
After this [Jesus] went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up, left everything, and followed him. Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house; and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus answered, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.” —Luke 5:27-32
If our understanding of the Bible never progresses past childhood, our faith will be
Week 1: Who is Jesus? – “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.” – John 10:14
Jesus knows us
Week 2: The Calling of the Disciples
Jesus decides who is worthy of love and belonging—and he has decided
Who Needs Belonging?
We long to belong, yet we resist
God saw that it was
We have an innate need for love and
Our cultural emphasis on personal freedom and self-fulfillment has left many people lonely and emotionally fragile. —Christine Pohl
Who is Worthy?
Jesus began his ministry alone, but quickly created a
He saw Simon on the seashore and asked to go out on his
When you read the Bible, ask
After he finished teaching, Jesus helped Simon catch
Simon was
Simon Peter’s obstacle:
Our sense of
Jesus saw Simon as
If we want to fully experience love and belonging, we must believe that we are worthy of love and belonging. —Brené Brown
Can People with a Past Belong?
Later, Jesus and his disciples came upon a
Toll collectors were seen as
Levi’s obstacle: his
Jesus only spoke two words to him: “
When the Obstacle is a Person
Levi threw a banquet and invited his tax collector
The tax collectors’ obstacle:
Though perhaps well-intentioned, the Pharisees were trying to keep
The other obstacle:
[Jesus] did not move through Galilean society, handpicking the most religious, most virtuous, or most popular to follow him. He built his movement from the castoffs of society. —R. Alan Culpepper
Nothing—not our sense of unworthiness, our past, our status, or other people—can keep us
Life in Jesus’ Community
What we want children to know: I can have
What we want adults to know: everyone is
We are a community that Welcomes
The sign of our belonging is
Action Steps
- Take a
- When you feel
- Open a door for someone on the outside to