Life with Jesus (Vision Sunday)

Adam Pursel

January 11, 2026

John

Community, Discipleship, Growing in your faith

Sermon Summary

Life with Jesus (Vision Sunday)

Big Idea: You’re invited to life with Jesus.

Question: Are you in?

Quick Recap: Jesus (Son, King, Savior)

We began by circling back to Christmas Eve and remembering who Jesus is.

Jesus is the Son of God — the eternal Son of the Most High.
Jesus is the King — God gives Him the throne, and His kingdom has no end.
Jesus is the Savior — He rescues sinners by grace and gives real life with God.

New Design: Adopted, Transferred, Rescued

When you’re “in” through faith, Jesus makes you a new person and gives you a new identity.

Adopted — not the eternal Son like Jesus, but truly brought into God’s family as sons and daughters.
Transferred — your citizenship is now in heaven; you belong to Jesus’ kingdom as a subject of the King and a member of the royal family.
Rescued — saved from sin and death because Jesus paid the penalty for our sin on the cross.

New Desires: Enjoy God’s Love, Prioritize God’s Will, Rely on God’s Grace

That new identity produces new purpose and new desires.

Enjoy God’s love — as adopted children, friendship with God becomes our primary “why.”
Prioritize God’s will — as citizens of Jesus’ kingdom, His priorities come first.
Rely on God’s grace — as rescued people, we live dependent on Christ, not our own strength.

Habits, Events, and Moments

We talked about the difference between habits (regular patterns), events (occasional opportunities), and moments (times when God meets His people in fresh, powerful ways).

The goal is not to chase moments, but to live with faithful habits and meaningful events that align with our identity in Christ—trusting God to meet us as He chooses.

New Practices: Four Areas for 2026

The second half of the message gave a practical “menu” of next steps. These are not the purpose—but practices that help us live out our purpose: enjoying God’s love, prioritizing God’s will, and relying on God’s grace.

1) Make Changes

Get saved — for some, the change needed is to say “yes” to Jesus for the first time. Life with Jesus is offered by grace, and today can be the day you step in.
Get serious — for others, the change is moving from casual faith to serious, intentional discipleship.
Practice: Word and prayer — normal Christian life includes time in Scripture and prayer. If you’re starting from zero, start small (even the verse of the day), and build faithful consistency.
Practice: Gather with the church — make Sunday worship a habit, not a leftover option.
Practice: Fight sin (don’t settle) — we all still sin, but there’s a difference between settling in sin and struggling against it with repentance, prayer, and dependence on God’s grace.

2) Make Disciples

Life Groups — a primary way we make disciples is in smaller community: Scripture, prayer, care, encouragement, and accountability. This is the best time to jump in because groups are launching fresh.
Lead a group — if you’re walking faithfully with Jesus, the challenge is: why not take the next step toward leading and helping others grow?
Life Teams — serving is good for our hearts and helps the church family lock arms to welcome people, disciple kids, run ministries with excellence, and make Jesus known.
Generosity — God calls His people to intentional generosity toward the mission of disciple-making. Be prayerful, deliberate, and start somewhere.

3) Marriage and Family

Marriage enrichment, not just crisis care — we want to help marriages thrive, not only respond when things fall apart.
Grace Marriage Life Group (coming) — a longer-term (once-a-month) pathway aimed at strengthening marriages over time.
Marriage Conference (Feb 12–14) — a focused opportunity to invest in your marriage, even if things are “good,” because good can become better.
Parenting perspective — preparing kids for the world matters, but helping them know Jesus and live from their identity in Him matters more than career success.
Specialized groups (coming) — Celebrate Recovery and GriefShare were mentioned as developing opportunities for support and discipleship.

4) Missions

Evangelism training (Feb 1) — practical help for sharing the gospel with “your one.”
Take a trip — mission trips were presented as an “event” opportunity: step outside your comfort zone so others might hear about Jesus and experience life with Him.
Why not you? — don’t dismiss missions as “not for me.” Ask the Lord what obedience could look like this year.

Application

What is one change Jesus is inviting you to make this week so you can enjoy God’s love more deeply, prioritize His will more fully, and rely on His grace more honestly?

