Discipleship Sermon

Scripture Reading: Matthew 28:18-20

This Morning, We’re Taking a 1-Week Break from Matthew…

To Talk about Something Really Amazing that’s Going to Begin in January

This Next Year, and Hopefully Indefinitely…

We’re Going to Really Focus on Discipleship

What is Discipleship?

“The Process of Devoting Oneself to a Teacher to Learn From & Become Like Them”

Jesus Explains it Best:

Luke 6:40 (LEB)

40 A disciple is not superior to his teacher, but everyone, when he is fully trained, will be like his teacher.

Disciple = “A Student or Apprentice”

A Disciple Follows His Teacher Wherever He Goes…

And in Whatever He Does

Discipleship is the Training Process…

Of a Disciple in Becoming Like His/Her Teacher

That’s the Purpose/End Goal of Discipleship:

To Become Like the Teacher in Every Way

When a Person Believes/Trusts in the Gospel of Jesus…

(What God has Done, is Doing, Will Do Through Jesus)…

Then We Give Our Allegiance to Him as Our Lord/Master

That Allegiance Looks Like:

Learning from Jesus

Following Jesus

Imitating Jesus

Becoming Like Jesus

“The church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became man for no other purpose.”

~ C.S. Lewis

Another Good Description of a Disciple is:

“Someone Who is Following Jesus…”

“Being Transformed By Jesus…”

“And is Committed to the Mission of Jesus”

This is Why Discipleship is the Most Important Biblical Topic

To Be a Transformed, Committed Follower of Jesus:

Is the Purpose of the Scriptures

Is the Purpose of the Gospel

Is the Purpose of Our Very Existence

What Did the Day to Day Life of a Disciple of Jesus Look Like?

They Listened to His Teachings, Asked Questions, & Learned from Him

They Fellowshiped By Eating Meals Together

They Served the Needs of People Together

They were with Each Other on a Regular/Frequent Basis

They Didn’t Just Spend a Couple Hours a Week Together with Jesus

They Lived Life Together with Him

What We Need More of in the Church…

Is Christians Living Life Together & Focusing on Jesus

That’s the Only Way Growth in Discipleship will Happen

We See this Principle Taught to the Israelite People in the Law of Moses:

Deuteronomy 6:4–9 (NASB95)

4 “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! 5 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8 “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 9 “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

This is an Extremely Important Passage to the Israelite People

It was All about How They were to Disciple Their Children…

To Know, Love, & Obey God from the Heart

How were They to Do that?

By Living Life Together & Focusing on the Law

They were to Teach Their Children God’s Laws

They were to Engage in Conversation with Their Children Over God’s Laws:

Whether at Home or on the Go

After They Wake Up & Before They Go to Sleep

Their Children were to Grow Up with Parents & a Home…

That are Completely Immersed in God & His Laws

Faith wasn’t Just Something They Practiced at the Tabernacle/Temple

It wasn’t Something that Only Happened on the Sabbath Day at Synagogue

It was a Lifestyle of Being Totally Wrapped Up in God & His Laws

That’s What Discipleship Looks Like:

Living Life Together & Being Totally Immersed in Jesus

Learning from/about Him

Talking about Him

Thinking about Him

Having Our Lives Totally Wrapped Up in Him

That’s What an Israelite Family was to Look Like…

And it’s What God’s Family (the Church) should Look Like

This Graph Paints a Helpful Picture…

Of the Process of Discipleship

Every Disciple Begins at Birth in Baptism

They Need Lots of Guidance, Help, & Instruction

As Soon as Someone is Baptized into Christ…

They Need Older/More Mature Members of the Family…

To Take Them Under Their Wing…

And Teach/Train/Disciple Them in the Ways of Jesus

The Next Step in a Person’s Discipleship Journey…

Should Mirror the Development of a Child:

They should Be Able to Start Feeding Themselves

They Still Need Guidance, Help, & Instruction…

But Now They’re Able to Be More Independent…

In Their Personal Christ-Like Development

The Next Step is Training Them to Look Beyond Themselves

It’s No Longer Only about Their Personal Growth in Christ-Likeness:

They Begin Serving Their Brothers & Sisters

They Start Contributing to the Work of the Kingdom

They Begin Using Their Gifts…

For the Building Up of the Church

The Next Step is Training Them to Look Beyond the Church

As They Continue to Work on Personal Growth in Christ-Likeness…

And Serving Within the Kingdom…

They should Be Ready to Start Sharing Their Faith with Others

To Share the Gospel with Those in Their Circles of Influence…

And Making New Disciples of Jesus

Then Comes the Final Step…

Where the Disciple Begins Discipling Others

Now that They are Bringing Others to Jesus…

They have the Responsibility to Disciple These New Christians…

Just as They Themselves were Discipled

Discipleship should Be this Continuous Cycle

This is the Great Commission that Jesus Commanded the Disciples…

Before He Ascended into Heaven:

