Worship Service | August 16, 2026 | Level Up (Part 1: Show Up to Level Up)

Devotional

Day 1: Leaving Nets to Follow the Summons

Jesus’ urgent call to Peter and Andrew required immediate action, not casual agreement. Their fishing nets represented security, identity, and generational patterns – things they released to join Jesus’ mission. Growth begins when we treat Christ’s invitation as a non-negotiable summons rather than an optional suggestion. Like first-century fishermen, we face the tension between comfortable routines and kingdom purposes. What nets – familiar habits, unexamined priorities, or self-made safety – might God be asking you to release? [37:23]

“One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water. Jesus called out to them, ‘Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!’ They left their nets at once and followed him.”
(Mark 1:16-18, NLT)

Reflection: What tangible “net” in your life – a relationship, routine, or source of security – might Jesus be asking you to release this season? How would leaving it change your capacity to follow Him fully?

Day 2: Apprenticeship Over Admiration

Following Jesus means more than approving His teachings – it requires reorganizing life around being with Him, becoming like Him, and doing what He did. The disciples didn’t just admire Christ’s miracles; they slept where He slept, ate what He ate, and adopted His rhythms. Spiritual growth accelerates when we move from observing Jesus to mirroring His priorities. True apprenticeship means letting His calendar interrupt ours, His concerns reshape ours, and His mission redirect ours. [42:42]

“A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like the teacher.”
(Luke 6:40, NLT)

Reflection: Where does your current approach to faith lean more toward observing Jesus than imitating Him? What one daily rhythm could better reflect His priorities this week?

Day 3: The Missing Seat Changes Everything

A tandem bike with an empty back seat, a rowing shell with vacant oars – these images reveal how our absence impacts community. The early church thrived through shared presence: breaking bread house to house, praying together daily, bearing burdens collectively. Spiritual growth stalls in isolation but flourishes through consistent participation. When we withdraw, others lose our gifts, encouragement, and unique perspective. Showing up physically and emotionally creates the friction where transformation sparks. [47:36]

“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another.”
(Hebrews 10:24-25, NLT)

Reflection: Which community space – Sunday gatherings, small groups, or serving teams – have you treated as optional? How might your consistent presence there strengthen others this month?

Day 4: Coffee Cups and Kingdom Work

Garrett’s decision to serve coffee wasn’t about caffeine distribution but practicing incarnational love. Every handed-out cup became a moment to mirror Jesus’ attentiveness – noticing the tired parent, welcoming the newcomer, honoring the elderly. Growth happens when we stop waiting for grand assignments and start embracing ordinary acts of service. Whether brewing coffee or leading groups, these “small” offerings train us to see people as Christ does and meet needs as He would. [55:53]

“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do this with all the strength and energy that God supplies.”
(1 Peter 4:10-11, NLT)

Reflection: What overlooked act of service – greeting, cleaning, or helping with kids – could become your training ground for Christlike love? How might saying “yes” to it reshape your spiritual vision?

Day 5: Incremental Obedience, Exponential Growth

Garrett’s transformation – from isolated seeker to community catalyst – happened through weekly yeses, not instant perfection. Spiritual growth often resembles farming more than fireworks: showing up for morning men’s group, staying through awkward conversations, serving when unnoticed. These incremental choices build spiritual muscle memory. Like seeds growing secretly, our consistent steps create unseen roots that later bear visible fruit. Trust the process of small obediences over time. [53:36]

“Jesus said, ‘The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens.’”
(Mark 4:26-27, NLT)

Reflection: What “seed” of obedience have you been neglecting to plant because it feels insignificant? How could trusting God with small, daily yeses change your spiritual trajectory?

Sermon Summary

Mark begins with a question that lands close to home: do you want to grow? The desire to become a better version of oneself is common, but wanting growth and actually growing are two different things. Growth requires more than vague intentions. It requires a plan, a response, and a willingness to take a real step.

Mark 1:15 sets the foundation: “The time promised by God has come at last. The kingdom of God is near. Repent of your sins, and believe the good news.” Jesus announces that God’s long-promised rescue has arrived in him. The kingdom means God’s purposes breaking into the world through justice, sacrificial love, freedom from bondage, and lives made new. Repentance means making a change of direction, leaving behind the old path rather than merely agreeing with something in the head. Belief means deep, abiding trust in the good news Jesus brings.

Jesus then walks beside the Sea of Galilee and calls Simon Peter and Andrew: “Follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people.” Jesus gives them more than a general invitation or a thumbs-up kind of faith. Jesus directly summons them to join his party, accept his leadership, and let him refocus and reorient their lives. The image of fishing for people draws on the prophets’ hope that God would gather people back to himself. Jesus calls these ordinary fishermen into a life of significance that is bigger than their nets.

