Following Jesus Up Close

Following Jesus Up Close

From First Love Church by Heather Drake and Dennis Drake

January 28, 2026 · 49 min

About this episode

The episode explores the concept of close discipleship and the journey of returning to God through love and community.

A softer heart sees more clearly. We trace a path from the Beatitudes’ upside-down blessings to Epiphany’s invitation to truly see, naming how distraction, certainty, and fear keep us from love while Jesus keeps moving toward the margins with light and welcome. When he says keep turning from sin and come back to God, we hear repentance as returning from the illusion of separation—back to union, belonging, and the kingdom that’s accessible now. We explore what close discipleship looks like in...

Topics covered

  • Beatitudes
  • Epiphany
  • discipleship
  • repentance
  • love

Keywords

  • distraction
  • certainty
  • fear
  • kingdom
  • union
  • belonging

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