Matthew 28:19–20 (NASB95)

19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Jesus is Describing this Discipleship Process :

As You’re Going/Living Your Life…

Make Disciples of Jesus…

By Baptizing Them…

And Teaching Them to Obey All of Jesus’ Commands

Paul Told Timothy this Same Idea:

2 Timothy 2:2 (NASB95)

2 The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

“What You’ve Learned from Me…”

“Go & Teach to Others…”

“Who will then Go & Teach Others…”

“And So on & So on”

But Based Upon My Experience in the Church…

We’re Doing a Very Poor Job at Discipleship

Which Stage Best Represents Most Christians Today?

The Vast Majority are in the Infant & Child Stage:

Either Expecting to Be Totally Fed & Served By Others

Or, at Most, are Only Really Focused on Personal Growth

A Much Smaller Percentage…

Are Focused on Serving & Using Their Gifts to Build Up the Church

Very Few are Sharing the Gospel with Others

And a Fraction of a Percentage…

Are Actively Focusing on Discipling/Training Others

But it shouldn’t Be this Way

The Church is Supposed to Be Made Up…

Of People Who are Discipling & Being Discipled:

Everyone is Involved

Everyone is Growing

But Years of Church Tradition has Led to the Church…

Looking More Like a Business Than a Family

A Few are There to Serve…

And the Rest are There to Be Served

The Only Contribution They’re Expected to Make…

Is Putting a Little Money in the Plate

You’ve Got the Producer & Consumer Dynamic of a Business

And When the Church Becomes a Business…

You’ve Got 2 Metrics that You Care about More than Any Other:

1.) How Many People Did We Get in the Door?

2.) How Much Money Did They Put in the Plate?

And How Does a Business Make Sure Those Numbers Stay Up?

1.) Offer Them Everything & Anything They could Ever Want

2.) Expect Nothing in Return But Attendance & an Offering

“We’ve Got the Program Just for You!”

“We’ve Got Classes for All Ages!”

“We’ve Got a Large & Active Youth Group!”

“We Serve Meals to the Seniors Every Week!”

“We’re Here to Serve You & Make Sure You’re Comfortable!”

That’s a Good Way to Get:

500 People in Your Pews

10s of Thousands of Dollars in Your Church Bank Account

But a Terrible Way to Make Disciples of Jesus

Which Church Do You Think God will Bless More?

1.) The Church of 500 Pew-Sitters?

2.) The Church of 15 Disciples?

So, What are We to Do about the Current Church Situation?

Where Do We Begin in Returning…

To the Church’s Original Purpose of Discipleship?

We have to Begin with a Shift in Thinking

We’ve Got to Move Away from…

The Traditional, Business-Minded, Consumeristic View of the Church

What if We Stopped Using Programs & Marketing Tactics…

To Get People IN the Doors…

And, Instead, Shifted Our Focus to Getting People OUT the Doors

What if Our Focus was:

Getting Christians to Show Hospitality

Getting Christians Studying Together

Getting Christians Spending Quality Time Together

Getting Christians Serving Others Together

Getting Christians Evangelizing Together

If We’re Going to Grow as Disciples of Jesus…

We Need More than 1-4 Hours a Week…

Of Sitting 20 Feet Apart & Saying 5 Words to Each Other

That Doesn’t Produce Disciples of Jesus

If All We Ever Do Together is Corporate Worship Services…

Then All We Become is a Disconnected Gathering of Individuals…

Who are Good at Doing Corporate Worship Services

Our Goal is to Become a Loving Family of Disciples…

Who are Actively Discipling Each Other…

And Training Each Other to Be Like Jesus

So, How Do We Accomplish this?

