. Sometimes contagious faith, it's invisible, it's hidden, but it's not hidden to God.”

36s

“Holiness is boring. I mean, by boring, a sense it's just making these small decision each and every day to serve God, which no one's gonna notice. It can be boring. It can be unseen. That's part of the calling that God has given us. What mother Teresa said, she said, let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work. That is what it means to be contagious.”

46s

“The cross is front and center of our faith. What type of husband, what type of wife does the cross create? What type of parent does the cross create? What type of friend, what type of relative, what type of employee, what type of employer? And you can insert the blank. What type of person does the cross create? It's one who loves their neighbor as themselves, one who's willing to forgive their enemy, one who's willing to serve, one who is willing to forsake all, to follow Jesus.”

40s

“I love what he says here. He says, this moment will be barely noticeable in the world. It will have no record in history, but god knows it. Friends, that might that'd be the encouragement. We wanna become contagious Christians. People aren't gonna notice it, but God notices it. Holiness is boring. I mean, by boring, a sense it's just making these small decision each and every day to serve God, which no one's gonna notice.”

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Discovering your Contagious Faith Style - Mitch Levingston