June 22, 2025

Luke 17:1-19

What Does it Mean to Follow Jesus?

Sunday Sermons

When Jesus speaks, disciples lean in. Not just because His words are powerful, but because they are also personal. Luke 17 is one of those moments. Jesus isn’t speaking to the crowds here—He’s talking to His disciples. To those who claim to follow Him.

What He says isn’t flashy or sensational. It’s not the kind of content that trends or would go viral. But it is the kind of teaching that builds the deep foundation of a resilient, joyful, Christ-centered life. In these verses, Jesus gives us a portrait of discipleship that is marked by humility, forgiveness, faith, and a heart that delights in serving beyond what is required.

Then, in a surprising turn, He walked the outskirts of a Samaritan village to show us something even deeper: that true disciples are those who overflow with gratitude—those who return to Jesus, fall at His feet, and glorify God with thankful hearts.

Join Pastor Jim as he helps us consider four characteristics of those who follow Jesus—and one unexpected picture of what it looks like when grace really takes root. Because Jesus isn’t merely calling us to believe in certain facts about Him—He’s calling us to follow Him in every thought, word and action.

Speaker

Jim Thomas

Series

The Gospel According to Luke

Go to Series

Scripture

Luke 17:1-19

Topics
Community Life Growth & Discipleship

Sermon Notes

Luke 17:1-19

What Does it Mean to Follow Jesus?

Pastor Jim Thomas

1. Followers of Jesus are agents of grace who do not cause others to stumble.

“We all know that there are certain people in whose company it is easy to be good; and that also there are certain people in whose company it is easy for standards to be relaxed.”
William Barclay

2. Followers of Jesus are loving enough to confront and gracious enough to forgive.

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.”
Proverbs 27:6

“When somebody you’ve wronged forgives you, you’re spared the dull and self-diminishing throb of a guilty conscience. When you forgive somebody who has wronged you, you’re spared the dismal corrosion of bitterness and wounded pride. For both parties, forgiveness means the freedom again to be at peace inside their own skins and to be glad in each other’s presence.”
Frederick Buechner

3. Followers of Jesus trust in the object of their faith, not the size or amount of their faith.

“It’s not great faith you need; it is faith in a great God.”
N. T. Wright

“Live near to God, and so all things will appear to you little in comparison with eternal realities.”
Robert Murray M’Cheyne

4. Followers of Jesus delight to do more than just their duty.

“We believe the gospel. For us this means that sacrificial love is not just our duty but our delight.”
David Platt, Radical Together

“I delight to do your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.”
Psalm 40:8

Luke 17:11-19

  1. We all stand in need of God’s help.
  2. Most of the time, the majority of us take God’s manifold kindnesses for granted.
  3. Followers of Jesus form a coalition of the grateful who become eager for the glory of God.

“I was always inclined to think that God’s purposes came about through great leaders, unreasonable men taming the world and defying the odds. Traveling preachers, justice campaigners, people like that. Mostly, however, they don’t. They come about through millions of unnamed people doing unheard-of things, in unnoticeable ways, to the glory of God. Repairing a wall. Teaching a classroom of seven-year-olds. Sweeping a street. Running a business. Raising autistic children. Fixing a dung gate.”
Andrew and Rachel Wilson, The Life We Never Expected

“Let me press you to take the word of God as your rule, the Spirit of God as your guide, the promises of God as your encouragement, and the glory of God as your end.”
Thomas Manton

“Our high and privileged calling is to do the will of God in the power of God for the glory of God.”
J. I. Packer, Rediscovering Holiness

Discussion Questions

  • Pastor Jim pointed out that Luke 17:3 states, “If your brother sins, rebuke him…” which implies a relationship. Why is this important?
  • In Luke 17:5-6, Jesus uses a word picture to teach that the size of your faith does not limit the power of God; likewise, the N.T. Wright quote reminds us that it’s not about the amount of your faith, but the object of your faith. Many people have this backwards, including some who teach that everything hinges on the size of your faith. Have you ever believed that way? How can this damage your walk with God?
  • When Jesus encounters the ten lepers in verses 7-10, He first tells them to show themselves to the priests, and then heals them while they are on their way. How is this different from past healings? What can we learn from this?

Songs, Readings & Prayer

Songs

“Jesus Only Jesus“ by Christy Nockels, Nathan Nockels, Matt Redman, Kristian Stanfill, Chris Tomlin and Tony Wood
“Almost Home“ by Lauren Papa, Matt Boswell, and Matt Papa
“Anchor of Hope“ by Brown Bannister and Ellie Holcomb
“My Heart is Filled with Thankfulness“ by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend
“Doxology” by Thomas Ken and Louis Bourgeois
All songs are used by Permission. CCLI License #2003690

Call To Worship: Eternal God

Eternal God, you set Jesus Christ to rule over all things and made us servants in your kingdom. By Your Spirit, empower us to love the unloved and to minister to all in need. Then, at the last, bring us into your eternal kingdom, where we may worship and adore you and be welcomed into your everlasting joy. We offer this prayer through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Confession of Faith: The Apostles’ Creed – Article II. “He Ascended into Heaven”

LEADER: How should you understand Jesus’ ascension into heaven?

PEOPLE: Jesus was taken up out of human sight and returned in His humanity to the glory He had shared with the Father before His incarnation. There He intercedes for, and receives into heavenly life, all who come to Him in faith. Though absent in body, Jesus is always with me by His Spirit and hears me when I pray.

LEADER: What resulted from the ascension?

PEOPLE: Jesus ascended into heaven so that, through Him, His Father might send us the gift of the Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit, Christians together are united to Christ, the living Head of his Body, the Church.

ACNA, Q. 71-72

Classic Prayer: Thomas a Kempis 1380-1471

Strengthen me, O God, by the grace of Your Holy Spirit; grant me to be strengthened with might in the inner man, and to empty my heart of all useless care and anguish. O Lord, grant me heavenly wisdom, That I may learn above all things to seek and to find You, above all things to relish and cherish You, and to think of all other things as being, what they indeed are, at the disposal of Your wisdom. Amen.

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