Be a Disciple - Mark 1:14-20
This is our Sunday teaching by our Central Site Pastor, Gaby Ledger. Recorded live at our Sunday Service in Harris Academy Purley, Croydon on Sunday 13th September, 2026.
Talk Summary - Be a Disciple
Jesus never simply invited people to identify as Christians. He invited people to follow him.
At the end of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells his followers to “go and make disciples of all nations”. Discipleship isn’t an advanced level of Christianity for pastors, leaders or particularly committed people. It is what following Jesus is.
In Mark 1, as Jesus calls his first disciples, we see four postures that help us understand what that looks like: the now, the no, the news and the nets.
The now: Jesus announces that “the kingdom of God has come near.” Following Jesus means believing that the life of his Kingdom isn’t only a promise for some distant future. His grace, hope, freedom and presence are available now. We learn from Jesus how to live in that reality and bring it into our homes, workplaces and communities.
The no: Jesus says, “Repent.” Repentance simply means turning around. We stop making ourselves the centre of our lives and turn towards Jesus. Like a sat-nav recalculating after a wrong turn, repentance doesn’t require us to undo our entire past before we can begin. We can turn towards Jesus from wherever we are today.
The news: We believe the good news. God’s love is not something we achieve through being impressive, religious or well behaved. It is a gift. Before we do anything for God, we learn to trust what he has already done for us.
And finally, the nets: Peter, Andrew, James and John left their fishing nets behind when Jesus called them. Following Jesus will always involve letting something go. Our “nets” may be ambition, comfort, reputation, fear, busyness, past hurt or simply our determination to remain in control.
And often we don’t drop our nets just once. As we follow Jesus, we repeatedly surrender our expectations and choose again to trust him.
Discipleship is a lifelong apprenticeship to Jesus: being with Jesus, becoming like Jesus and learning to do what Jesus did.
The invitation remains the same today: Will you follow me?