Lifegroup Guide

Warm-Up

When you hear the phrase “life with Jesus,” what comes to mind—comfort, challenge, confusion, excitement?
Would you say your faith has been more “serious” or more “casual” lately? Why?

Read

John 15:9–11
Matthew 6:33
John 15:5
2 Corinthians 9:8
Ephesians 2:8–10
1 Peter 1:8–9

Observation

What repeated words or themes do you notice in these passages (love/abide, seek first, fruit, grace, faith, joy)?
In John 15:5, what does Jesus say is possible “apart from me”?
In Matthew 6:33, what comes first—and what does Jesus promise will follow?

Interpretation

The sermon said: You’re invited to life with Jesus. What do you think that means beyond “going to heaven someday”?
How does being adopted, transferred, and rescued reshape a Christian’s identity?
Why are practices (habits/events) helpful—but not the ultimate point?

Application

Which of the “new desires” do you most need right now?
- Enjoy God’s love
- Prioritize God’s will
- Rely on God’s grace
Which category of “new practices” is Jesus pressing on for you right now?
- Make changes
- Make disciples
- Marriage and family
- Missions
What is one concrete next step you can take in the next 7 days (not 7 months)?
Where are you most tempted to settle instead of struggle—and what would repentance look like this week?
If you’re not currently in a Life Group or serving on a Life Team, what’s one obstacle in the way—and what step could you take to remove it?

Prayer

Pray that your group would be “all in” on life with Jesus in 2026. Ask God to deepen your enjoyment of His love, strengthen your desire to prioritize His will, and grow your dependence on His grace. Pray for specific changes, disciple-making opportunities, marriages/families, and mission boldness.

Memory Verse

John 15:5 — “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

Lifegroup Guide

Warm-Up

When you hear the phrase “life with Jesus,” what comes to mind—comfort, challenge, confusion, excitement?
Would you say your faith has been more “serious” or more “casual” lately? Why?

Read

John 15:9–11
Matthew 6:33
John 15:5
2 Corinthians 9:8
Ephesians 2:8–10
1 Peter 1:8–9

Observation

What repeated words or themes do you notice in these passages (love/abide, seek first, fruit, grace, faith, joy)?
In John 15:5, what does Jesus say is possible “apart from me”?
In Matthew 6:33, what comes first—and what does Jesus promise will follow?

Interpretation

The sermon said: You’re invited to life with Jesus. What do you think that means beyond “going to heaven someday”?
How does being adopted, transferred, and rescued reshape a Christian’s identity?
Why are practices (habits/events) helpful—but not the ultimate point?

Application

Which of the “new desires” do you most need right now?
- Enjoy God’s love
- Prioritize God’s will
- Rely on God’s grace
Which category of “new practices” is Jesus pressing on for you right now?
- Make changes
- Make disciples
- Marriage and family
- Missions
What is one concrete next step you can take in the next 7 days (not 7 months)?
Where are you most tempted to settle instead of struggle—and what would repentance look like this week?
If you’re not currently in a Life Group or serving on a Life Team, what’s one obstacle in the way—and what step could you take to remove it?

Prayer

Memory Verse

John 15:5 — “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

You’re Invited to Life with Jesus

Vision Sunday Sermon Transcript

Thank you. Well, Merry Christmas and welcome to Lifepoint Church. We’re so glad you’re here this evening to pause and celebrate Christmas—the coming of our Savior and King, Jesus Christ. If it’s your first time, we’re really glad you’re here. If you’ve been here a million times, we’re glad you’re here too. If we haven’t met yet, my name is Adam Purcell, and I get to serve as the lead pastor here.

Here’s the big idea for our time together tonight: It’s easy to forget your why.

I’m 46 years old. Some of you think, “Wow, he’s young.” Others think, “Wow, he made it.” What I’ve learned is this—it’s astonishingly easy to forget your why. Your purpose. Why you’re here drawing breath.

So here’s a question I want you to think about: Are you living yours?

To help us think about this, imagine a timeline. Let’s say it starts at zero and goes to 80—roughly the average lifespan in the United States. Some of you are in the first quarter. Some of you are at halftime. Some of you are deep into the second half. Wherever you are, something can happen over time: a disconnect between what we do and why we’re here.