Peter and Andrew leave their nets at once. Their response costs them family obligations, financial security, familiar routines, and a way of life handed down through generations. Their names endure because they showed up, took action, and followed Jesus. Other unnamed people wanted to follow but allowed distractions, possessions, or competing concerns to keep them from responding.

Discipleship means becoming Jesus’ apprentice: being with Jesus, becoming like Jesus, and doing what Jesus did. Jesus changes people from the inside out, but spiritual growth also requires God’s people. The tandem bike, rowing shell, and seesaw all show the same reality: when somebody is missing, something important is missing. Individual faith cannot replace the belonging, correction, encouragement, and shared mission found among the people of God.

The call to level up begins by showing up. Jesus may be prompting a person to show up with him through prayer and Scripture, with his people on Sundays or in a small group, or through serving in a place where gifts can bless others. Garrett’s story shows that this can be hard, especially for an introvert walking into unfamiliar rooms. Yet each yes, from men’s group to coffee ministry to young adults, becomes part of the slow, steady work of growth. Consistent investments in the right things often change a life little by little, until looking back reveals that Jesus has made someone different.

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Key Takeaways

1. Show up to level up [43:38] Growth rarely comes from simply wishing for a different life. Desire needs to become a plan, and a plan needs to become a step. Jesus often meets people on the other side of a faithful response, even when that response feels small. Consistent obedience changes a person in ways that dramatic intentions never can. [43:38]
2. Repentance is a change of direction [35:23] Repentance is not merely feeling bad about sin or getting yelled at by religious people. Jesus calls people to turn from the old direction and trust him with a new one. That turn involves leaving behind patterns, loyalties, and habits that cannot lead toward life. The good news is that Jesus does not call people away from something without calling them into his kingdom. [35:23]
3. Jesus calls for more than fandom [39:59] Jesus does not invite Peter and Andrew to admire his work from a safe distance. Jesus calls them to join his mission and accept his leadership over their lives. A thumbs-up faith can preserve comfort, but it cannot form an apprentice. Following Jesus means allowing him to refocus and reorient the whole life. [39:59]
4. God’s people are necessary for growth [45:15] Spiritual maturity is not designed to happen through “me and Jesus” alone. God forms disciples in a people who know names, stories, struggles, and gifts. Absence affects the body, just as a missing rider affects a tandem bike or a missing rower affects the shell. Belonging requires more than attending a room; it requires showing up where life can be known. [45:15]
5. Serving turns faith outward [51:59] Service gives a person a practical way to offer what God has given. Small acts, including greeting a guest or serving coffee, can carry real spiritual weight because they make room for others to belong. Service also moves faith beyond private intention into sacrificial love. God’s kingdom purposes become visible when ordinary people use their place and gifts for others.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[29:08] - Do You Want to Grow?
[30:18] - Wanting Growth Versus Growing
[31:50] - Listening for Holy Spirit Nudges
[33:21] - Mark’s Gospel and God’s Authority
[34:00] - The Kingdom of God Is Near
[35:23] - Repent and Believe the Good News
[36:55] - Jesus Calls Peter and Andrew
[39:17] - Fishing for People and Joining the Mission
[40:21] - Leaving the Nets Behind
[42:42] - The Life of an Apprentice
[44:32] - Showing Up With Jesus and His People
[48:00] - Showing Up on Sundays and in Groups
[51:20] - Showing Up to Serve
[53:36] - Garrett’s Story of Taking Steps
[58:03] - Prayer for Growth and Surrender
[64:17] - Closing Prayer and Next Steps

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Mark 1:15-18

Verse 15: “The time promised by God has come at last! The kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” [34:00]

Verses 16-17: “One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus

Sermon Clips

40s

#TakeTheNextStep

“But the challenge for all of us is what is God calling us to do in this next season? Because sometimes we go through life and we wanna grow, we wanna change, we wanna become different, but then we just keep doing the same old thing. And that is the definition of insanity. And I've experienced that myself. I wanna be different, but I'm not willing to do the hard work of taking this or her step and changing. And so this season, let's take whatever step God is calling us to. Would you pray with me?”

44s

#ShowUpLevelUp

“But it starts by showing up, by responding to Jesus' invitation, and by taking action. You know that research study that I mentioned at the very beginning that talked about simply wanting to grow wasn't enough. The people who actually grew and changed, they were people who translated that desire into a plan and they were willing to take steps. Vague intentions mostly fizzled. And I think the first step is simply to show up and to respond. You see, like Jesus' early disciples, we have to show up to level up.”

40s

#GrowWithJesus

“You see, it starts as we spend time with Jesus just like his disciples do, you know, whether that's through prayer or talking to him, reading the scriptures and understanding. then, one of the things that's interesting, after we spend time with him, over time he begins to influence who we are and we slowly begin to change and we become more and more like him. And then we're called to not just think like he did or or hang out with Jesus, but we're called to do the things he did, which is to offer sacrificial love and care for others in our world.”

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