WELCOME
Good morning First Baptist. We welcome you to worship this morning. Be sure to remember your brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the week as you pray for them, and as the Holy Spirit brings their faces to your mind. Be sure to also connect with them in the ways that are possible. And if you have any questions or would like to talk to someone, please don’t hesitate to contact the church through the church telephone and leave a message. (519-733-4144)
Songs
Call to Worship
Welcome to worship today.
Bring your joys and sorrows to the Lord.
We come from busy lives, filled with every variety of burdens and blessings. But here in this place and in this time is where you find release, restoration, healing.
Lord, you have called us here this day for healing, hope, and transformation. As we listen to the Scripture, pray our prayers, sing our songs, and hear the words of wisdom, open our hearts to hear your claim on our lives; that we may fully and joyfully serve you. AMEN.
Songs
Prayer
CONFESSION
Merciful God, we become so enamored of the glitz and glitter of the world. It is as though our lives are lived according to an Amazon Prime Day deal. We have so much and want so much more. We listen to the pitches in the media about the latest and best of everything, and rather than striving to serve you more faithfully, we strive to gather more and more possessions. Forgive us. Break the bonds and chains of our culture around us. Open our hearts to know that the riches of the kingdom are in service to you. Help us to understand the call you have given us to service, and having heard and understood that call, may we be about the work of the kingdom. For we offer this prayer in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
Jesus understands our cries and our weakness. He forgives and heals our souls. In the name of Jesus Christ, we are healed and transformed. AMEN.
Practicing the Way of Jesus
Following Jesus
Today's Message: Pastors Marlee Page and Dave Page
Good morning church! Today, we begin our brand-new series “Following Jesus” based John Mark Comer’s book Practicing the Way of Jesus. If you have picked up this book since we’ve been discussing its use, you will undoubtedly have discovered that it gives us a very powerful perspective on what it means to follow Jesus—not just as believers, but as apprentices of Christ. Apprentice is a word we want to focus on over the next several weeks. The term “disciple” has, over time, lost its some of its depth and meaning. It has become more of an identity label rather than a way of life. Comer reminds us that Jesus didn’t come to call us to simply believe a set of doctrines or attend church once a week. He came to invite us into a way of life—His way of life. We have been very intentional to follow up our opening series of messages around the idea of living a lopsided life, with this next series that will focus on just exactly how to do that in the context of following Jesus.
In this first message, we want to explore why apprenticeship to Jesus is essential, especially in today’s culture. What does it really mean to be an apprentice of Christ? How does apprenticeship reshape our lives? And how we can begin to live this calling practically in our everyday lives? These are some of the questions this book tackles and we think you will find great value in what you will discover. We certainly have.
1. Christian or Apprentice.
Let’s start by looking at a question that Comer poses early on the book and it’s simply this:
Are you a Christian or an Apprentice?
It’s an important question for us to wrestle with at the outset of this journey we will take together. Are you a Christian or an apprentice of Jesus? Now, some of you might be asking yourself, what’s the difference? Or, why does it matter? I believe therefore I’m a Christian. That should be enough, right? Comer points out a really important distinction for us to bet aware of in the western church in the 21st century and it’s this: You will only find the word ‘Christian’ used 3 times in the Bible. The word disciple or apprentice you will find approximately 269 times. Now, that fact alone should cause us to, at the very least, consider that there is something for us to learn or relearn perhaps about this idea of one apprenticing Jesus or that there may actually be a process of becoming like Jesus for us to be aware of. Something deeper than believing only. Allow us to read a small portion of the opening pages of the book to you where Comer discusses this:
“The word Christian literally means “little Christ” (or “mini Messiah”), which is beautiful. It was originally used as a religious epithet to mock followers of The Way. But over time, our spiritual ancestors embraced the slur and used it to self-identify as those devoted to the imitation of Christ…Here’s the problem: That is no longer what the word conveys to many people today. To many in the West, a Christian is just someone who mentally ascribes to the bare bones of Christianity… may or may not occasionally attend church.”
A Christian he notes would live with the understanding that
“Jesus Christ was divine and part of a Trinity, that Christ died for the sins of the world, and that faith in this doctrine is necessary for one to gain salvation; this is a foundation almost all are familiar with.”…then Comer says this, “But what’s striking about this foundation that almost all are familiar with is that it includes absolutely nothing about following Jesus and intending to obey him.”
