Discipleship Intro
Notes
Transcript
Becoming more like Jesus
Becoming more like Jesus
If you were here last week you heard Pastor Phill share with you everything we could share in a 30 minute sermon about New Hope Life Groups.
Just to summarize - Life Groups are about Relationships; Discipleship; & Multiplication
Out of the 3 legs of the stool, I believe relationships can come easy for most. It’s easy to share dessert or coffee around the table and catch up on life.
I believe the most difficult of the three can be multiplication-
I believe the most difficult of the three can be multiplication - it’s hard to multiply when you’ve been sharing life with a group
But the third leg of the stool is where I want to focus our next several weeks - Discipleship. In order to move forward it’s important for us to define what we mean by discipleship - to come up with a working definition to help us understand.
Here at New Hope, what we’ve said is that we believe discipleship can be defined as Becoming more like Jesus
We want to make it simple; don’t want it to be complicated; when it’s complicated or confusing people get lost and give up
What do we mean by “Becoming more like Jesus”?
Knowing (Believe / Relationship)
Knowing (Believe / Relationship)
Becoming more like Jesus begins with believing in Him. In other words, knowing Him. We can’t be more like Him if we don’t know Him. So if you don’t know Him this morning - let me introduce you to Jesus - God’s only begotten Son; Conceived by the Holy Spirit; born of the virgin Mary; suffered under pontius pilot; was crucified, died, and was buried; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father. Do you know Him this morning?! If you don’t, that’s where it begins.
“God saved you by his grace when you believed.”
“For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes - the Jew first and also the Gentile.”
Believed - Trust, confidence, faith, reliability, assurance,
“They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.”
Ephesians: An Introduction and Commentary a. New Life from the Dead (2:1–10)
as a turning to God with a sense of need and weakness and emptiness and a willingness to receive what he offers
One commentator wrote: And this faith is defined best as a turning to God with a sense of need and weakness and emptiness and a willingness to receive what he offers, to receive the Lord himself
If you’ve been a Christian/Believer for a long time and things have gotten stale, maybe you need reintroduced to Jesus. I’m not saying you lost your salvation, but maybe that relationship that once was thriving has grown cold
Becoming more like Jesus / Being a Disciple begins with knowing… But knowing is just the beginning. Too many followers stop with just knowing and leave their relationship in their mind. In order to “FOLLOW” something or someone, it takes action. It takes Doing! Following Jesus takes action.
Foulkes, F. (1989). Ephesians: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 10, p. 83). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
Doing (Application / Living)
Doing (Application / Living)
In fact, says, “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. 22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’
Being a disciple begins with believing/knowing, but it must go beyond mere knowledge. How crazy is that to think that you know Jesus, all the while He never knew you. Now I don’t say that to create doubt in you. I believe there must be this cohesiveness between what we believe and how we live. Knowledge is just that if it is not applied and practice. Practice what we preach; practice what we believe.
Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.
Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
Becoming more like Jesus / Being a disciple means that we practice what we believe. That a watching world can actually see and experience God’s love lived out through His family. The world sees acts of love - real & tangible - between Christian & Christian, from a Christian towards a non-Christian. These acts are never more evident than when we live out the fruit of the spirit.
Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
Growing (Milk to Meat)
Growing (Milk to Meat)
There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. 12 You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. 13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. 14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.
Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
New Living Translation Chapter 3
Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. 2 I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, 3 for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?
“Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. 2 I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, 3 for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?”
If we’re not growing, we’re dying. It doesn’t matter that you may not have 3 degrees in Biblical studies. It doesn’t matter if you’re new in your faith.
Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
Becoming more like Jesus means we are growing; no one has arrived; we are all at different stages of this journey
Becoming more like Jesus never
Going (Sent / Mission)
Going (Sent / Mission)
If we are to become more like Jesus, we are to be sent like Jesus or to be on mission like Jesus.
Wrap up
Wrap up
This whole thing is a process / journey
This whole thing is a process / journey
Discipleship is for all ages.
Discipleship is for all ages.
Where do you see yourself in this journey?
Where do you see yourself in this journey?
Where do you see yourself in this journey?
Where do you see yourself in this journey?
Over the next 5 weeks
A great way to get your kids, middle school, or high school students on the journey is to get the connected in their age-appropriate environments.
Over the next 5 weeks we are going to explore what a disciple DOES (5000)
Worships the Father
Engages in Community
Practices Spiritual Disciplines
Serves Others
Makes other Disciples