Dare to be a Disciple 4a
Read Dare to be a Disciple 4
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
This course has been born out of a conviction that I have, in my 22 years as a preacher, teacher and pastor, concentrated too much on making converts and too little on making disciples. I have come to the realisation that the two are not the same. Jesus command is "Go and make disciples", so
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
This course has been born out of a conviction that I have, in my 22 years as a preacher, teacher and pastor, concentrated too much on making converts and too little on making disciples. I have come to the realisation that the two are not the same. Jesus command is "Go and make disciples", so
ACTS OF COMPASSION
I
will do all I can to help people in need.
I
will seek out people in need and do all I can to help them.
We
will strive to increase our service to others and graciously acknowledge
others’ service to us.
I
will go two miles for a sister or a brother who asks me to go one.
I
will spend one hour each week visiting a lonely person whom I would not
ordinarily visit.
I
will spend at least one hour each day helping someone in need.
I
will spend four hours each month helping the disadvantaged in my community.
We
will balance the time we devote to school, church, work, family and friends,
including our own spiritual and recreational life.
I
will spend an hour each day with my children.
I
will spend some time each day with each member of my family in meaningful
communication.
We
will practice listening to other people as a ministry of grace.
I
will express feelings of genuine appreciation to at least one person each day.
We
will engage in regular visits to local prisons.
I
will make weekly visits to local prisons.
We
will establish a meaningful relationship with someone in prison and, where
possible, with their families.
I
will get to know at least one poor family.
I
will offer friendship each day to someone of an ethnic background different
from my own.
We
will encourage our congregation in its missional giving, and do this by
personal example.
I
will seek to help a family in need somewhere else in the world.
My main resources in drawing up this course are:
Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Covenant Discipleship by David Lowes Watson
The Sermon on the Mount by Scot McKnight
The Sermon on the Mount by Cedric Poole