The label ‘Christian’ is one Jesus never used. He said, “Whoever wants to be my apprentice…” not “Whoever wants to put your hand up to become a Christian”
Let’s look at an example of this:
The Invitation to Apprenticeship (Matthew 4:18-22)
Let’s start by looking at Matthew 4:18-22, where we see Jesus’ first invitation to discipleship:
Scripture Reading: Matthew 4:18-22
Jesus Calls His First Disciples
18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.
21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James, son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Don’t miss the significance of this moment. Jesus calls these men not to attend a religious seminar or simply to hear His teaching from afar, but to follow Him. In the Jewish context, this meant something very specific. Jesus wasn’t just asking them to believe in Him as a rabbi, He was inviting them into apprenticeship. In that culture, to follow a rabbi meant to apprentice under them, to live with them, observe their life, and learn their ways so that one day you could become like them.
The same call that Jesus gave to Peter, Andrew, James, and John is the call He gives to each of us today, “Come, follow me.” But notice something quite different with their response as opposed to how we sometimes respond. When Jesus calls them, they immediately drop their nets and follow Him. Apprenticeship to Jesus requires a response—it demands a change in priority and a reordering of our lives.
For many today, we can be tempted to compartmentalize our faith. We believe in Jesus, but we continue to live according to our own rhythms, values, and priorities. The call to follow Jesus is a call to live as He lived. It’s not just about believing the right things, but it’s allowing the believing to create a deep hunger for learning to walk in His ways every day. Apprenticeship is about adopting Jesus’ teachings, His practices, and His lifestyle.
2. Learning the Way of Jesus (John 8:31-32)
Now, let’s turn to John 8:31-32, where Jesus gives us a clear description of what it means to be His disciple.
John 8:31-32
“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”
Take note of these works “hold to my teaching.” To be an apprentice of Jesus means to commit to learning and living out what He taught. It’s about more than listening to sermons or attending Bible studies, it’s about allowing the teachings of Jesus to shape every area of our lives.
In this first part of his book, John Mark Comer emphasizes that Jesus’ way of life was not just theoretical, it was practical. Jesus himself practiced certain disciplines and ways of living: prayer, fasting, Sabbath, and living in community. If we are going to truly be apprentices of Jesus then we, too, need to adopt these practices. They are essential to the kind of transformation that Jesus promises.
Practices, doing. Here’s why this is so important. In our western context, we’ve often reduced discipleship to an intellectual pursuit. We focus on learning more information about God, but we neglect the practices that form us into the image of Christ. Comer reminds us that Jesus was not just a teacher of ideas but a teacher of a way of life. So, when He says, “come, follow me,” the invitation is not only to believe His words but also to practice them in our daily lives.
There’s a specific reason we wanted to include this passage from John’s gospel in the message today. This passage in John reveals the result of this kind of discipleship: freedom. Jesus says, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Here’s something that I, and countless other followers of Jesus, have come to find; the more we follow His teachings and practices, the more we experience the freedom of living in alignment with God’s design for our lives. This freedom is not just spiritual but holistic. It affects our emotional, relational, and even physical well-being.
3. The Necessity of Abiding in Jesus (John 15:4-5)
Turn a little further into John’s gospel – John 15:4-5, where Jesus uses the metaphor of the vine and branches:
John 15:4-5
“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
On more than a few occasions this past year, we have intentionally used this word ‘abide’ with you. Abide in Jesus. Comer writes firstly about the importance of being with Jesus as the foundation of discipleship. Apprenticeship to Jesus starts with presence, with spending time with Him. Whether that be time spent in prayer, silence, or Scripture. We cannot hope to become like Jesus or do what Jesus did if we are not consistently abiding in His presence.
An absolute necessity of apprenticing under Jesus is abiding in Jesus. Apprenticing should bear fruit. Something in us should be developing and growing. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit unless it is connected to the vine, we cannot grow in Christlikeness unless we are intimately connected to Jesus through apprenticeship.
