What Are You Seeking? Come and See Jesus

Jan 18, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Discovering the Deepest Desires of Your Heart

Jesus begins his relationship with the disciples not with a command, but with a profound question: "What are you seeking?" This inquiry invites you to look past surface-level wants and consider the fundamental hunger of your soul. Whether you are searching for healing, wisdom, or a sense of right order, your search ultimately leads to the one who knows you best. By honestly naming your desires, you open the door for the Lord to meet you in your restlessness. He promises that those who seek will find, though the discovery often transcends our initial expectations. [36:35]

"Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, 'What are you seeking?' And they said to him, 'Rabbi' (which means Teacher), 'where are you staying?'" (John 1:38 ESV)

Reflection: When you consider the pace and pressure of your daily life, what is the one thing you are most consistently searching for to find peace?

Day 2: Responding to the Gentle Invitation of Jesus

When the disciples asked where Jesus was staying, he did not offer a complex theological lecture or a map. Instead, he gave a simple, life-changing invitation: "Come and you will see." This call reminds us that faith is not merely an intellectual exercise but a journey of walking alongside the Messiah. As you take small steps of faithfulness, the reality of who Jesus is becomes clearer through shared experience. You are invited to move from being a distant observer to an active participant in his kingdom. By simply showing up and following, you begin to find the life you were truly made for. [41:42]

"He said to them, 'Come and you will see.' So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour." (John 1:39 ESV)

Reflection: Is there an area of obedience or a spiritual practice you’ve been postponing? What is one small, concrete action you can take this week to move toward that "come and see" invitation?

Day 3: Finding Our Home by Abiding in Christ

To stay with Jesus is to do more than visit; it is to abide and find your permanent dwelling place in his presence. This abiding is a deep communion where his life begins to flow through you like a vine into its branches. In the midst of a world that often feels like a desert, his presence offers the vitality and holiness your spirit craves. Through the word and the sacraments, you are invited to feast on his grace and find rest for your soul. When you remain in him, your life begins to bear fruit that reflects his goodness and love. [40:53]

"I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5 ESV)

Reflection: What spiritual practice—such as prayer, scripture reading, or silence—could you adopt this week to create more space to recognize God's presence in your home?

Day 4: Embracing Your Calling to Become a Saint

God’s plan for your life extends far beyond simple redemption from guilt; he desires to transform you from the inside out. Just as Jesus looked at Simon and declared him to be Peter, the Rock, he speaks a promise of greatness over your life. This greatness is not measured by worldly wealth or fame, but by growth in virtue, holiness, and love. You are sanctified in Christ and called to be a saint, a person whose life is filled with the Holy Spirit. Though the process takes time, the Spirit is faithful to bring you into the fullness of who you were meant to be. [43:56]

"To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours." (1 Corinthians 1:2 ESV)

Reflection: When you think about the person God is calling you to become, what is one character trait or virtue you sense Him inviting you to cultivate right now?

Day 5: Walking in the Freedom of the Lamb

Throughout history, God has acted decisively to deliver his people from slavery and oppression. John the Baptist points us to Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, fulfilling the ancient promises of deliverance. This sacrifice is not just a past event but a present reality that breaks the bonds of whatever holds you captive. By marking your life with his grace, you pass from the old life of shadow into the new life of his glorious light. You are invited to walk in this freedom, knowing that the Lamb has already won the victory over darkness. [35:00]

"The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'" (John 1:29 ESV)

Reflection: Where have you recently sensed God inviting you to trust Him more deeply with a burden or a habit, and what would a first step toward freedom look like?

Sermon Summary

The congregation is invited into a theologically grounded invitation: to recognize Jesus as the Lamb of God, to reckon with what the heart truly seeks, and to respond by abiding in Christ. Drawing the line from Israel’s Passover to John the Baptist’s proclamation, the narrative shows how the Passover memory and sacrificial lamb imagery culminate in Jesus’ person and work—one who takes away sin and gives the Spirit. Those who hear Jesus’ first words in John’s Gospel encounter a simple, devastating question—“What are you seeking?”—and a personal call: “Come and see.” The emphasis is not abstract doctrine but relational transformation: to go where Jesus dwells, to be formed by his presence, and to participate in the Exodus from bondage into a new, Spirit‑filled life.

The sermon weaves practical pastoral application with biblical theology. It locates discipleship in everyday choices—inviting neighbors, joining a life group, practicing fasting, offering apologies—and insists that such practices are the terrain where abiding happens and holiness grows. The promise of new identity is explicit: believers are sanctified in Christ and called to be saints; the Spirit will shape ordinary, often flawed people into those who reflect God’s righteousness. Worship and sacraments are presented as means to that end, especially the Lord’s table where the community feasts on the true Passover Lamb.

There is also a corporate dimension: prayer for unity, for leaders, and for global peace anchors personal devotion in the church’s mission. The service enacts the theology it proclaims—commissioning leaders, blessing children, intercessory prayer, and the Eucharist—so that doctrine and devotion remain inseparable. The overall tone is pastoral urgency: Christ is present, the Spirit is given, and the faithful are called to move from curiosity to commitment, from wandering desire to rooted abiding in the one who transforms desire into holiness.

