Miracles | Week 2 | Daniel Goulding | Echoes Church

The big idea

The storms Jesus leads us into are not a sign He's absent — they're the very place where little faith gets tested into a faith that can be trusted, and where we finally answer the question, who is this man?

Jesus doesn't just do miracles that leave us in awe — He leads us through storms that actually grow our faith. Following Him was never a promise that hardship disappears, but a promise that we get to the other side, and that even little, mustard-seed faith handed to Him can bring about the miraculous.

Point 1 of 6

Pastor Daniel notes that in Matthew 8, large crowds followed Jesus, but Jesus was never following the crowd's expectations. Even after healing a man with leprosy, a centurion's servant, and Peter's mother-in-law while the crowd swelled to a frenzy, Jesus turned away from the notoriety and got His disciples into a boat instead.

Point 2 of 6

Drawing out details Mark's gospel adds to the story, Pastor Daniel points out Jesus told the disciples plainly, 'let us go to the other side' — meaning they had His word they would get through the storm before it ever came. The disciples also had to choose to leave the crowd and accept Jesus into the boat as He actually is, not as they wished Him to be.

Point 3 of 6

Pastor Daniel highlights that professional fishermen were convinced they would die, suggesting a storm of supernatural scale that Jesus himself may have brought them into. He's careful to say this doesn't mean God causes every hardship, but that Jesus understood the storm would strengthen disciples He knew would soon face the cross and persecution.

Point 4 of 6

Correcting a Hollywood picture of a grand ship, Pastor Daniel shows that a first-century fishing boat put Jesus right next to the panicking disciples, not far away. He argues Christians aren't exempt from storms, but are exempt from storms with no purpose, and that peace instead of panic can be the church's witness to a watching world.

Point 5 of 6

Jesus's words 'why are you afraid, you have so little faith' are framed not as rebuke but instruction — the miracle didn't require perfect faith, just faith small as a mustard seed. Pastor Daniel connects this to Matthew 17:20 and challenges the room that little faith is a fine starting point but shouldn't be where believers stay.

Point 6 of 6

After Jesus calms the sea with a word, the disciples ask the question the whole story was building toward. Pastor Daniel presses that this isn't an intellectual or historical question but a personal one, inviting each listener to decide for themselves who Jesus is to them.

Take it into your week

Pastor Daniel frames the ask around measuring the time from panic to peace and bringing whatever little faith you have to Jesus.