October 24 – Deeper into Disciple-Making – Galatians
2:20
“20 I
have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved
me and gave himself for me.”
From
Scripture we learn about the marks of a disciple-making community: prayer,
Bible study, community, mentoring, giving, serving, tithing, and fasting.
Spiritual disciplines increase our receptivity to grace. Grace is the experience
of being loved as we are, yet loved way too much
to be left as
we are. The marks of discipleship lead us more fully into God’s love and what
God is doing to transform our lives. Dallas Willard writes, “The ‘Christ focus’
is sustained and developed by shaping our lives, with his help, around definite
and time-proven practices that enable us to be kingdom people: to live in the
presence and to obey his teachings from the inside out” (Dallas Willard, Knowing
Christ Today, p. 159).
Discipleship
is learning to live the rabbi’s life! When we live Christ’s life, our behaviors
change and we are transformed daily by God into the likeness of Jesus. Transformation
takes place through Scripture, prayer, and community. Are we engaging and applying Scripture to our
lives? Are we helping others do this? How does prayer become a way of
connecting with God and
one another?
How does the community hold us accountable to this new way of life?
The following
questions are designed to help us think about disciple-making that leads to
serving and faith-sharing.
Prayer
Prayer has to
be more than opening and closing meetings. Prayer is our connection with God.
How much time do we spend in personal prayer?
How would we describe our personal prayer life?
How often do we pray for people who
do not know the love of God to experience the fullness of life in Jesus Christ?
How often do we pray with someone
else for those in our community?
Bible Study
Bible study
is critical.
What does it mean to you to set aside devotional time?
How many people among us are engaging others in the study of Scripture?
How can we design Bible study so that people look more like Jesus?
How do we or how could we engage those who are spiritually seeking in
Bible study?
Mentoring
Mentoring is
key.
Do you have a mentor? Who could be your mentor?
How could you mentor others?
Community
Community
holds us accountable to the new life in Christ.
Do you have a group in the church
that you trust to hold you lovingly accountable to the life of Christ?
If you are not in a group like this
in the church, have you ever experienced the support and accountability that
come from small-group life?
How do we set up community so that we receive support and accountability?
Worship
Worship is
essential.
How does our worship focus on God’s love?
How does our worship examine and
deal with the human condition?
How does our worship help us grow
into our baptismal vows as followers of Jesus?
How does our worship encourage us
to join God’s mission of rescuing and reconciling a broken world?
Fasting
Fasting draws
us closer to God.
How does fasting draw us closer to God?
What other spiritual disciplines draw us closer to God and help us trust
God?
Tithing
Tithing is
more than fund-raising.
How can tithing be experienced more
as a discipline that draws people closer to God rather than as a church
fund-raising ministry?
Service
Most people
grow the best through serving.
What are the serving opportunities we have through the ministry of the
church?
Which ones do you connect with the most? Why?
How can you become more involved?
Examine your
ministry. What is helping you to grow disciples of Jesus Christ? What do you need
to change or add? How in your ministry can
you help people grow in their faith in each of the above categories? What
disciplines can help you grow in your faith? What you need to
grow even
deeper in God’s love?
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