Where Do I Belong?
Rev. Brandon Blacksten
Part of Grown Up Bible School
July 18, 2021

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

and accepts us unconditionally.

Week 2: The Calling of the Disciples

Jesus decides who is worthy of love and belonging—and he has decided

is, including you!

Who Needs Belonging?

We long to belong, yet we resist

on others.

God saw that it was

for people to be alone. (Gen. 2:18)

We have an innate need for love and

, yet we face obstacles.

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

around himself.

He saw Simon on the seashore and asked to go out on his

with him. (Luke 5:1-3)

When you read the Bible, ask

: Why would Simon take orders from Jesus? (Luke 4:38-39)

After he finished teaching, Jesus helped Simon catch

fish than his nets could hold. (Luke 5:4-7)

Simon was

and fell at Jesus’ feet. (Luke 5:8-9)

Simon Peter’s obstacle:

. (Luke 5:10-11)

Our sense of

and unworthiness can keep us from experiencing belonging.

Jesus saw Simon as

to follow him.

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

and traitorous collaborators with Rome.

Levi’s obstacle: his

and his . (Luke 5:27-28)

Jesus only spoke two words to him: “

me.”

When the Obstacle is a Person

Levi threw a banquet and invited his tax collector

. (Luke 5:29-30)

The tax collectors’ obstacle:

.

Though perhaps well-intentioned, the Pharisees were trying to keep

people God welcomed.

The other obstacle:

. (Luke 5:31-32)

[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

of Jesus’ Kingdom.

Life in Jesus’ Community

What we want children to know: I can have

because I belong.

What we want adults to know: everyone is

as they are.

We are a community that Welcomes

, Loves , and Lets Our Light .

The sign of our belonging is

.

Action Steps

  1. Take a to enter into relationship.
  2. When you feel , pray, “Jesus, thank you for saying I belong in your Kingdom.”
  3. Open a door for someone on the outside to .