Doing As Jesus Did: Proclaim Kingdom, Love, Serve

Devotional

Day 1: Carrying On the Work Jesus Started

Doing as Jesus did begins by embracing his mission to announce and embody the kingdom of heaven. This means more than replicating miracles—it’s about proclaiming freedom, healing, and God’s favor through both words and actions. Jesus’ manifesto in Luke 4 reveals a holistic vision: good news for the poor, liberty for captives, and restoration for the broken. His works overflowed from his identity as the Anointed One sent to redeem creation. To follow him is to join this redemptive movement, not as isolated heroes but as witnesses to a kingdom that’s already here and still coming. [17:15]

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19, ESV)

Reflection: Where can you intentionally proclaim or demonstrate God’s kingdom this week—not through grand gestures, but in the ordinary spaces of your life? How does Jesus’ holistic mission reshape your understanding of “doing” faith?

Day 2: Loving Through Open Doors and Shared Meals

Hospitality is the unassuming heartbeat of doing as Jesus did. He welcomed outsiders, ate with sinners, and turned tables into altars of connection. This isn’t about hosting perfection but creating spaces where others taste God’s welcome. Like Jesus, we’re called to offer warmth to those who can’t repay us—the lonely neighbor, the struggling coworker, the stranger at the café. Every shared meal or open door becomes a parable of the Father’s house, where grace is served in paper plates and lukewarm tea. [22:08]

“Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.” (1 Peter 4:9, ESV)

Reflection: Who in your orbit needs the gift of presence more than solutions? What practical step—a text, an invitation, a listening ear—could embody Christ’s hospitality today?

Day 3: Doing God’s Work as a Body, Not a Solo Act

No one carries the full weight of Jesus’ ministry alone. The body of Christ thrives when teachers teach, givers give, and healers heal—each playing their part. Trying to mimic every aspect of Jesus’ life leads to burnout, but embracing our unique role within the community unleashes collective power. Like a football team where Messi’s finesse and a defender’s grit both matter, the church needs diverse gifts to manifest Christ’s fullness. [24:31]

“Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:27, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you compared your gifts to others’ instead of stewarding your unique role? How can you affirm someone’s contribution to the body this week?

Day 4: Proclaiming the Kingdom in Word and Deed

Jesus’ works included preaching, confronting injustice, and healing—not as separate tasks but threads of one tapestry. Proclaiming the kingdom means both speaking about Jesus and living like him, whether advocating for the marginalized or praying for a friend’s healing. It’s a rhythm of truth-telling and table-turning, where our lives become signposts pointing beyond ourselves to the King. [17:55]

“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.” (Matthew 28:19-20, ESV)

Reflection: When have you reduced “doing as Jesus did” to either words or actions alone? How might integrating both deepen your witness this week?

Day 5: What Would Jesus Do If He Were Me?

The WWJD question gains power when personalized: How would Jesus love if he had your job, personality, and resources? He wouldn’t clone his first-century ministry but would incarnate grace through your specific context—parenting with patience, creating art, or serving coffee with joy. Your ordinary moments become the stage for his extraordinary kingdom when offered as worship. [33:23]

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17, ESV)

Reflection: What mundane task or relationship feels disconnected from “spiritual work”? How might Jesus transform it if you invited him into that space today?

Sermon Summary

The progression of following Jesus begins with being with Jesus, moves into becoming like Jesus, and overflows into doing as Jesus did. This is not a set of levels that anyone graduates from, because practicing God’s presence remains the foundation. But intimacy with Jesus slowly shapes character, mannerisms, and desires, until faith stops being just conceptual values and becomes a lived experience from Monday to Saturday.

Doing as Jesus did is the outward part of the journey, where the rubber hits the road. Christianity means becoming like a little Christ, not merely knowing how to talk about Jesus or explain what he did. Jesus gave his apprentices the Great Commission after a life spent making disciples, and his call remains both to live as disciples and to make disciples of others.