Key Takeaways

1. What are you seeking? The decisive spiritual question is not merely intellectual but existential: it exposes the heart’s chief desire and determines the trajectory of a life. If one seeks self, confinement follows; if one seeks Christ, everything reorients toward resurrection life and true freedom. This question compels honest discernment about priorities, motives, and the practices that reveal where the soul is headed. [36:06]
2. Come and see—follow Jesus Jesus answers inquiry not with abstract proof but with an invitation to relationship: come, walk, and discover. Discipleship is apprenticing to the rabbi’s presence, learning by proximity and practice rather than by argument alone. This pathway transforms curiosity into communion and promise into lived formation. [41:42]
3. Abide to share God's life Abiding is mutual indwelling—Christ in the believer and the believer in Christ—which produces sustained virtue and fruitfulness. This communion is cultivated through sacrament, Scripture, prayer, and persevering fellowship, not through quick fixes or private introspection. To abide is to participate in God’s very life, altering desires and enabling endurance. [40:53]
4. Called and formed into saints Sanctification is not optional polishing but God’s promise to make ordinary people holy through grace and the Spirit’s work. The new name and vocation given in Christ shape a future identity that will be realized progressively and sometimes painfully. This calling reframes ambition: greatness becomes measured by holiness and love, not status or success. [43:56]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[09:09] - Invocation and Opening Prayer
[11:02] - Vestry Commissioning and Prayer
[12:38] - Prayer for Unity and Leaders
[17:18] - Blessing for Children
[27:40] - Childhood Questions and Desire
[31:05] - Passover Memory and Exodus Imagery
[35:23] - Lamb of God and John’s Proclamation
[36:06] - Jesus Asks: What Are You Seeking?
[41:42] - Invitation: Come and See
[43:56] - Called to Be Saints
[48:42] - Invitation to the Lord’s Table
[1:03:17] - Eucharistic Prayer and Communion
[1:23:05] - Post‑Communion Prayer and Blessing

Sermon Clips

31s

#AbideWithJesus

“``But it means they wanna go to where Jesus is. Right? They wanna spend some time with Jesus. They wanna learn from the great teacher, the great rabbi. They wanna know what he has to bring them. And I think that question, Rabbi, where are you staying? Might be bigger than we realize. It might even be bigger than they realize. The word that's translated there as where are you staying to stay. It's a word that John's gospel uses frequently, and in most places it's translated as abide. Where are you abiding Jesus?”

46s

#WhoDoYouWantToBe

“You remember when you were little and people would ask you things like, hey, what are you gonna be when you grow up? You all remember that? I used to get asked that a lot. And you know, I'd I'd give different kind of answers, you know. I wanna be a fireman when I grow up or I wanna be an astronaut when I grow up or maybe even I wanna be Batman when I grow up. Right? I remember a lot of people asking me, what do you wanna be when you grow up? I don't really remember anyone asking me, who do you want to be when you grow up? But maybe that's a good question for young people and maybe older people too to be chewing on and wrestling with. What sort of me do I wanna be? What sort of me do I wanna become?”

21s

#AbideInGod

“Abiding in John's gospel is about sharing or communing in the very life of God who comes to us in Jesus Christ. So they ask Jesus, where are you abiding? Where can we go to be at that place where you abide? Because that's what we need.”

37s

#FindWhatYouWereMadeFor

“Come, he says, walk with me and you'll find out. You'll find out what you're really looking for. You'll find out what you really were made for. That's what churches and bibles and sacraments and small group ministries and prayer groups and and all of it. That's what it's all for so that we can abide with him and he in us the way that he designed and intended for us. And great things come from that. He will do great things in us with that.”

24s

#WhatAreYouSeeking

“So Jesus asks, what are you seeking? Really, what are you after? And then Jesus is saying, come come walk with me. Come and see. Come and see what I will do in you and how I will transform you and deepen you and enlarge you beyond yourself. Come and see what will happen as you walk with me.”

35s

#CalledToHoliness

“You may not realize it, but Jesus calls you to greatness. He calls you to be a great woman or a great man. That is what he wants. Not in terms of wealth or power or worldly fame or something like that or winning the like whatever competition. He calls us to greatness in virtue, in holiness, greatness in terms of goodness, greatness in terms of a life full of God and filled with his love and his spirit.”

32s

#CalledToBeSaints

“And God's word speaks to us who believe in him. We are sanctified in Christ and we are called to be saints. You can take that as a promise too. That's what he's gonna do with you as you walk with him, as you're open to him. That's the promise that is declared and named over your life. Is that what you wanted? Might be worth asking. But I think you'll find that actually that is what you wanted whether or not you knew it.”

38s

#LongingBeyondWords

“And it's interesting that they don't give Jesus a direct answer. Maybe what they're seeking is too big to even like put into words. They're they're hoping for so much a national deliverance. The renewal of Israel as a people, the fulfillment of all the prophecies, the coming true of all the songs and more personal forgiveness. A personal connection with the very life of the eternal God. Maybe their desires are so huge, they dare not even put them into words or say them out loud.”

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