Tag Archives: Discipleship

Our Whole Lives

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The Missional Church – Part 2: Principles of Missional Living

Deuteronomy 6:1-9; Mark 12:29-31; Romans 12:1-2

Missional Living Homework:

  • Where do I see God at work? Where and how do I see God working in the lives of those around me? Where and how is God working in my neighborhood? What about my place of vocation?
  • In light of my gifts and resources, how does God want me to partner in what he’s doing?

Different Worlds

The Shema

Polytheism -> Monotheism

Monotheism -> Polytheism

Lord Over All

Secular – “non-sacred” “apart from God”

Dualism

No such thing in the missional church

No such thing as a “kingsdom”

There is a real tendency to think of the spiritual life as a life that will begin when we have certain feelings, think certain thoughts, or gain certain insights. The problem, however, is not how to make the spiritual life happen, but to see where it actually is happening. We work on the premise that God acts in the world and in the lives of individuals and communities. God is doing something right now. The chipping away and sculpting is taking place whether we are aware of it or not. Our task is to recognize that, indeed, it is God who is acting, and we are involved already in the spiritual life.

Romans 12:1-2 (The Message)

12 1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Questions:

  • In what ways have you viewed the world from the perspective of a secular / sacred divide?
  • How might Romans 12:1-2 affect the way you approach your daily life?

Missional Living Homework:

  • Take some time to meditate on the Shema, asking the Lord how you can most faithfully love God and neighbor.
  • Based on Romans 12:1-2, what “sacrifice” of worship will you offer up to God this week?

 

Am I Hearing God – or something else

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John 10:1-5

Gentle Leadings

1 Kings 19:11-13

Freedom

Matthew 11:28-30

Ask, Seek, Knock

Jeremiah 29:12-13

Specific

Luke 19:29-35

Conviction of Sin

John 16:8

Truth

John 14:6

Peace

Philippians 4:7

Verifiable

Prv 11:14; Dt 19:15; and Mt 18:16

 

 

Biblical Stories of People Hearing God

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Text: 1 Samuel 3:1-11

A Phenomenon plus a Voice

 

  • Genesis 15:17-18
  • Exodus 3:3-6
  • Deuteronomy 5:23
  • Ezekiel 1-2
  • Matthew 3:17
  • Acts 9:3-8


A Supernatural Messenger or an Angel

  • Genesis 18-19
  • Joshua 5:13-15
  • 2 Kings 6:17
  • Numbers 22:22-35
  • Judges 6:11-24
  • Judges 13
  • Isaiah 6:6-13
  • Daniel 9:20-27
  • Luke 1:11-20
  • Luke 1:26-38
  • Matthew 28:2-7
  • Acts 5:19-20
  • Acts 27:23-26

Dreams and Visions

  • Acts 16:9
  • Acts 9:10-13
  • Acts 10:9-19
  • Genesis 28:11-17
  • Genesis 37:5-9
  • Genesis 40:5-19
  • Genesis 41:1-7
  • Daniel 4:4-18
  • Jeremiah 23:25-32

An Audible Voice

  • Genesis 22:11-12, 15-18
  • 1 Samuel 3

The Human Voice

  • Exodus 4:10-17
  • 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
  • Numbers 22
  • Micah 3:8

The Human Spirit or the “Still Small Voice”

  • 1 Kings 18:20-40; 19:12
  • John 17:20-21
  • 1 Corinthians 2:16

Samuel, Eli, and the Voice of God

Samuel hears, but doesn’t understand

Eli didn’t hear God speak

Eli was able to teach Samuel to hear

Samuel learns and then hears and talks with God

 

Betrayal // Arrest // Denial

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Luke 22:39-62

 

Prayed

(abandoned)

Betrayed

(not surprised)

Denied

(aware)

 

Handout for Spiritual Examination and Confession

 Psalm 32

1 John 1:8-9

Questions for Reflection

  1. Does your confession tend to be along the lines of “Forgive my sins, dear Lord” rather than specifically naming your sins one by one before the face of God?
    What does the lack of specific confession do to self-awareness?
  2. What experiences have affected your ability to give and receive forgiveness?
  3. When have you tasted the joy of forgiveness?
    What was that like for you?

Your Mission

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should you choose to accept it

Luke 19:28-40

Before the “Triumphal Entry”

 

The Mission:

 

How it went down

 

Questions for discussion

  • What are the implications for us today?
  • Do you have any examples from your own life?

Putting Jesus First

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Text: Luke 9:57-62

 

Discipleship

 

Jesus Sent out The Twelve

Jesus had just sent out the “apostles” without rod, or bag, or bread, or silver, or change of clothes. Yet, they lacked nothing (See Luke 22:35 )

Story of Apprenticeship

First Man

“Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied…

The first (vv. 57, 58) was eager to follow the Lord, but it seems that homelessness was too great an obstacle to him

Second Man

Jesus said to him, “Come, follow me.” The man agreed, but…

The second (vv. 59, 60) wanted first to bury his father. It may be that the man was gravely ill, and required him to stay longer, or that his father was already dead—yet even a day’s delay was too long for our Lord. The man was to begin at that instant to ‘preach the kingdom of God’.

Third Man

“Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.”

The last (vv. 61, 62) wanted to bid his family ‘goodbye’. When Elisha had asked for this long before, the request was granted (1 Kings 19:20). Yet here the Son of God wanted to teach the extreme importance of his message; it was more urgent even than Elijah’s, and he could not wait. Eternity depended on it, and hesitation disqualified people from true service. Such a person was like a man driving a plough and not looking where he was going and beginning to plough uneven furrows.

Questions:

Are we more committed to our relatives than to Christ?

In sharing the good news of Jesus today, do we sufficiently stress the hardships of following Christ?

Do What Jesus Did

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Do What Jesus Did

The Twelve Equipped for service.

Power is the ability to do something

Authority is the right to do it;

The apostles had both

Luke’s Influence

Compare Apostles’ Audience in Luke’s  vs. Matthew’s Matt. 10:5–6

Content of Their Message

Preach the Good News (What is the Good News so far?)

Heal the afflicted.

Their Provision

Not to be a vacation,

They were exhorted to “travel light”

Live by faith.

  • No Rod
  • No Bag
  • No Bread
  • No Money
  • No Change of Clothes

As they went out two by two to serve Him, they had to trust Jesus to enable them to do what He told them to do

They Had enough: They lacked ‘nothing’ (Luke 22:35)

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