How does the Bible describe the church? Mention the word “church” today and the first thing that pops into most people’s minds is a building with a steeple and stained-glass windows. Church is a place to sit in uncomfortable pews for a couple of hours once a week, sing traditional songs and hear a preacher speak for a half hour or forty-five minutes against the evils of sin. Or, another view of church is a non-profit charity organization that helps those in need. But neither of these concepts describes the early church depicted in the New Testament. Yes, the early church helped the needy. Yes, there was preaching (although probably not in the style we are familiar with today). Maybe …Continue reading →
Witnessing Just before Jesus ascended to heaven after His resurrection, He told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit. They would be witnesses to Him beginning there and going out into the whole world. “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” – Acts 1:8 These disciples were called “apostles”, ones Jesus sent out into the world with the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. It was these men who were used to build the church. Their job was not to save the lost, but to point the lost …Continue reading →
The secret to spiritual growth is in your focus. C. S. Lewis, in his book Surprised By Joy, told of his search for joy. Every once in a while joy came to him. Sometimes it would come when he listened to a particular piece of music. But joy never came when he intentionally looked for it or tried to bring it about deliberately. The joy always came from outside of himself. The same holds true in your spiritual growth. You cannot grow spiritually through self-effort. Maybe you can live a cleaner, more moral life for a time, but spiritual growth is not about that. It is about becoming one with Christ (John 17:20-23), reflecting Him and building your relationship with …Continue reading →
What is a disciple? Think of a disciple. Any disciple. Ok, who did you think of? Peter? James? John? or one of Jesus’ other close followers? How about Paul or Barnabas? Or maybe you thought of your pastor, a missionary, or a really dedicated Christian friend? How about yourself? Did you put yourself in that same category? Today, it’s a common misconception to think of the call to discipleship as something above and beyond the call of the typical believer. But the call to discipleship really applies to all believers, not just a few. In fact, the word “Christian” really means “disciple”. In the earliest days of the church, every believer was known as a disciple. The word “Christian” wasn’t …Continue reading →
The first topic in this discipleship class is Bible study because the Bible serves as the foundation of our understanding on which to build a strong relationship with God. Everything we know about God, who He is and His will for us, is found in the Bible. What is the Bible good for? Immature believers are like babies or young children – they tend to be dependent on those who led them to Christ. With new believers, for a time it seems this must be, but no believer should stay this way. Just as children must be trained to become mature adults, independent of their parents, so it is with young believers. All of us must transfer our reliance for …Continue reading →
While Bible study’s purpose is to learn more about God, quiet time is more focused on spending time alone with God, developing your relationship with Him, letting Him speak to you, and strengthening you for the day. Quiet time is also sometimes called ‘devotions’ or ‘meditation’. Don’t confuse this with the New Age concept of meditation. It is not emptying your mind, but filling it, using it. The word ‘meditation’ means in-depth thinking or contemplating. It often astonishes me that I did not see the importance of meditation upon Scripture earlier in my Christian life. As the outward man is not fit for work for any length of time unless he eats, so it is with the inner man. What …Continue reading →
Prayer is essential for the growth of your relationship with God. As in any healthy relationship, communication must go both ways. Not only must you listen to God speak to you through His word, you must also talk to Him, knowing that He hears you. The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them. – Psalm 145:18-19 I would rather train twenty men to pray, than a thousand to preach; – A minister’s highest mission ought to be to teach his people to pray. – H. MacGregor Prayer was something that Jesus …Continue reading →
Fasting tends to be a neglected area of discipleship today, yet fasting was common in the early church. When the Bible speaks of fasting, it assumes that it is something believers will do. Jesus began His instructions on fasting in Matthew 6:16 with “when you fast”, not “if you fast”. What is fasting? Fasting in the Bible almost always refers to going without food (and sometimes water) for a length of time. The greek word for fasting, nesteia , means “not to eat”. Types of fasts mentioned in the Bible: Normal fast: Abstain from food but not water. Much of the time the fast would be only during the daylight hours. Partial fast: Abstain from certain foods (Passover – no …Continue reading →
The topic of faith isn’t usually covered in a course on discipleship. It is assumed that once you believe in Jesus, you’ve already learned enough about faith… you just need to put it more and more into practice. However, many believers have different ideas about what faith is, so I think this topic needs to be understood better. Without faith in God, no spiritual growth is possible. You must have faith in God in order to please Him: But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. – Hebrews 11:6 (MKJV) “Saving faith” is only the beginning …Continue reading →
You can rest secure in your salvation. Jesus’ death paid the penalty for all of your sin, therefore you will not be condemned if you sin: “He who believes in Him is not condemned; … – John 3:18 (ACV) However, sin will affect your relationship with God, therefore you need to understand it and know how to deal with it. What is sin? Each believer has different ideas about what things are sin. What some think is sin, others do not. J. Vernon McGee gave this illustration. My wife was reared in Texas in a Southern Baptist church. She was brought up by a mother and father and pastor who believed that mixed bathing {swimming} was sinful. Then when she …Continue reading →