Our culture is busy. It’s polite to ask, “How are you doing?” And my go-to answer has become, “Busy, but good.” And that’s true. Life is busy. And life is good. But when life is filled with constant doing—doing, doing, doing—it becomes shockingly easy to forget our purpose.

For many of us, life feels like that scene from Home Alone, where everyone oversleeps and the frantic music starts, and they’re sprinting to the airport. That kind of frantic pace becomes normal. And when it does, we forget our why.

Tonight, as we turn briefly to Luke chapter 1, we’re going to focus on two things. First, what do we learn about Jesus? And second, what if it were possible for people like you and me to find our why in Him?

Before we read, let’s pray.

Prayer:
Father in heaven, we thank You for the privilege of being here together to celebrate Christmas. As we turn our attention to Your Word, we need Your help. By Your Spirit, help us find our purpose in Your Son and faithfully follow Him all our days. We pray this in His holy name. Amen.

Luke 1:26–33 tells us that the angel Gabriel was sent by God to Mary and announced that she would conceive and bear a son named Jesus.

From Gabriel’s words, we learn three things about Jesus.

Jesus Is the Son of God

Gabriel tells Mary that Jesus will be called the Son of the Most High. Jesus is the eternal, perfect Son of God.

Jesus Is the King

Gabriel also says that God will give Jesus the throne of His father David, and He will reign forever. Jesus is the coming—and eternal—King.

Jesus Is the Savior

This is implied here and made explicit throughout the Gospels. The name Jesus—Yeshua—means “The Lord saves.” Even in His name, we see His mission: to rescue the Father’s people.

Jesus, as the perfect Son, fully enjoyed the Father’s love. As King, He perfectly prioritized the Father’s will. And as Savior, He came to rescue sinners.

New Design: Adopted, Transferred, Rescued

Through faith in Jesus, we’re invited to belong to Him. And when we do, something changes.

We are adopted into God’s family—not as eternal sons like Jesus, but as true sons and daughters.

We are transferred into the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Our citizenship changes. We belong to His kingdom now.

And we are rescued from sin and death through His work on the cross.

New Desires: Our True Purpose

That new identity gives us new purpose.

As adopted children, our purpose is to enjoy God’s love. Not earn it. Not prove ourselves worthy of it. Simply enjoy friendship with God.

As citizens of Jesus’ kingdom, our purpose is to prioritize God’s will. Not perfectly—but genuinely.

As rescued people, our purpose is to rely on God’s grace. Not our strength. Not our ingenuity. His grace.

What if you woke up every day remembering that your purpose is to enjoy God’s love, prioritize His will, and rely on His grace? How might that reframe the frantic pace of life?

Habits, Events, and Moments

Habits are regular rhythms. Events are occasional opportunities. Moments are when God shows up in a powerful, personal way.

The goal is not to chase moments. God brings those as He chooses. But there is a strong correlation between faithful habits and meaningful moments.

New Practices for 2026

These practices are not the purpose. They are pathways that help us live out our purpose.

Make Changes

For some, the change needed is simple: get saved. Say yes to Jesus for the first time.

For others, it’s time to get serious. Move from casual Christianity to intentional discipleship.

This includes habits like Scripture and prayer, gathering regularly with the church, and fighting sin—not settling in it, but struggling against it with repentance and grace.

Make Disciples

Life Groups are a primary way we grow and make disciples together.

Some of you are ready to lead. Others need to serve on a Life Team. And generosity is part of partnering in disciple-making.

Marriage and Family

We want to strengthen marriages—not just rescue them in crisis.

Opportunities like the Marriage Conference, Grace Marriage Life Group, Celebrate Recovery, and GriefShare are part of that commitment.

Parents, preparing your kids for the world matters—but preparing them to know Jesus matters more.

Missions

We’re offering evangelism training, mission trips, and local opportunities to share the gospel.

The question isn’t, “Why me?” It’s, “Why not me?”

Closing

You’re invited to life with Jesus.

Are you in?

Prayer:
Father, thank You for the gift of life with You through Jesus. Help us believe, help us be serious about our faith, and help us make changes that align with Your purposes. May 2026 be marked by enjoying Your love, prioritizing Your will, and relying on Your grace. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.