John 14 can easily become an anti-sermon when Jesus’ works are narrowed down to a rerun of his miracles in Jersey. Jesus does heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead, and call his people into holiness. The Holy Spirit still invites God’s people to pursue these things with expectancy. But miracles are signs that accompany those who believe, not the entire foundation of doing as Jesus did. Chasing miracles while missing Jesus’ heart misses the point.

Jesus’ work was to announce, proclaim, and usher in the kingdom of heaven into a deeply broken world. His works included evangelism, truth, mercy, compassion, justice, freedom, welcome, and love for people who were poor, lowly, outcast, and marginalized. Doing as Jesus did therefore includes sharing the gospel, resisting injustice, standing for freedom, and bearing witness through a beautiful life.

Jesus’ love becomes especially practical through hospitality. Jesus loved people one meal at a time, often welcoming those who could offer him nothing in return. Hospitality embodies the heart posture of the Trinity through invitation, generosity, provision, safety, delight, and community. This is not merely having people over for dinner. It is opening life to others, particularly when there is no return to be gained.

The body of Christ keeps this call from becoming a crushing individual burden. The Holy Spirit gives different gifts to different people, and no one person is expected to carry the whole of Christ’s ministry. Healing, prophecy, generosity, hospitality, mercy, and courage operate together so that God alone gets the glory. The joyous burdens of love draw each person toward particular people, needs, places, and lines of work.

The tension remains clear: God’s people have a part to play, but nothing happens apart from the Holy Spirit’s power. “Without God, we cannot, but without us, God will not.” The question becomes more personal and practical: What would Jesus do if he were me, in this job, this home, this stage of life, and this place in Jersey?

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Key Takeaways

1. Miracles accompany, not define, discipleship Jesus’ miracles matter, and the church should never settle into unbelief about God’s power. But signs are not the whole picture of faithfulness, nor are they a scoreboard for spiritual worth. Jesus’ works include compassion, proclamation, justice, mercy, and costly love. A life that pursues the kingdom makes room for miracles without reducing discipleship to them. [16:02]
2. Jesus’ kingdom work is wider Jesus came to proclaim good news to the poor, liberty to captives, sight to the blind, and freedom to the oppressed. His kingdom confronts spiritual, social, and personal brokenness at the same time. Following him means telling the good news and showing its shape through ordinary life. The call becomes more convicting when it reaches speech, choices, relationships, and love of neighbour. [17:30]
3. Hospitality opens life to others Jesus regularly used meals to welcome people, especially those who could offer him little in return. Hospitality is more than cooking or owning the right kind of home. It is a heart posture of invitation, warm affection, generosity, safety, and shared joy. Ordinary tables, cafés, workplaces, and daily routines can become places where Jesus’ love takes visible form. [22:08]
4. The body carries Christ’s work together The body of Christ does not require every person to possess the same gifts or carry every need. The Spirit distributes gifts so that healing, generosity, prophecy, service, and compassion can work together. Individual insecurity and individual pride both lose their power when each person plays a part. God receives the glory because no single person can create the whole picture alone. [24:31]
5. Ask what Jesus would do there “What would Jesus do if he were me?” brings the call of discipleship into real life. Jesus meets people in their particular work, family, personality, resources, and season. The Spirit does not ask one person to die on every cross, but he does draw each heart toward particular joyous burdens of love. Obedience begins by noticing those nudges and offering a faithful yes.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[06:06] - Being With Jesus, Becoming Like Jesus
[07:35] - Following Jesus to Practice His Way
[09:19] - The Great Commission and Making Disciples
[10:23] - The Anti-Sermon Warning
[11:16] - Greater Works and the Pressure of Miracles
[14:39] - Jesus’ Works Are More Than Signs
[16:36] - Carrying On Jesus’ Kingdom Work
[20:26] - Loving as Jesus Loved
[21:34] - Hospitality One Meal at a Time
[23:37] - Doing God’s Work Together
[27:32] - Joyous Burdens of Love
[28:57] - The Holy Spirit’s Power and Human Responsibility
[30:42] - Widen the Scope of Discipleship
[32:31] - What Would Jesus Do If He Were Me?

