This is the weekly companion to the weekend’s message, made to spend time with all week. It follows a simple five-part rhythm: a recap of what we heard, the central thought and scripture, a practice for the week, daily scripture and reflection, and a closing prayer.
Recap
From the very beginning, following Jesus meant helping other people find Jesus. We have no trouble talking about things we love. Nobody hired us to tell everybody what we found on aisle twelve at Costco, and we do it anyway. With Jesus, though, we get nervous, afraid of rejection or of a question we can’t answer, so we say nothing.
Pastor Jon took us to 2 Corinthians 2, where Paul pictures a Roman triumph and puts us among the captives. Christ has conquered us, and our place in His procession makes the King known. Then Paul shifts from battle to fragrance. To make Him known, we have to know Him, close enough that His fragrance stays on us.
We all carry the same fragrance, but every vessel is different. God didn’t make a mistake when He made you, and He uses who you are to open doors no one else can.
A life that looks like Jesus still needs words. So we release the fragrance in the ordinary places we already stand, and we release the results to God. We are responsible for making Jesus known. We are not responsible for making anyone believe. That work belongs to the King, and He is already working in the hearts of the people we love, even when we can’t see it. The King who conquered us is the King who gave His life to save us.
Central Thought & Scripture
“But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing.” (2 Corinthians 2:14-15, NLT)
Making Jesus known begins with being conquered by Him. When Christ captures a heart, it carries His fragrance, and that fragrance makes the King known wherever we go. Carry it in the vessel God gave you, then release it everywhere you already are and leave the results with Him. You don’t have to be polished enough, knowledgeable enough, or strong enough. Paul asked, “Who is adequate for such a task as this?” and answered a few lines later: “Our qualification comes from God.” You can stop trying to be enough, because He is.
Practice for the Week
This week’s practice follows the three action steps from the message:
● Become a captive. What area of my life has not been fully conquered by Christ? My pride? Envy? Bitterness? Need for control? Surrender it to Him each day this week.
● Carry His fragrance. How can God use who He created me to be to make Him known? Write a few sentences about your personality, your story, your gifts, and your relationships, and ask Him to show you how He might use them.
● Release His fragrance. Who is one person I can make Jesus known to this week? A coworker, neighbor, friend, or family member? Pray for them by name each day. A good first step is a simple invitation to church: “Come and see.” Then release the results to God.
Daily Scripture & Reflection
Set aside some time each day to pray with these Scriptures. Bring your journal and a pen. Begin with a few quiet moments to become aware of God’s presence and invite the Holy Spirit to guide you. Read the day’s Scripture slowly, a few times, and notice what stands out. Read the reflection question and jot down your answer, no need to be elaborate, just a quick note, along with anything else that comes to you. When you finish, look back over what you wrote. Does anything stand out? Does anything call for action? Thank God for being with you and speaking to you, then close with the Lord’s Prayer. All of this fits in about 10 to 15 minutes.
Day 1: Mark 1:16-20
Jesus found Simon and Andrew with nets in their hands and spoke to them in the language of their trade: He would teach them to fish for people. A little farther along the shore, He called James and John, who left their father in the boat with the hired men. Reaching others was folded into the invitation from the very first day, and Jesus meant to use who these fishermen already were to do it. What has made this part of following Jesus feel optional to you?
Day 2: 2 Corinthians 2:14-17
Picture a Roman triumph: the victorious general riding into the city, his captives walking behind him, incense rising along the route. Paul says that is where we stand. We are the conquered ones, and Paul knew it from experience; he was hunting Christians when Jesus stopped him on the road to Damascus. Every captive in that procession told the crowd something about the one who had won. Our lives do the same. If someone looked at your life, what evidence would they find that Jesus has conquered something, and what is still holding out?
Day 3: John 12:1-8
Mary broke open a jar of expensive perfume and poured it on Jesus’ feet, simply to honor Him. The whole house filled with the fragrance, and everyone at that table breathed in what she had given Him. Judas called it a waste, and Jesus told him to leave her alone. Devotion poured out on Jesus rarely stays contained, and it will not always be understood. Think about the rooms you move through each week: your home, your workplace, your friendships. Which of them are filled with the fragrance of your devotion to Jesus, and which haven’t caught it yet?
Day 4: Acts 4:13-20
The council looked at Peter and John and saw ordinary men with no special training. What they recognized was something else: these men had been with Jesus. It clung to them the way a grandmother’s perfume stays on you all day after one long hug. When the council ordered them never to speak of Jesus again, they answered that they couldn’t stop telling what they had seen and heard. Their boldness came from nearness. What do you think the council noticed in Peter and John? When you’ve spent time with Jesus, what shows up in you that others might see?
Day 5: 1 Corinthians 12:4-7
Some perfumers will create a fragrance built for one person alone. Paul describes the Spirit working along the same lines: one Spirit, one Lord, one God, working in different ways through different people, and giving something to each one for the good of the others. The direct friend, the quiet listener, the careful thinker, and the open-door host all carry the same fragrance in different vessels, and each one reaches someone the others might not. God didn’t make a mistake when He made you. How has He designed you, and who might your vessel be shaped to reach?
Day 6: Romans 10:13-17
Paul builds a chain of questions. How can people call on Jesus if they don’t believe in Him, or believe if they have never heard, or hear unless someone tells them? A life that looks like Jesus matters, and at some point the good news still has to be put into words. Paul is honest about the rest, too: not everyone welcomes it. Our part is to speak. The response belongs to God, and He is at work in hearts we cannot see. Who has God placed in front of you this week, and what is one simple way you could put the good news into words for them?
Prayer
Father, thank You for news so good I sometimes forget how good it is. You sent Your Son into this world. He lived without sin, died for my sins while I was still Your enemy, and rose from the dead. The King who conquered my heart gave His life to save it. I am glad to walk in His procession. Conquer what in me is still unsurrendered, and mark me with the fragrance of Christ. Thank You for making me on purpose, with my own story and my own doors. I don’t have to be enough, because You are. By Your Spirit, give me boldness to make Jesus known everywhere I already stand, and the freedom to leave the results with You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
The Lord’s Prayer (traditional)
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
