God’s Call to the Priesthood of All Believer

formed within → sent outward → bearing fruit of the Spirit for others 

3rd Sunday after Pentecost

June 14, 2026  

Texts: Exodus 19:2–8a • Psalm 100 • Romans 5:1–8 • Matthew 9:35–10:23

Beloved of God,

Last Sunday, we celebrated Confirmation and affirmed our faith together as one community. Many of you have already received the invitation—from me and from those who have bravely shared their own stories—to reflect on your call story: those moments when God meets your “yes” and invites you into God’s mission in the world.

Last week, we heard the call stories of Abraham and Matthew. You might be like me—feeling how deeply their stories resonate with our own. In Abraham, I recognize the long, steady journey of learning to trust God with a clearer and more grounded “yes.” And in Matthew, I recognize those seasons when shame or someone else’s judgment made me wonder whether I was “good enough”—and yet Jesus still calls Matthew, calls me, and calls each of you.

Take a moment and think:

Whose story in Scripture sounds like yours?  

This summer, my hope is to shine a gentle light on your own call story as we listen to the stories in Scripture. And perhaps, as you listen, you’ll find the courage to share your own. Don’t underestimate the power of telling your call story. God always works through our calling and our sharing.

When you begin to put your call story into words, you may discover that Romans 5:1–5 stops sounding like doctrine and starts sounding like your life. Paul’s journey is layered—moving from self‑confidence as a Pharisee to violent certainty, to three days of blindness and dependence, to re‑entering community with a humility shaped by shame, forgiveness, and grace. His call story becomes a testimony.

And notice how Paul’s ministry mirrors Jesus’ instructions to the disciples. Jesus sends them first to the “lost sheep of Israel”—to their own people, their own community. Paul does the same: he begins in the synagogue, then moves to the streets, then to the next town, then across the Mediterranean. The movement of the Spirit begins within and then moves outward.

That’s the pattern of making disciples who make the next waves of disciples… on and on:

formed within → sent outward → bearing fruit of the Spirit for others.  

A testimony I read this week from someone at Bellevue Presbyterian said that after diving deeply into the five gifts from Ephesians 4—Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Shepherd, Teacher—he started hearing callings instead of complaints.

For example, when we hear…

• “Why aren’t we reaching new people?” — it may sound like a complaint, but it is really a call to the evangelist who has the gift to gather others into mission.

• “How have we drifted from who we’re supposed to be?” — this is a call to the prophet who has the gift to speak truth in challenging times.

• “What’s next? Where are we going?” — this is a call to the apostle who has the gift to cast vision and spark innovation.

Jesus in Matthew gives us the full picture of calling—both the joy of being sent and the reality that it’s not always easy. Jesus sends his disciples into real life, where compassion meets challenge.

Here comes the power of believing that the church is not owned by the pastor or the staff, or even the church council, but by the priesthood of all believers—the people who gather to face challenges together, speak truth in love, reveal the Good News through being and doing, care deeply for one another, and teach clearly the way of the cross. This is the heart of the priesthood of all believers.

So now we are certain:

Not only pastors have call stories. Every baptized person does—this is what it means to belong to the priesthood of all believers.

If this is your first time putting your call story into words—wonderful.

If you’ve done it many times—beautiful.

What a gift it is to have an honest conversation with God about how your gifts and talents participate in God’s mission.

Today, Moses tells the Israelites that they are called to be “a priestly kingdom and a holy people.” Jesus calls the disciples “laborers for the harvest.” And we hear echoes of our own calls in the church.

Most churches don’t lack gifted people.

Most churches simply struggle to answer the call as their own calling—to trust

that God is speaking in them and through them.

Sometimes God’s call becomes clear the moment we dare to speak with our own voice.

I remember when I first arrived in the States and had to call the phone company to set up a line in my dorm room. I could read English well, but speaking and listening were hard. I practiced for over an hour—imagining every possible scenario—just to make one simple phone call.

But God’s call to us (our honest conversation with God) isn’t meant to be that complicated.

There are no language barriers.

No cultural barriers.

Just the courage to speak honestly with God.

Telling your call story is a spiritual practice.

And by grace through faith, God meets each of us where we are and takes us where we are meant to be. That is Good News.

God blesses every “yes” you offer—

every yes to facing challenges together like apostles,

every yes to speaking truth in love like prophets,

every yes to revealing the Good News through being and doing like evangelists,

every yes to caring deeply for people like shepherds, and

every yes to teaching clearly the way of the cross like teachers.

Let us pray

Gracious God,

you call each of us by name,

and you meet every “yes” we offer with your grace.

Strengthen the gifts you have planted in us.

Give us courage to listen for your voice,

to speak truth in love,

to care for those who are hurting,

and to walk the way of the cross with hope.

Shape us into a priesthood of believers—

formed within, sent outward,

and bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit

for the sake of the world you love.

Bless our stories,

bless our callings,

and bless the “yes” we offer today, tomorrow, and beyond.

Amen.