Discipleship 101: Disciples' Boot Camp (Leader Notes for Session One)
:00 Intro- 10 minutes or less
Progress/Problems??
You were asked in the lesson about what priority Christ currently has in your life- I’m not asking for confession time here, but would anyone like to share with the group any struggles or victories you have experienced in relation to this?
:10 Group session Review- 10 minutes
You needed to complete the assignment during the week for days on two and three so we can discuss it and apply it tonight- next week, complete days 4-5.
1.Who is a Disciple??? Don’t answer now. Keep an open mind and listen as the group reviews this week’s study.
2. What were 2 reasons why Jesus chose disciples? To be with Him and to send them out p. 12
3. What did Jesus do when people started following Him? p. 13 He discourages the less than fully committed by first stating the cost of discipleship.
4. Turn to Luke 14 26-33 and identify 3 things over which Jesus said He must have priority. Persons, possessions, purposes.
6. Name 3 characteristics Jesus says should be in a disciple’s life: p. 18 obedience, love, fruit
5. What may be taking priority over Christ in your lives? My answer: much serving.
(Luke 10 38-42) Story of Mary and Martha
:20 Sifting your priorities-10 minutes
Sifting through the good for the best.- Get a sifter and junk and sift it out.
Every body needs God’s spiritual grid system to live life abundantly... It’s not only weeds that choke out creativity!
God’s word will be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path!
Set a sacrificial goal for your family and work joyfully toward it. Cover it in grace.
I have heard people fretting because they could not go to that church site. Being a hilarious giver- not only tithing- it pertains to giving of your all - Living sacrifices tend to slip off of the altar.
Also-There are good better best in the kingdom.
Stewardship campaign- Church building-Billy Graham Crusade Christian Life and Witness course- Discipleship Training- Sunday School, Walk for Life. All these are good things. But first comes the BEST- being with Christ! Never let the good crowd out the BEST.
Write all the goods down - Bring them to Christ- spend time thinking about what he would have you do. Now how do you choose? Only Christ is sufficient to help you choose.
When you fret that no one else is out there be a Noah- focus on what God has told you to do and put away guilt or focusing on disappointment with men- you will have assurance that this is what God has for YOU and it will not matter what men think.
: 30 How Jesus makes Disciples 10 minutes How we will approach the studies with such a large group.
1. Abide In Christ
2. Obey Christ’s commands
3. Learn by Doing
4. Clarify Lessons Learned Through Experience
5. Apply Lessons Learned
Abide in Christ- our primary goal! You cannot live the Christian life- Christ must live it through you! Prepositions: He gave His life for us so He could give His life to us so He could live His life through us!
Look at page 5 at the goals for the study. Let’s talk about some ways Discipleship 101 can help you become better disciples.
What statements will help you become a better disciple?
Become a more effective discipler?
Carry out the worldwide discipling task Christ has given you? Pray over these and think on them...
Obey Christ’s Commands - disciplines
Spending time with the Master
Living in the Word
Praying in Faith
Fellowshipping with Believers
Witnessing to the World
Ministering to Others.
Look at page 10. Most of the assignments for each day are like this one and will take between 20-30 minutes every other day. Plan to succeed or Fail to plan! There will be an assignment in each of these 6 disciplines every two weeks. When you complete the assignment you draw a vertical line in the diamond box and then the following week someone will check it by crossing the line, forming a cross in each diamond.
Learn by Doing- the assignments in my walk with the master are based on the commands of Christ- they are modern applications of concepts and principles Jesus taught! Any assignment not completed will reduce the chance of growth.
Clarify Lessons Through experience.
We will spend some time checking each other’s assignments starting next week.
Apply lessons Learned
You will be asked to apply what you learn consciously to different situations. Each new application builds on a previous lesson learned.
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:40 Memory verses Luke 9:23 and John 15:5 five minutes
If any man would come after me , he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily , and follow me. Luke 9:23
I am the vine, you are the branches- if any man abides in me, and I in him, he will bear much fruit- without me you can do nothing! John 15:5
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Romans 14:23b (New American Standard Bible)
...and whatever is not from faith is sin.
Nothing= nada, zilch, zero, null, nil, zip, zed, aught, nix...
Acts 17:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being;
:45 Let’s Get Real. five minutes
The most difficult aspect of breaking through to discipleship is being honest about who we are. Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked: who can know it?
The Holy Spirit does, and He will enable you to examine yourself.Are you fully committed? as 2 Chronicles 16:9 says?
Abandoning dependence on anything but Christ.
Prayer can be a spiritual Heimlich maneuver for those choking on self. Are you caught up in the “good” syndrome? Have you ever come to a where you were disgusted with yourself and cognizant of the fact that you cannot live the Christian life? Only Christ can live it through you!
He gave His life for you so He could give His life to you so He could live His life through you!
Sanctification is not accomplished by the absence of Sin. We are made Holy by abiding in His presence- that drives out the darkness- walking in the light as He is in the Light -
1 John:7 but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the
light, we have fellowship with one another, and
the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all
sin.
God wants to make you genuine- get real- get down to the essence of who you are In Christ!-Discover your secret identity in the book of Ephesians.
The prayer hierarchy in the book is a good approach. ACTS
Adoration will give us a right view of the object of our praise and worship. Think on his attributes as revealed in the Word and in Christ.
Confession will give us a right view of who we are before Christ and In Christ in the light of who He is. Forgiveness flows from agreeing with Him over this relationship. Grace will take on a new meaning here.
Thanksgiving will naturally flow from the realization of His amazing grace. We will have a grateful heart for the relationship and WHO HE IS, and not only what he does for us or spares us from.
Supplication is now possible- for we will now have His heart’s desire as our desire! This is what it means to pray in Jesus name and for His sake.
:50 The Discipleship covenant- Let’s read this. 5 minutes
If you haven’t already signed this, I must tell you that to continue in the group, you are expected to do so. We will look briefly next week at the Biblical idea of Covenant. Now hear this- This is more than a commitment to try,- the demands are difficult and everything worth accomplishing in life takes work. This is a commitment to try with God’s help and with the help of the group. It is also a commitment to pray and help one another. Next week we will circulate the signed covenants and each one of us will sign each other‘s as a witness to the covenant.
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:55 Next week-
Complete days 4-5 of week one
Complete inventory before class
Be prepared to have your completed week one assignments (1-5) checked by someone in the group.
Continue to memorize John 15: 5 and review it’s place in Disciples' Boot Camp
Continue to review Luke 9:23 throughout the week.
Pray for others in the group.
Develop your plan for a daily quiet time- you will cover this in pages 19- 20 in the book.
I will have an updated list of group members and phones.
Let me remind you that if you would like to help offset the cost of the class, money for books will go back in the pot to purchase books for future classes. We ran short last year.
Philippians 2:13 and John 15:5 Galatians 4:15 He provides both the willingness and the ability
So, Who is a Disciple???.
Close in Prayer
Let’s pray to God to help us make Christ the center of our life.