Here’s the truth, in a culture of hurry and distraction, we often rush through life without making time to be with Jesus. We need to slow down, simplify our lives, and create space for intentional connection with God. Jesus modeled this for us. He often withdrew to lonely places to pray, even when the demands of His ministry were overwhelming. If Jesus, the Son of God, needed to abide in the Father’s presence, how much more do we?
As we stay connected to Him, His life flows through us, transforming us from the inside out. This fruit that Jesus is speaking of in the passage, includes not only personal transformation (love, joy, peace, etc.) but also our ability to live out His mission in the world. Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing of eternal significance but when we remain in Him, we bear much fruit.
Apprenticeship
Why are we spending so much time here at the outset of this message series. An even broader question to ask is – Why is apprenticeship to Jesus so critical in our world today? One of the central points Comer makes in his book is that information alone is not enough. We live in an age where we have more access to knowledge than ever before—sermons, podcasts, books, and Bible studies are available at our fingertips. Despite all this knowledge, many of us, who would call ourselves Christians, still struggle to live lives of peace, joy, and freedom.
The reason, Comer argues, is that we have separated knowledge from practice. We think that just knowing the right things about Jesus is enough, but Jesus calls us to live what we know. This is why apprenticeship is so important. It’s not just about learning more, it’s about practicing the way of Jesus in our daily lives.
Our world is filled with competing narratives and pressures. We are constantly bombarded with messages that tell us to seek success, comfort, and self-fulfillment. The way of Jesus offers a very, almost radically different path, one of self-denial, service, and surrender to God’s will. To walk this path requires more than intellectual belief, it requires formation through the practices of Jesus.
Application
How then, do we begin to live out this call to apprenticeship in practical ways? Well, for this week, we want you to focus on just one thing; being with Jesus.
Create Space to Be with Jesus, Daily
The first step in apprenticeship is to be with Jesus. This means intentionally creating space in your daily life to be in the presence of Jesus. For some this might look like prayer or Scripture reading. For others, it might simply be a time of silence. But, for each of us, it should mean slowing down, setting aside distractions, and focusing on our relationship with Him.
We are no different than any of you. The business and distractions of life today are often the greatest barriers to spiritual growth. If we want to follow Jesus, we must reorder our priorities to make time for Him. This could mean setting aside a specific time each day – morning or evening – to sit in God’s presence, meditate on His Word, and pray.
Challenge
This week, commit to spending time each day in intentional, undistracted time with Jesus. Whether it’s in the morning, during your lunch break, or before bed, make this a priority. Begin with prayer and Scripture, Psalm 1, right in the middle of your Bible, might be really helpful for you, and then ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you and guide you in becoming more like Jesus. Don’t make it more complicated than that. Just commit to the intent of being with Jesus.
Church family, Jesus is calling each of us to be more than just believers. He is calling us to be apprentices—to follow Him, learn from Him, and practice His way of life. This is not an optional extra for the “super-spiritual,” it is the essence of what it means to be a Christian. This past week on Thursday evenings, we began to meet to study the “Practicing the Way Course.” Each of you are invited to attend as well on Thursday evening at either 5:30pm if you want to join us for a meal first or at 6:15pm for the course.
How are you responding to Jesus’ call to “come, follow me”, to reorder our lives around His teachings and practices? As we travel through the book and this teaching series with you, our prayer is that we will experience the deep transformation that only comes from ‘Practicing the Way of Jesus.”
Let’s pray.
Prayer
God of infinite patience and wisdom, we come to you with so many things that claim our time, our energy, our resources, our very lives. We are easily drawn away from serving you by the enticements of the world for wealth, ease, and comfort. Just like the young man in the scriptures, we are owned by our possessions, held captive by our treasures. You continue to offer us healing and hope. You seek to transform our lives from captivity to freedom in witness and service. We look at the world, in which there is so very much warfare and strife, anger and hatred, and we easily become overwhelmed by the needs and the stresses. Help us to place our lives and our trust in you, knowing that with your help, many wonderful things can be accomplished which will provide hope and peace for others and ourselves. Give us courage and strength to truly be your disciples. For we ask this in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.
Song
Benediction
You have been made free by the love of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Go into the world to serve God by helping others. Be at peace and bring God’s peace and love with you wherever you go. AMEN.