If anyone would come after me, they must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me Matt 16v24
21st Century Discipleship If you've become a Christian and are wondering what that means. If you're disillusioned with the 21st century Church in the western world. If your bored of Christian music, books and holidays and your wondering whether there's something more than the boring life that you’ve entered into then this booklet is for you. The Christianity that you and I see around us most of the time seems to be massively out of sync with the life of Jesus‌ . There are Christians who tell you that Jesus died for your bank account and so all you need to do is claim the promises, pray in faith and you'll be the healthiest and wealthiest champion in the world! But then you look to the homeless, beaten and rejected Jesus and figure they're probably not right. There are Christians who say that if you believe all the right things go to ten bible studies and prayer meetings a week don't drink don't smoke don't swear and do your quiet times every day then one day God will evacuate you from this earth into a fluffy cloudy land of baby angels and harps. But then you look to the Jesus who preached about the kingdom of heaven which was NOW not just in the future and who's life speaks just as powerfully as his words Maybe there's another way,. The way of the cross, The way of considering everything rubbish that you might gain Christ, of daily giving up your own selfish dreams and ambitions to enter into the rescue mission of God to bring his kingdom on earth and restore a broken and lost creation to himself. This honey scroll booklet will begin to explore what it might look like to follow Jesus 100%, unashamed and undivided COME ON!!!
The Call and the cost Come, follow me...
When Christ calls a man he bids him come die. The problem with most of us is not that we don’t know what Following Jesus looks like. Its that we know exactly what it looks like and we don't want to do it. As G.K Chesterton said:
The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting it has been found and left untried! Jesus never said that following him would be easy. In fact he promised it would be hard. The call of Jesus is to radical discipleship. But what does that look like????? come
come
come
come come
Love Is not
A victory march it’s a cold And it’s a broken
Hallelujah
Following hard after God A man after Gods own heart
The word disciple derives from the same root word that we get discipline from. Being a disciple means you have to be disciplined. Theres no place for laziness and indifference with those who follow Christ. You have to grab hold of Gods call with both hands and run with all you’ve got. But practically what does it look like? It means praying with such a longing for God and for his kingdom that were reduced to tears and silence, it means forgiving the annoying and the hateful person, it means going wherever Jesus calls you to go, it means Serving whenever you can, it means Spending yourself on behalf of The poor and the needy And preaching the Gospel at every opportunity.
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thirst for you
Washing feet The son of man did not come to be served but to serve-Matt 20v28
Everyone wants a revolution but no one wants to do the dishes. Imagine living in the biggest palace in the world having all the luxuries that life can offer. Then one day you give up everything to move to the poorest part of the world to serve, love and care for the most needy people on earth. This is a dim reflection of what Jesus did by leaving heaven to come and serve us by dying in our place. Did you know that the original meaning of church services was that you were meant to go and serve the people around you. But today the meaning has been changed so that you go to a church service in order to get served! Consumerism is killing Discipleship. Because they are opposites. Consumerism is about taking and discipleship Is about sacrificially giving of your time,, Money, and efforts. So lets learn to give and serve!
The ripple effect Go into all the world baptising. & teaching them to obey everything I have commanded
Where what you can do meets what needs to be done. There lies our task and Gods challenge. The call to be a disciple is about laying down our lives so that the kingdom of God will advance in this world of darkness. We are called to be salt and light. Which means we are called to turn situations and lives or despair in to stories of hope. But when we look at the poverty, depression, anger and hate in the world we can think-But what can I do? Your called to be faithful day by day doing the possible things and praying that God would use them to do the impossible. Changing the world bit by bit person by person is the best way to do it. One encouraging word, one sacrificial giving, one random act of kindness and service, one proclamation of the gospel, one intercession for someone could have a ripple effect of goodness and life that you will never know about. So be faithful to God in the small things and let him change them into huge world transforming forces for his Glory!
Heal my heart and make it clean Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me Break my heart for what breaks yours
Everything I am for your kingdoms cause As I walk from earth into eternity Further reading: For what it’s worth-Simon Guillebaud The cost of discipleship-Dietrich Bonhoeffer The pursuit of God-A.W Tozer Gentle breeze of Jesus – Mel Tari