Jesus Prepares the Disciples Part 2 | Worship Service with Pastor Dan Miller

Devotional

Day 1: Coat Linings and Empty Hands

Jesus’ disciples watched Him kneel with a basin. He washed their feet after sharing bread with Judas, who would betray Him. Peter protested, but Jesus insisted: “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” The God who shaped galaxies scrubbed dirt from fishermen’s calluses. [29:28]

Jesus redefined power by serving those who’d fail Him. His humility wasn’t weakness but love’s full expression. Just as a mother wears threadbare coats so her children can eat, Jesus embraced poverty to clothe us in grace.

Where does love require you to lay down comfort today? Name one practical act of service that feels beneath your dignity. What would it look like to do it joyfully, without announcing your sacrifice?

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant.”
(Philippians 2:5-7, NIV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to show you one hidden act of service He’s inviting you to perform this week.
Challenge: Mend or donate a coat today. As you do, pray for someone facing winter without adequate warmth.

Day 2: The Prodding Advocate

Jesus told His disciples, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to help you and be with you forever.” The men who’d fled Gethsemane needed more than memories. They needed the Spirit’s persistent nudge—the One who’d turn fishermen into preachers and tax collectors into martyrs. [38:13]

The Holy Spirit doesn’t merely comfort; He compels. Like a shepherd’s staff guiding sheep past cliffs, the Advocate prods believers toward costly obedience. When the early church grew complacent in Jerusalem, persecution scattered them like seeds—and the Spirit made them bloom.

What mission have you been avoiding because it feels beyond your capacity? Where is the Spirit poking you to move despite your fear?

“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
(John 14:26, NIV)

Prayer: Confess one area where you’ve resisted the Spirit’s prompting. Ask for courage to obey.
Challenge: Text one person you’ve felt nudged to encourage. Use specific words, not generalities.

Day 3: Pies and Pentecost Power

A woman baked Monday pies for Sunday visitors. Flour dusted her Bible as she prayed over crusts. What began as hospitality became a thriving business—not through grand plans, but through daily faithfulness. The Spirit amplifies ordinary offerings. [36:01]

God uses what’s already in your hands. Moses had a staff. David had a sling. The widow had oil. Your “pies” might be carpentry, spreadsheets, or listening ears. The Advocate doesn’t demand skills you lack but empowers the gifts you’ve neglected.

What mundane task or hobby have you dismissed as spiritually insignificant? How might God use it to nourish others?

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”
(1 Corinthians 12:4,7, NIV)

Prayer: Thank God for a specific skill or passion He’s given you. Ask how to deploy it for others.
Challenge: Use your hobby/talent today to bless someone. Bake, build, write, or create as worship.

Day 4: Scattered Seeds and No Plan B

Jesus ascended with no backup strategy. The disciples stared at the sky until angels asked, “Why stand here gazing?” The Spirit came not to coddle but to scatter—sending ordinary people into markets, prisons, and foreign roads. [44:35]

God trusts flawed people with His mission. He didn’t wait for the disciples to become theological experts or fearless leaders. The Advocate propelled them into the world, transforming their scars into testimonies.

Where are you waiting for perfection before obeying? What if your “not ready” is the exact starting point God requires?

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
(Acts 1:8, NIV)

Prayer: Ask the Spirit to send you to one person this week who needs hope.
Challenge: Share a personal story of God’s faithfulness with a neighbor or coworker today.

Day 5: The Unseen Thread

Jesus promised, “I will not leave you as orphans.” The Advocate stitches Christ’s presence into daily rhythms—whispering in laundry rooms, board meetings, and hospital vigils. A mother’s frayed coat lining witnessed more than sermons; it wove sacrifice into her son’s soul. [24:57]

God works through ordinary faithfulness. The Spirit embroidered resurrection hope into fishermen’s grief, a baker’s pies, and worn winter coats. Your unnoticed acts of love are threads in His tapestry.

What mundane moment today holds hidden potential for eternal impact?

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth.”
(John 14:16-17, NIV)

Prayer: Thank the Spirit for His nearness in ordinary moments. Ask for eyes to see His weaving.
Challenge: Perform one routine task today with prayerful intentionality—folding clothes, filing papers, or washing dishes as worship.

Sermon Summary

We remember a mother who wore a ragged coat so her children would have what they needed, and we let that image shape our gratitude. We confess the Easter faith together from Philippians two, declaring that Christ humbled himself, died, and now shares the name above every name. We practice staying with what God has done in Jesus instead of rushing back into self-criticism, obligation, or perfectionism. We notice how easily we judge ourselves and revert to performance; focusing on God’s work frees us to receive grace before we fix everything about our lives.

We place the farewell discourse in its context: Jesus washed feet, foretold betrayal and denial, and kept preparing the disciples even while they failed. We track the strange confidence of God who leaves and trusts the messy, unready people to carry the work forward. We watch how growth often comes by being sent before we feel ready, not by waiting for ideal strength. The story of the woman who baked pies shows how God more often enlarges ordinary joy than imposes sudden greatness; gifts already present in us become channels for vocation and service when we follow them.

We learn the Advocate is promised to come alongside. The Advocate functions as legal defender, comforter, and prompter who pushes us toward what we are meant to do. The Advocate gives words at trials, reveals the risen Jesus to believers, and prods the community outward so the gospel spreads. The Spirit scatters comforted people into mission, equips them with gifts, and uses their ordinary lives to expand the church in numbers and maturity.