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

John 14:12
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” [11:16] [14:39]

Matthew 28:18-20
“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.’” [09:19]

Luke 4:18-19
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” [17:30]

1 Corinthians 12:27
“Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” [24:31]

Observation questions

In Matthew 28:18-20, what does Jesus tell his disciples to do, and what does he promise them as they go?
In Luke 4:18-19, which people and needs are specifically named as part of Jesus’ mission?
What examples are included in Jesus’ “works” besides healing, deliverance, and other miracles? [15:30]
What qualities of hospitality are named, and how do they show a welcoming heart? [22:17]

Interpretation questions

John 14:12 speaks of believers doing Jesus’ works. Why can reducing those works only to dramatic miracles place an unhealthy weight on a believer, and what wider picture of Jesus’ ministry should be included? [30:42]
Jesus proclaimed good news to the poor, freedom to captives, and liberty to the oppressed. What might it look like for a believer to both speak the gospel and show its reality through mercy, justice, and compassion?
Jesus commands his followers to make disciples, teaching people to obey all he commanded. How is disciple-making different from simply persuading someone to agree with Christian beliefs? [10:00]
If the church is one body with different members, how should this shape the way a believer thinks about personal gifts, limitations, and the needs around them? [24:35]

Application questions

Is there an area where “doing as Jesus did” has felt like pressure or guilt because it seemed to mean doing everything Jesus did alone? What would it look like to receive Jesus’ call as an invitation to play one faithful part in his body? [26:47]
Who in your everyday life—a neighbour, colleague, family member, or friend—might need to hear a simple part of your story of what Jesus has done in you? What could a natural, honest conversation look like this week? [19:17]
Jesus welcomed people who could offer him little in return. Is there someone who may be overlooked, isolated, new, struggling, or unlikely to repay your kindness? How could you open your life to them through a meal, coffee, conversation, lift, or practical help? [22:08]
Where do you notice a particular “joyous burden of love”—a group of people, place, need, injustice, or line of work that keeps drawing your attention? What might be one small obedient step you could take? [27:39]
What gift or strength might God be growing in you—such as mercy, generosity, hospitality, encouragement, prayer, courage, healing, or service? How could you use it alongside others rather than comparing yourself with them? [24:57]
Have you become discouraged or stopped expecting God to act powerfully in and through your life? What would it look like to pray again with faith while trusting the Holy Spirit rather than trying to manufacture results? [30:22]
Consider the question: “What would Jesus do if he were me?” In your actual work, home, relationships, resources, and stage of life, what is one way Jesus might lead you to show his kingdom this week? [32:58]

Sermon Clips

37s

#JesusInMyShoes

“Because we are not a first century rabbi in Judea. We are a medical staff member in Jersey, an educator. I don't know all of the jobs that are out here. I work in hospitality. I'm in a cafe. I'm a a sole parent. I've got two young kids. And therefore, it's not just what would Jesus do. It's what would Jesus do if he were me. How would Jesus live if he had your place, your personality profile, your age, your gender, your life, your stage of life, your job, your resources, and address? How would he show up if he were you?”

42s

#HandsAndFeetTogether

“And of all of the things I've said today, I want to ask, is there something or anything that you feel that the spirit of God might have been stirring in your heart as I shared this? And the reason that I ask this is all down to that final point of that we, as God's church, are called to work together to be the hands and feet of Jesus empowered by the Holy Spirit. And that involves not one of us doing everything, but all of us doing something. To operate in our gifts, to do the little things that we can do in our stage of life, in our place of work. And we need God's help with that. We need his wisdom to know our place and our part.”

36s

#MoreThanMiracles

“And to all of us, I say, none of us can do this by ourself. We must do this as a community. We must do it together. We must encourage one another, empower one another, call out the gifts from one another when we see them. And so my conclusion, I think, of do as Jesus did is simple. Don't narrow Jesus' work to just his miracles. include his miracles, but it is not just them. There is so much more to it, and there is so much more that we can get after and pursue as we go about our daily lives this week.”

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