Following Jesus · Study Guide
Week Eight
What Is My Place in God's Story?
Your life matters not because you are the center of the story, but because God has graciously given you a place within His story.
Most people eventually ask questions about purpose.
Why am I here? What has God called me to do? Do my abilities matter? How can God use my ordinary life?
This final week of Following Jesus will help us understand our purpose within God's larger story. We will consider our gifts, relationships, experiences, work, resources, opportunities, and ordinary responsibilities as places where faithful discipleship can take shape.
Our purpose is to know and glorify God, become like Jesus Christ, faithfully love and serve the people He places around us, use what He has entrusted to us for His purposes, help others follow Jesus, and live our ordinary lives as part of God's larger story of redemption.
Read Before You Begin
If someone asked, “What do you believe your life is for?” how would you answer?
Teaching Summary
Your Story Begins Inside God's Story
Scripture begins with God, not with us.
— Colossians 1:16
Our lives make the most sense when they are understood within the larger story God is telling.
Purpose begins with God, not with discovering a perfect role for ourselves.
You Were Created in God's Image
— Genesis 1:27
Human value does not come primarily from productivity, accomplishment, wealth, influence, or recognition.
We bear God's image.
That gives every human life dignity before a single achievement is accomplished.
Your First Calling Is to Jesus
— Matthew 4:19
Before asking, “What should I do with my life?” disciples first ask, “Whom am I following?”
Our primary calling is not a career, ministry title, position, or assignment.
Our first calling is to belong to Jesus and faithfully follow Him.
Every Christian Shares a Common Calling
Christians have different gifts, jobs, families, opportunities, and seasons of life.
Yet all disciples are called to love God, love people, pursue holiness, serve, make disciples, pray, forgive, give, worship, and represent Christ.
Much of our purpose is already clear.
You Were Created for Good Works
— Ephesians 2:10
Grace comes first.
We are not saved by good works. We are saved for a life that begins producing them.
Your Purpose Is Larger Than Your Job
Work matters, but a job title is not the full definition of a person's calling.
Jobs change. Careers end. Seasons shift.
A person's calling to know Christ, love people, serve faithfully, and represent Jesus remains.
Ordinary Work Can Become Sacred Service
— Colossians 3:23
Ordinary work can become an arena for faithfulness.
Integrity matters. Excellence matters. How we treat people matters. How we handle responsibility matters.
What would it look like to do this faithfully for the Lord?
Your Relationships Are Part of Your Calling
We sometimes imagine purpose as something large, distant, or public.
But many of our greatest opportunities are already standing in front of us.
Family. Friends. Coworkers. Neighbors. Church members. People who are hurting. People who need encouragement.
Who has God already placed around me?
God Has Given You Gifts
— 1 Corinthians 12:18
God gives different abilities, spiritual gifts, personalities, experiences, and opportunities.
Difference does not mean inferiority.
The body needs many kinds of people.
Gifts Are Given for Service, Not Status
— 1 Peter 4:10
Gifts are not primarily given to make us feel important.
They are given so that others can be strengthened.
Who can I serve with what God has given me?
You May Discover Your Gifts by Serving
Sometimes people wait to understand their gifts perfectly before serving.
Often clarity comes while serving.
Begin helping. Pay attention to what bears fruit, what brings life to others, and what mature believers affirm in you.
Your Experiences Can Become Part of Your Ministry
— 2 Corinthians 1:4
God can use experiences we never would have chosen.
Grief. Failure. Illness. Disappointment. Recovery. Parenting. Loss. Career transitions. Difficult relationships.
God can redeem what we have walked through and use it to help another person.
Your Failures Do Not Automatically Remove You from God's Purposes
Peter failed Jesus dramatically.
Yet Jesus restored him.
— John 21:17
Failure may humble us, teach us, redirect us, and deepen our dependence upon grace.
Your failure does not have to become the final chapter.
Your Weakness Does Not Make You Useless
— 2 Corinthians 12:9
God does not only use naturally impressive people.
Weakness can teach us dependence, humility, prayer, compassion, and reliance upon God's strength.
Your Season Matters
God's assignments can change across the seasons of life.
A student, parent, caregiver, business owner, retiree, ministry leader, or person recovering from illness may each have different opportunities.
Your current season is not meaningless.
Do Not Compare Your Assignment
After Peter was restored, he began asking about John's future.
— John 21:22
Comparison easily distracts us.
Faithfulness is not doing someone else's assignment.
Success in God's Story Means Faithfulness
— Matthew 25:21
God's definition of success is often different from ours.
We tend to measure visibility, numbers, applause, wealth, influence, or recognition.
Scripture repeatedly values faithfulness.
Your Purpose Is Not Fame
Most faithful Christians will never be widely known.
Yet ordinary faithfulness can profoundly affect another person, a family, a church, a workplace, or a future generation.
Hidden faithfulness still matters to God.
Your Resources Are Part of Your Stewardship
Purpose includes what God has placed in our hands.