I’d Love to Give You an Number of Scriptural Ways…

But I Know They wouldn’t Fly with Many of Our Traditional Mindsets

So this is What We’re Doing:

Starting in January, We’re Going to Begin a…

3-Tiered Approach to Discipleship

Whole-Church Discipleship

Half-Church Discipleship

Small-Group Discipleship

Whole-Church Discipleship

This Tier Involves Things We’re Familiar with:

Worship

Monthly Fellowship Meals

Regular Gatherings for Activities/Services

(Seasonal Get-Togethers, Community Thanksgiving Meal, Seminars, Gospel Meetings)

These will Be Scheduled Events that Everyone will Be Made Aware of

Half-Church Discipleship

Lady’s Days, Trips, Classes, Retreats, Serving

Men’s Days, Breakfasts, Classes, Retreats, Serving

This Tier is Gender Focused

Many of Our Women have Already Been Involved in Things like this

We’re Going to Work on Getting Our Men Together More, as Well

Like the 1st Tier…

These will Be Scheduled Events on Our Calendar

These will Take Place Once a Quarter (4 Times a Year)

Though We Hope There will Be Lots of Socializing & Fellowship…

These aren’t to Be Treated as Simply a Social Gathering

The Point is Discipleship

That Means We’re Going to Keep Jesus as the Focus

Every Gathering should Consist of:

Prayer

Study of Scriptures and/or Spiritual Discussion

Discussing Ways to Edify, Serve, & Evangelize

Small-Group Discipleship

3-12 People

That Number is a Benchmark, Not a Requirement

Meet Together on a Frequent & Regular Basis

Ideally, Once a Week

Small Groups will Meet for a Quarter at a Time (12 Weeks)

There May Be Times Where a Group Requires More Time

There May Be Some Groups that Become a Staple (Permanent)

That’s Okay Too

The 12-Week Time Frame isn’t Mandatory

But having a Time Frame Helps with Consistency

It’s Easier to Dedicate Yourself to Something for 12 Weeks…

Than to Dedicate Yourself to Something Indefinitely

Each Gathering Needs to Consist of:

Praying Together

Study & Spiritual Discussion

Serving Together

Sharing a Meal & Relaxing Together

All of These Things were Important to Jesus’ Discipling

They Need to All Be Important to Our Discipling

1 Group Leader Per Group

Schedules the Where/When of Group Meetings

Plans & Leads Study/Spiritual Discussions

Plans the Activity/Service

It’s Very Flexible

Doesn’t Matter Where You Gather

Doesn’t Matter When You Gather (As Long as it is Each Week)

Doesn’t Matter How Long You Gather

Doesn’t Matter What You Study

Doesn’t Matter What Kind of Service You Do Together

Doesn’t Matter What Kind of Activity/Hobby You Engage in

As Long as Your Gatherings are Discipleship Focused…

The Details are Up to the Group

These Small Groups can Be Structured Around:

A Shared Hobby:

(Ex. Sewing Group)

Hiking

Coffee

Cooking

Reading (Spiritual Book Club)

Sports (Watching or Playing)

Gardening

Serving:

Visiting

Card-Writing

Handiwork/Maintenance of Homes/Cars

Teaching (Learning How to Teach)

Cooking/Delivering Food

Stages/Circumstances of Life:

Widows/Widowers

Singles

Young Families

Married Couples

Study Interests:

Grief

Marriage

End Times

Bible Book Studies

Each of the 3 Tiers are Designed for:

Growth in Discipleship & Christ-Likeness

I Believe if We All Make an Effort to Participate in These 3 Tiers…

And Keep the Focus on Jesus…

That’s Exactly What We’ll See

But the Tier that will Produce the Most Fruit will Be the 3rd Tier

That’s Where Relationships will Grow the Strongest

That’s Where Prayers can Be More Personal

That’s Where Discussion can Be More Intimate

It’s a Close, Tight-Knit Group to Study, Serve, and Share Meals with

It’s the Perfect Environment to Evangelize the Lost

It’s a Comfortable, Spiritual Environment to Invite Outsiders to

Small-Group Discipleship is What Jesus Spent Most of His Time Doing

That’s Where Deep Spiritual Growth Takes Place

But Being Involved in Small-Group Discipleship Requires Sacrifice

This will Take Your Time, Effort, & Devotion

But I Believe if We will Devote Ourselves to this…

We will See More Spiritual Growth than We’ve Ever Seen in the Church

Disciples of Jesus were Born & Grew in Togetherness

The Way We “Do” Church Now…

Greatly Hinders Togetherness…

Which Greatly Hinders Discipleship

If We Want to Be the Church Jesus Died & Resurrected for…

We Can’t Just Keep Sitting in Pews a Few Times a Week

We Need to Get Back to Doing Life Together

Prayer of Confession

If You’re Interested in Being a Small-Group Leader…

Or if You’re Just Interested in Learning More about Small-Groups…

We’ll have a Meeting Next Sunday…

To Discuss the Small-Groups & Answer Any Questions You Might Have