We refuse the notion that God abandons us in suffering and distraction. The Advocate keeps pressing in with encouragement, transformation, and challenge so we join the larger work of redeeming the world. We name God as creator, redeemer, and sustainer, give thanks for unmerited grace, and claim that we do not live as orphans. We offer our lives in response, trusting that the presence among us continues to guide, prod, and empower ordinary acts into faithful participation in God’s ongoing rescue of creation.

Key Takeaways

1. Remember what God has done We keep returning our attention to what God has accomplished in Christ rather than cataloging our failures. This discipline reorders our inner life so gratitude and trust shape decisions more than guilt. When remembrance leads, obedience becomes a response, not a burden. [27:39]
2. God entrusts us before readiness God often sends into mission before we feel capable, trusting capacity that we do not yet see. That trust reframes fear as a field for growth, not proof of disqualification. We learn by being pushed, discovering resources in the doing. [34:36]
3. Follow the gifts God gives Small joys and talents often point toward vocation and kingdom work more than dramatic calls. Paying attention to what we already do gladly lets God expand usefulness without forcing impossible leaps. We cultivate service where passion and ability meet. [36:48]
4. The Advocate reveals and prods The Spirit stands alongside as defender, comforter, and prompter, giving words, courage, and direction in trial and mission. The Advocate illuminates the risen Jesus to our hearts and moves the community outward when complacency grows. We rely on that presence to sustain faithful risk and communal witness. [38:13]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[23:37] - Mother's sacrifice example
[25:33] - Confession of Easter faith
[27:39] - Focus on what God has done
[29:28] - Farewell discourse context
[29:52] - Foot washing and warnings
[31:59] - Love and commands tension
[34:36] - God trusts us before readiness
[36:48] - From gifts to vocation
[38:13] - Promise of another Advocate
[43:10] - Advocate reveals and empowers
[45:39] - Spirit gives gifts and scatters
[47:58] - Not left as orphans
[48:24] - Closing prayer and benediction

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Philippians 2:5-11 (ESV)
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

John 14:15-21 (ESV)
If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.

Observation Questions

In John 14:16, Jesus promises "another Advocate." What roles does the Advocate fulfill based on the sermon’s explanation (e.g., defender, comforter)? [38:58]
How does the example of the mother’s sacrifice (wearing a ragged coat) illustrate the relationship between sacrifice and gratitude? [24:33]
What does the story of the woman who baked pies reveal about how God uses ordinary gifts for His purposes? [36:48]
According to Philippians 2:5-11, how does Christ’s humility contrast with worldly ideas of power or success?

Interpretation Questions

Why might Jesus call the Holy Spirit "another Advocate" (John 14:16), and what does this imply about His ongoing relationship with believers after His ascension?
The sermon emphasizes that "God entrusts us before readiness." How does this idea challenge common assumptions about being "qualified" for God’s work? [34:36]
How does focusing on "what God has done in Jesus" (Philippians 2:5-11) reorient our tendency toward self-criticism or perfectionism? [27:39]
The Advocate is described as both a comforter and a prompter. How might these roles work together in a believer’s life, even when they seem contradictory?

Application Questions

What is one area of your life where you tend to rush back to self-criticism or obligation instead of resting in what God has already done? How could you practice redirecting your focus this week? [27:57]
When have you felt God "prodding" you to step into something before you felt ready? What happened, and how did it shape your trust in Him? [40:36]
The pie-baking woman used her ordinary joy to serve others. What small, everyday gift or passion do you have that could be offered to God for His purposes? How might you start cultivating it? [36:15]
The sermon says, "We do not live as orphans." What practical step could you take this week to remind yourself of the Spirit’s presence when distractions or suffering threaten to overwhelm you? [46:24]
Reflect on a time when you experienced the Advocate’s comfort and prompting in the same situation. How did both roles help you grow?

Sermon Clips

``This is the god that we serve. Yes. There are evil and horrific and terrifying and discouraging things that happen. And the advocate is still with us. Sometimes we forget because there are so many things that look for our attention. And that's why we gather together so that we can remind one another. The advocate is still with us. The living Christ is still among us. We can still pay attention to what God is asking us even when all these other things are buying for our attention. God does not pull away and leave us. God continues to press in with us to encourage, to transform, to challenge. So that we can join this big cosmos thing that God is doing, saving the world. [00:45:53] (76 seconds) #GodIsWithUs

Was because she enjoyed making pies. She followed her joy, and she and God together went somewhere. Now not everything that we enjoy is gonna turn into a job, right, or is gonna provide us a living. But I like that because I think that's how we get from here to there. It's not through the disconnect. It's not through thinking about all these great things that we're gonna be like sometime when only god delivers us. It's about recognizing what god has put within us already and and living into it. [00:36:48] (54 seconds) #FollowYourJoy

You've gotta have a plan b. What's the plan b? And and Jesus said, well, there is no plan b. But is this really the time for Jesus to go away and trust the plan a? I mean, seriously, they don't the disciples don't even get it yet. Well, there's really no good time for somebody to leave. Right? We we all experience that. In relationships, we experience that where where people move away or we experience it when people die. There's just no good way. Good time. Even when we know it's coming, there's not a good time. We're never ready. [00:33:32] (46 seconds) #TrustPlanA

Well, I don't know about you, but that just sounded strange to me. I I've not paid attention to that before. Another advocate. So who was the first advocate? I think that we can say Jesus. Jesus has been their advocate. Jesus has been the one the the word advocate has a number of different meanings and connotations, but it's one who comes alongside. An advocate in Jesus' day that a legal connotation, which was that when you get taken to court, an advocate would come alongside the person accused and help them make their case. Help them make their defense. [00:38:16] (53 seconds) #JesusOurAdvocate

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