From Knowing About Jesus to Following Jesus

Devotional

Day 1: When Knowledge Doesn’t Reach the Heart

Christian faith cannot be reduced to mastering information. Scripture warns that one can recite theology yet struggle to forgive, quote Bible verses yet ignore neighbors, and affirm trust in God while drowning in anxiety. True discipleship requires moving beyond accumulating facts to letting truth reshape habits, relationships, and priorities. Transformation happens when knowledge sinks deep enough to change how we live, not just what we know. [30:13]

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like." (James 1:22-24, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you sense the widest gap between what you know about Jesus and how you live like Jesus? What practical step could bridge that divide this week?

Day 2: Watching Over One Another in Love

Spiritual growth thrives in communities where people choose to be known. Early Methodists met in small groups not to debate doctrine but to ask, “How is it with your soul?” These spaces required vulnerability: naming struggles, celebrating grace, and admitting where repentance was needed. Holiness is a team sport—we learn patience, forgiveness, and humility by walking closely with others, not just studying about them. [37:34]

"Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2, ESV)

Reflection: Who in your life has permission to ask you the uncomfortable but necessary question, “Where is your soul struggling today?” If no one comes to mind, what holds you back from seeking such relationships?

Day 3: The Courage to Answer “How Is It With Your Soul?”

This question disrupts shallow small talk. It invites honesty about our spiritual pulse: Where is God moving? Where are we resisting? What habits drain life from our souls? Answering requires trust that the church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints. Like a gardener tending fragile seedlings, we create safe soil for one another’s growth through gentle listening and steadfast care. [36:11]

"But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'" (1 Samuel 16:7, ESV)

Reflection: When someone asks about your soul, do you default to “fine” or risk vulnerability? What would it look like to share one authentic struggle with a trusted believer this week?

Day 4: Emptying Ourselves to Fill Others

Jesus’ humility wasn’t theoretical—He traded heavenly glory for a cross. Paul urges believers to adopt this “mind of Christ,” prioritizing others’ needs over self-interest. We practice this by listening before advising, serving without claiming credit, and forgiving without demanding repayment. Like a shared meal, discipleship nourishes others when we offer our time, attention, and grace as freely as Christ offered Himself. [44:53]

"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, ESV)

Reflection: Where is God inviting you to lay down “rights” or comfort this week to serve someone easily overlooked? How might this act embody Christ’s humility?

Day 5: Working Out Salvation With Fear, Trembling… and Friends

Salvation is both a gift and a journey. Paul insists we “work out” our faith not in isolation but amid fellow travelers—people who notice when we wander, cheer our progress, and help us persevere. Just as muscles grow through resistance, spiritual maturity develops through accountability, shared repentance, and celebrating small victories. The class meeting model reminds us: we become like Jesus together, not alone. [48:09]

"Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose." (Philippians 2:12-13, ESV)

Reflection: How has your faith been shaped by others’ encouragement or correction? What step could you take this week to deepen your participation in a transformative community?

Sermon Summary

The call to discipleship presses beyond simply knowing more about Jesus into actually becoming more like Jesus. Knowledge matters, Bible study matters, theology matters, but correct answers do not automatically produce forgiveness, patience, trust, or love for a neighbor. The difference comes down to whether faith is only informational or whether it is truly transformational.

The Methodist class meeting grew out of John Wesley’s question: How do people move from hearing about Christianity to living the Christian life? Early Methodists gathered in small groups, usually with a lay leader, to tell the truth about their lives with God. The question, “How is it with your soul?” made room for people to name growth, struggle, repentance, grace, and the need for prayer. Watching over one another in love did not mean judging, fixing, or keeping score. That kind of care meant loving people enough to help them follow Jesus.

Paul’s words in Philippians 2 give this kind of community its shape. Paul calls the church to be like minded, to have the same love, and to value others above self. Christian formation happens in relationships because humility, patience, forgiveness, and sacrificial love cannot be learned alone. The New Testament keeps saying “one another” because God intends to change not only what happens inside a person, but also the way God’s people live with each other.

Christ gives the pattern for this life. Jesus did not use his divine status for his own advantage, but emptied himself, took the form of a servant, and became obedient to death on a cross. Paul says, “Let the same mind be in you.” Discipleship is not only learning what Jesus said. Discipleship is an apprenticeship to Jesus, learning the way he lived and putting that life into practice.

Honesty becomes necessary because transformation requires more than talking about the Bible. The class meeting creates space for ordinary Christians to say, “I’m following Jesus, but I’m still becoming.” Paul’s call to work out salvation does not mean earning God’s favor. God’s grace goes before, saves, sanctifies, and keeps working, while God’s people participate in that grace together.

Holiness means becoming more like Jesus. The church needs places where people are known, where truth can be told, where burdens are carried, and where love becomes visible outside the walls of the church.

