Let's go an Adventure! | Learning Guide

February 5th, 2023

Watch last week's message here

Title

Let's go on an Adventure!​

Text

Mark 1:14-20 (NET)

Introduction:

The beginning of Tolkien's classic tale, The Lord of the Rings, focuses on four young Hobbits: Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin. These little guys were living fairly unassuming lives, rooted in their small community, working menial jobs. And seemed pretty content with the lives they were living.

But then, Gandalf comes to their village promising an adventure for Frodo and it takes nearly no encouragement for the other three to tag along. Upon hearing this ‘call to adventure’, images of glory, fortune and fame filled the minds of the hobbits. They were excited and ready to see where this adventure would take them! Little did they know what this adventure had in store.

I like to think of the first four disciples as hobbits, eager for an adventure that they thought might bring glory and power. Simon, Andrew, James and John, would have had similar visions of adventure when Jesus calls them. A traveling Rabbi who comes into their sleepy villages and promises the chance at an adventure outside of their immediate context is all they need in order to follow Jesus. Now as we know, their expectations may not have fallen in line with what Jesus was actually calling them towards. Today we are going to be looking at the possible expectations that the disciples, and we, can carry into a life of following Jesus. Then, we are going to look at how Jesus’ actual call to follow is one that subverts our expectations. What is actually on promise for us when we accept our own, ‘call to adventure’.

Grace and peace,

Betty and the teaching team

Big Idea:

When Jesus says “Follow me,” he calls us to be co-laborers and students. Following Jesus is a journey of discipleship– a journey of learning and unlearning. It is a journey of witness and with-ness.

Take Away:

Choosing to follow Jesus is to begin a never-ending journey of learning from God about how to bring God’s kingdom into reality. When we are with Jesus we are empowered to be co-laborers with him by living our lives with the intention of bringing beauty, order, and abundance alongside our community of fellow disciples.

How does this fit with Belong, Become, Believe?

Jesus calls us first to belong to him– to find our identity with God and with the community of fellow disciples. It is through our growing relationship with God and others that we become who God created us to be. This is a long journey that involves a lot of unlearning as we continue to learn from Jesus and listen to the Spirit. These experiences with God and with others inform what we believe.

Resources

• Futureville by Skye Jethani

• Faithful Presence by David Fitch

• The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard

What's Next?

We explore the key “sermon” of Jesus movement, the Sermon on the Mount.

Contact Grace Church NWA here