Time. Money. Knowledge. Experience. Relationships. Property. Skills. Opportunities.
The question is not merely: “What do I own?”
How can what I have be used faithfully?
Your Work Can Become Mission
Mission does not happen only through pastors or missionaries.
A follower of Jesus can represent Christ in healthcare, business, technology, education, construction, homemaking, government, hospitality, retirement, and countless other places.
Every Disciple Participates in the Great Commission
— Matthew 28:19
We do not all participate in exactly the same way.
But every disciple can pray, encourage, share truth, serve, teach, invite, give, mentor, and help another person take a step toward Jesus.
You Are Part of the Church
Christian purpose is not merely individual.
We belong to Christ's body.
The Church becomes one of the places where gifts, service, encouragement, teaching, compassion, prayer, and mission come together.
Ordinary Faithfulness Can Influence Generations
— 2 Timothy 2:2
Faith can move through generations as one person invests in another.
We may never see the full impact of one faithful conversation, prayer, act of service, lesson, or example.
You Do Not Need One Perfect Assignment
Some people live anxiously, afraid they might miss God's one perfect plan.
Scripture presents a more freeing picture.
Follow Jesus. Walk in wisdom. Obey what He has revealed. Serve faithfully. Use what He has given you. Trust Him with the results.
Begin Where You Are
Purpose does not need to begin someday in the future.
Who has God placed in front of me?
What has God placed in my hands?
What faithful opportunity exists today?
Ask Where Your Gifts and Needs Meet
A helpful way to think about calling is to pay attention to several things together:
God's Word.
Your gifts.
Your experiences.
Your relationships.
Needs around you.
Opportunities.
Prayer.
Often purpose becomes clearer where these begin to overlap.
You Are an Ambassador for Christ
— 2 Corinthians 5:20
An ambassador represents another kingdom.
Followers of Jesus represent Christ through their words, character, compassion, integrity, service, and witness.
Your Final Destination Shapes Your Present Purpose
Scripture ends with restoration.
— Revelation 21:4
We live between redemption and final restoration.
Until then, we faithfully participate in God's work in the world.
Your Place Is Not the Center—but It Matters
Jesus is the center.
The story belongs to God.
Yet God graciously invites us to participate.
You are not the center of God's story. But you have a meaningful place within it.
The Invitation Is Still the Same
The series began with two simple words:
Follow Me.
And after everything we have studied, the invitation remains the same.
Know Jesus. Trust Jesus. Learn from Jesus. Become like Jesus. Live what Jesus teaches. Help others follow Jesus.
Take Time to Reflect
- How has my understanding of purpose changed through this study?
- Who has God already placed in my life that I may be called to encourage or serve?
- What abilities or gifts seem to come naturally to me?
- What experiences has God used to give me compassion for others?
- What resources or opportunities has God entrusted to me?
- Is comparison distracting me from my own assignment?
- Where do my gifts, experiences, relationships, and needs around me seem to intersect?
- What would faithfulness look like in my present season?
Talk About It Together
- Why do people often connect purpose only with careers or ministry positions?
- What does it mean for our first calling to be following Jesus?
- How can ordinary work become part of Christian discipleship?
- Why does comparison make it difficult to recognize our own calling?
- How might past suffering or failure become useful in serving another person?
- What is the difference between seeking significance and seeking faithfulness?
- What does it mean to be an ambassador for Christ?
- How can each person in the group help another person follow Jesus?
Ephesians 2:8–10
Read Ephesians 2:8–10 slowly.
Notice the order.
Salvation is God's gift. We do not earn it.
We are God's workmanship, recreated in Christ.
Grace produces a new kind of life that begins walking in the good God has prepared.
Grace → New Life → Faithful Service
We do not serve in order to earn grace.
We serve because grace has already transformed our lives.
Father, thank You for giving my life meaning within Your larger story. Thank You for creating me in Your image, saving me through Jesus Christ, and inviting me to participate in Your work. Show me how to faithfully use the gifts, experiences, relationships, resources, and opportunities You have entrusted to me. Free me from comparison and the desire for recognition. Help me serve the people You place in front of me, represent Jesus faithfully, and help others follow Him. Teach me to value faithfulness more than visibility and to trust You with the results. Amen.
Five Days in Scripture
How are grace, new life, and good works connected?
Why does the body of Christ need different kinds of people?
How should believers use what God has given them?
What does it mean to live as an ambassador for Christ?
How does Jesus invite every disciple into His mission?
For each reading, ask:
What has God done?
What has God entrusted to His people?
What faithful response can I make?
Keep Following Jesus
You do not need to discover one perfect assignment. You need to faithfully follow Jesus wherever He has placed you.
Know God. Follow Jesus. Become like Christ. Love people. Use what God has given you. Serve faithfully. Help others follow Him. Trust God with the results.
Your life is not the center of the story.
Jesus is.
But by His grace, you have been given a meaningful place within it.
Keep following.