JESUS CAME FOR SINNERS

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LIVING PROOF INLAND EMPIRE CRUSADE

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MEETING AGENDA

  1. OPENING PRAYER – Ask one person to open the meeting in prayer.
  2. GROWTH QUESTIONS – Ask everyone the Growth Questions.
  3. ATTENDANCE – Take attendance through the DG Attendance System.
  4. TODAY’S LESSON – Go over this week’s DG lesson.
  5. GIVING – Encourage everyone to give on the App.
  6. CLOSING PRAYER – Ask for prayer requests and pray.

GROWTH QUESTION #1

Who would like to share a highlight, praise report, or testimony from this week?

GROWTH QUESTION #2

What did you learn from this week’s sermon?

GROWTH QUESTION #3

What was your most important accomplishment this week?

TODAY’S PASSAGE:

Luke 5:27-32 (NLT) 27 Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. 28 So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him. 29 Later, Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi’s fellow tax collectors and other guests also ate with them. 30 But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with such scum?” 31 Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. 32 I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”

Opening question

What stands out to you in this story?

Introduction

Many people wrongly believe they need to “get their life together” before coming to Jesus.

This passage directly confronts that lie!

Jesus does not wait for sinners to become righteous.

He calls us just as we are and then transforms us through relationship and obedience.

Truth #1

YOU DON’T HAVE TO CLEAN YOURSELF UP BEFORE YOU COME TO JESUS!

Luke 5:27-28a (NLT) – Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him.

Jesus initiates the call while Levi is still sinning.
  • Levi is actively working as a tax collector—a role associated with greed, injustice, and betrayal—when Jesus calls him.
  • Jesus does not wait to see repentance before extending the invitation.

Grace comes before transformation.
  • Levi’s life changes after Jesus calls him, not before.
  • The call itself becomes the launching point for true repentance and obedience.
Jesus meets people in ordinary, broken places.
  • Levi is not in a synagogue or prayer meeting—he is at his booth.
  • Jesus steps into real life, not ideal conditions.
Religion says “change, then come”; Jesus says “come, then change.”
  • This is the core distinction between legalism and relationship.
  • Romans 5:8 NLT – But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
Jesus does not shame, He saves.
  • Jesus does not shame Levi publicly or privately before calling him.
  • Grace confronts sin without crushing the sinner.
  • John 6:37 NCB – “…Anyone who comes to me I will never turn away.”
Waiting to be ‘good enough’ delays obedience.
  • If Levi waited until his life looked righteous, he would never have followed Jesus.
Delayed obedience often disguises unbelief.

INTERACTIVE QUESTIONS

What’s something people often think they need to fix about themselves before coming to God?

Truth #2

FOLLOWING JESUS MEANS LEAVING EVERYTHING BEHIND!


Luke 5:28b (NLT) – So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him.

Levi’s response is immediate and decisive.
  • There is no negotiation, delay, or partial commitment.
  • The word “left” implies permanent abandonment, not temporary pause.
  • Unlike Peter, James and John, fishermen by trade, there was no going back for Levi.
  • Once he abandoned his post, he could never go back.
Levi leaves a lucrative and secure lifestyle.
  • Tax collectors were wealthy and protected by Rome.
  • Following Jesus cost Levi comfort, income, and status.
Following Jesus is not an addition—it is a replacement.
  • Jesus does not become one priority among many; He becomes the priority.
  • Luke 14:33 NLT – “So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.”
What we leave reveals what we value.
  • Levi’s willingness to walk away shows that encountering Jesus reorders his values instantly.
Leaving does not mean loss—it means exchange.
  • Levi loses a booth but gains a new identity, purpose, and future.
  • Philippians 3:7–8 NLT – 7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.
Discipleship always involves surrender.
  • Salvation is free, but following Jesus costs us control and ownership of our lives.

INTERACTIVE QUESTIONS

When you hear the phrase “left everything,” what kinds of things do you think people struggle most to leave behind today?

Truth #3

JESUS CAME FOR SINNERS!


Luke 5:31-32 (NLT) – 31 Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. 32 I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”

Jesus openly associates with sinners because that is His mission.
  • The religious leaders are offended not by Jesus’ teaching, but by who He spends time with.
  • Jesus makes it clear that His presence among sinners is intentional, not careless.
The Pharisees see separation as holiness; Jesus reveals compassion as holiness.
  • They avoid sinners to protect their righteousness. Jesus enters sinners’ lives to restore them.
Jesus uses a medical metaphor to explain salvation.
  • Just as doctors go where sickness is, Jesus goes where sin is.
  • Avoiding sinners would contradict His purpose.
Self-righteousness blinds people to their need for salvation.
  • Jesus says He did not come for those who think they are righteous, because they see no need to repent.
Repentance begins with honest self-awareness.
  • Those who recognize their sin are the ones who respond to Jesus’ call. Pride keeps people distant; humility draws them near.
The gospel is good news precisely because it is for sinners.
  • 1 Timothy 1:15 (NLT) — “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—and I am the worst of them all.”




INTERACTIVE QUESTIONS

 Why do you think it can be harder for someone who thinks they are “a good person” to recognize their need for Jesus?

CLOSING QUESTION

What’s one thing you are taking away from this lesson that you can apply to your life this week?

GIVING

God provides the seed for planting and ensures an abundant harvest. In the same way, we can count on Him to multiply our resources for the purpose of sharing generously with others.

2 Corinthians 9:10 (NLT)

For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.

Encourage everyone to give their tithes and offerings.

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PRAY

QUESTION #1

Who are you praying for to be saved?

QUESTION #2

Who can you invite to the next meeting?

QUESTION #3

What are your prayer requests?