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Key Takeaways

1. Knowing Jesus must become following Jesus. Knowledge about Christ can be real and still remain distant from daily obedience. Discipleship reaches into impatience, anxiety, broken relationships, and the quiet places where faith is tested. Christ calls for more than informed belief; Christ forms a way of life. [30:52]
2. Transformation requires honest Christian community. The class meeting makes room for more than a quick “fine” or “busy.” The question “How is it with your soul?” invites a person to bring both grace and struggle into the light. Honest fellowship becomes a place where God’s people can receive prayer, encouragement, repentance, and real care. [36:51]
3. Christlike humility needs other people. Paul’s call to value others above self cannot be practiced in isolation. Forgiveness needs someone to forgive, patience needs someone who tests patience, and bearing burdens requires people close enough to be known. The body of Christ becomes the place where love is practiced rather than merely admired. [41:47]
4. Grace forms holiness over a lifetime. God’s grace is not limited to the moment of conversion. Grace saves, sanctifies, and continues reshaping God’s people into the likeness of Christ. Holiness is not merely knowing Scripture; holiness is the Spirit changing a life from the inside out.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[26:55] - Beginning the Abundant Presence Series
[29:28] - Knowing Jesus and Following Jesus
[32:20] - Information or Transformation
[33:55] - The Methodist Class Meeting
[38:29] - Paul’s Vision for Christian Community
[41:03] - The Christian Life Is Not Private
[44:00] - The Mind of Christ
[45:41] - Discipleship as Apprenticeship
[47:05] - Honesty and Spiritual Growth
[48:09] - Working Out Salvation by Grace
[49:10] - The Goal Is Transformation

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Philippians 2:1-13
“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 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. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” [26:23]

Galatians 6:2
“Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” [42:50]

James 5:16
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” [43:02]

Observation questions

In Philippians 2:1-4, what shared attitudes and actions does Paul connect with being united in Christ?
What does Paul contrast with humility when he tells believers to value others and look to their interests? [40:44]
According to Philippians 2:5-11, what choices did Jesus make that show the kind of mindset Paul calls believers to have? [44:33]
What “one another” practices are named in Galatians 6:2, James 5:16, and the surrounding discussion of Christian community? [42:50]

Interpretation questions

Why might Paul place unity, humility, and concern for others at the center of Christian growth rather than simply emphasizing correct knowledge?
What does it mean for a group of believers to “watch over one another in love” without becoming judgmental, controlling, or focused on fixing each other? [37:30]
Philippians 2 presents Jesus’ humility and self-giving love as the pattern for believers. What might that pattern look like in ordinary relationships, especially when someone feels overlooked or inconvenienced? [45:03]
Paul calls believers to work out their salvation while also saying that God is at work in them. How do these truths keep a person from both trying to earn God’s favor and becoming passive about spiritual growth? [48:09]

Application questions

Where is there a gap between knowing what Jesus teaches and actually living it out—for example, in forgiveness, patience, anxiety, generosity, or loving a neighbor? What is one honest next step toward following Jesus in that area? [30:24]
How would you answer the question, “How is it with your soul?” Where have you seen God’s grace recently, and where do you need prayer, repentance, or encouragement? [36:37]
Is there a burden you have been carrying alone that could be shared with trusted Christians? What makes it difficult to let others know what is really going on? [41:37]
Think about a relationship where humility is needed. What would it look like this week to set aside selfish ambition, listen carefully, or consider that person’s interests? [40:44]
Jesus looked toward people who were overlooked, alone, or on the margins. Who might need to be noticed, welcomed, served, or contacted by you this week? [45:19]
Honest Christian community requires courage to be known and grace to listen well. What would help this group become a place where people can speak truthfully without fear of judgment? [47:18]

Sermon Clips

60s

“Discipleship isn't simply learning what Jesus said, but it's also learning the way that he lived it out. It's this apprenticeship to Jesus. And apprentices don't become like their teacher by just reading about their teacher. They become like their teacher by following their teacher. You can read a thousand books about how to play the piano, but eventually you have to sit down at the piano and play it. You can read a lot of books about running, but eventually you have to put those tennis shoes on and try. You can study recipes all day long, but eventually you have to turn the oven on and put those ingredients together and hope something turns out. And in the same way, we can study forever, but, eventually, Christianity has to be from a way of life, part of who we are.”

37s

“But this morning, I want to I want us to wrestle with this question as we begin this series. What if knowing more about Jesus and becoming more like Jesus aren't exactly the same thing? Maybe they can help each other and feed into each other but maybe they aren't quite exactly the same thing. And he here's why I say this is because we can know a lot about Christianity and still struggle with what it is to actually live like Christ.”

35s

“Lord, as we begin this journey today, our prayer is simple. Don't just teach us more about you, but, Lord, make us more like you. Give us the humility of Jesus Christ, the courage to be known, and the grace to speak honestly and listen well. Give us the willingness to watch over one another in love. And, Lord, by your Holy Spirit, form us into a people who don't simply talk about following Jesus, Lord, but actually following him. In the name of Jesus Christ, pray.”

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