05/29/2026
Good morning, good people of God!
Two friends were talking about trying to be healthier. One of them said, “I’ve discovered the secret to dieting. Every night before bed, I eat a salad.” The other friend said, “That sounds healthy.” The man replied, “Oh, it is. I eat the salad while I’m waiting for the pizza to arrive!”
Many people like the idea of following Jesus. We want faith when life gets hard. We want comfort when we are grieving. We want hope when we are discouraged. But we also tend to want discipleship that fits into our leftover spaces. We want to give Christ our spare time, our spare change, and our leftover energy after everything else is done.
The bottom line for this week’s message is: “Discipleship is more than spare time and spare change.” Our scripture focus is Matthew 28:16–20. Here in this passage, Jesus expresses what we have come to call the Great Commission. He gathers ordinary followers and sends them into the world with an extraordinary purpose: “Go and make disciples of all the nations.” This is not a hobby or a side gig. It is our core mission.
Jesus does not tell us to maintain church buildings, keep committees running, or preserve religious denominations. He does not say anything about our comfort, convenience, or tradition. He says to make disciples and share the love and salvation of God with the world.
Jesus taught that everything is summed up in loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and loving our neighbor as ourselves. A growing and living faith is not simply about attending worship or agreeing with certain beliefs. It is about a life shaped by love. And real love always compels us to do more than what is simply required. Real love inspires us to give our best.
When explaining what it means to love both God and neighbor, Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritan went out of his way, both literally and figuratively, to help someone in need. It cost the Samaritan time, money, and energy. He did not offer the man in the ditch his spare time or spare change. He offered compassion, attention, and sacrifice. And that’s what Jesus is talking about when He says the two greatest commandments are to love God and love our neighbor.
Christian discipleship will cost us something. It may mean serving when we are tired, forgiving when it is hard, giving when it feels difficult, or loving people who are not easy to love.
But it is in this way of living that we discover the deep joy of following Jesus. The Christian life becomes small and shallow when we fit it in only around the edges of our lives. But it becomes meaningful and life-changing when we place Christ at the center of who we are and how we live.
Corrie ten Boom once wrote, “The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration, but its donation.” Faithful discipleship is not about how little we can give while still calling ourselves Christians. It is about offering ourselves fully to Christ and trusting that God can use even our ordinary acts of love and service to change the world.
Near the end of his life, John Wesley gave this challenge: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can.” That kind of faith is not built on leftovers. It is built on wholehearted devotion to Christ.
I love getting to be the pastor of this loving church in this great community. If you need prayer, encouragement, or someone to talk with about your faith, your struggles, or your relationship with Christ, please reach out to me. And if you are feeling a nudge to know Christ for the first time, to renew your relationship with Christ, or to join this wonderful church family, I would love to talk with you.
Together, our goal is to live simply, love generously, serve faithfully, and leave everything else to God.
In the love and service of Christ,
Dr. Eric
