Jesus and We: Part 1 - "Faith-Filled, Big-Thinking" with Craig Groeschel - LifeChurch.tv

Faith-Filled, Big-Thinking, Bet-the-Farm Risk-Takers

Scripture References

Primary text

• Mark 6:5-6
• Luke 7:9

Other references

• Hebrews 11:6
• Hebrews 11:1
• Hebrews 11:8

Overview

God is pleased by daring faith, not by cautious comfort. Looking at two moments when Jesus was “amazed”—once by Nazareth’s lack of belief and once by a Roman centurion’s bold trust—the message challenges each listener to abandon small thinking and safe living. Through three faith-building facts, practical self-evaluation, and vivid stories, we are invited to become a church that prays, plans, and acts in ways that only God’s power can accomplish.

Context

This sermon opens a four-week series on the shared “we” values of the church. Week one focuses on cultivating audacious faith for the new year.

Main Points

The Refrain

“We are faith-filled, big-thinking, bet-the-farm risk-takers. We will never insult God with small thinking or safe living.”

1. Jesus Is Amazed by Faith—Great or Little

• In Nazareth (Mark 6), Jesus marvelled at unbelief; few miracles followed.
• In Capernaum (Luke 7), He marvelled at the centurion’s confidence that a word alone could heal; the servant was restored.
• Question for reflection: If Jesus examined your past week, would He be amazed by bold faith or stunned by its absence?

2. You Cannot Play It Safe and Please God

• Hebrews 11:6: without faith, pleasing God is impossible.
• Faith is often messy—moments of certainty can be followed by waves of doubt.

• Illustration: At a family camp “faith step” tower, Craig rededicated his life mid-prayer before stepping off the platform—terror and thrill intermingled.

• Fear of failure immobilizes many; yet failing can be the first step toward discovering God’s will (Peter walked on water before he sank).

3. As Long as You Have a Guarantee, You Don’t Have Faith

• Hebrews 11:1: faith is confident hope, not visible proof.
• We often crave a “pre-ask” guarantee, like passing a childhood note asking, “If I asked, would you say yes?”
• “You can have faith or you can have control, but you can’t have both.”

• Story: Learning to slack-rope walk—letting go of the tree revealed both risk and exhilaration; progress required release.

4. To Step Toward Your Destiny, Step Away from Your Security

• Hebrews 11:8: Abraham obeyed, not knowing where he was going.
• Personal and corporate applications: starting ministries, adopting, tithing, launching campuses, or sharing Christ all require first steps without full road maps.
• Church-wide vision includes a billion Bible App downloads and planting debt-free campuses—examples of “bet-the-farm” goals.

Key Truths

• Jesus notices and responds to the level of our faith.
• Safe living and God-pleasing faith are mutually exclusive.
• Real faith often feels unstable; its certainty rests in God’s character, not visible outcomes.
• Guarantees eliminate the need for trust.
• Obedience in the unknown positions us for God’s extraordinary work.

Response

• Evaluate your recent prayers and actions; identify one area where only God’s power can bring success.
• Release the need for total control and take the first obedient step God is prompting.
• Pray audacious, specific prayers for others’ healing, salvation, and provision.
• Invest in God’s mission—time, skills, and finances—before you see results.
• Encourage fellow believers to pursue their own “step out of the boat” moments.

Closing

Craig urged the church to refuse small, safe Christianity. Individually and together, we will ask, dream, and risk so that future generations see God’s glory through us. Great faith honors a great God; therefore, we will live so that Heaven is “amazed” by our trust.

“We will seek God for the impossible, believe Him for miracles, and dream that He does exceedingly and abundantly more in and through us.”

Prayer

The congregation thanked God for forgiveness through Christ, surrendered control, and asked the Holy Spirit for boldness to follow wherever He leads, declaring their lives fully His.