Discipleship Essentials (35-45 Track, 2010)

This semester will be based on the book: “Discipleship Essentials”, A Guide to Building Your Life in Christ, by Greg Ogden. Please contact one of us in class if you are interested in obtaining a copy (about $11 each). Amazon has the book too.

"Discipleship Essentials" discusses the key skills a disciple has to train to become a good disciple of Jesus. It also provides great questions for small group discussion.

Each Sunday we will go through the skills covered in a chapter. Additionally, if you are interested in accelerated growth as a disciple we offer the opportunity to join a small group that meets outside of Sunday mornings.

Upcoming topics:
Making Disciples
Being a Disciple
Quiet Time
Bible Study
Prayer
Worship
The Three-Person God
Made in God's Image
Sin
Grace
Redemption
Justification
Adoption
Filled with the Holy Spirit
Fruit of the Holy Spirit
Trust
Love
Justice
Witness
The Church
Ministry Gifts
Spiritual Warfare
Walking in Obedience
Sharing the Wealth
Money

Each week we will cover the key skills addressed in one of the 25 chapters of


Triads/Quads (extra-curricular small group meetings)
  • Over the last 20 years or so the curriculum is shown to work best in groups of 3 (triads) or 4 (quads). This is the ideal setting for accelerated growth to occur
  • Triads/quads will meet outside the Sunday morning gatherings. These small groups will be led be one of the teachers of this class. (If you feel you would like to be a discipler/convener for a small group as well, please talk to one of us)
  • We encourage anyone in class to prayerfully consider joining a triad/quad. However, this is a substantial commitment including: weekly completion of assignments, weekly meetings (about 1.5h), confidentiality, openness for change, becoming a discipler of a small group next year
  • There are 25 lessons in the book. However, it may take two meetings to go through a single lesson. Therefore small groups commit to stick together for one half to a full year.


Topics for "Discipleship Essentials"



  1. Making Disciples

    2. Jesus' last instruction for His disciples was (Matthew 28:18-20) "...go and make disciples...". This lesson will help us to be able to answer the questions of why, what, how, when of discipleship. We will study and practice how to make sense to ourselves and others.

    Read Matthew 28:18-20, Luke 6:12-16; 9:1-6,10, 1 Corinthians 4:16, 2 Timothy 2:2

    1. Discipling is intentional (involving careful choosing), it is a process (based on realtionship), and it is goal oriented (towards maturity in Christ). Restate these aspects in your own words. Use the passages provided to support your opinion.

    2. Why does Jesus stress his authority as a backdrop to his command to make disciples (Mt.28:18)?

    3. What can you learn about Jesus' strategic purpose for the selection of the Twelve (Lk.9:1-6)?

    4. Paul wrote "I urge you to imitate me" (1.Cor.4:16). Can you see yourself saying or living that? Why or why not?

    5. What ingredients are necessary for an effective discipling relationship (2Tim2:2)?

    6. What questions do these passages raise for you?


  2. Being a Disciple

    3. Who is a disciple? Key observations: Responds in faith and obedience to the call of the Master Jesus. Accepts a growth process that is not determined by "self" but by Jesus Christ. Is awed by the "magnetism and power" of the person of Jesus.

    Read Luke 9:18-27 (my cross), Luke 5:1-11 (big catch); Matthew 7:13-14 (narrow road), John 12:24 (seed), Philippians 3:7-11 (gain Christ)

    1. Who is a disciple? Answer this question in your own words.

    2. Jesus never enticed someone to be a disciple under false pretenses or promises (Luke 9). What does it mean to deny self? Illustrate ways from your own experience that you attempt to save your life. Why does losing your life for Jesus actually save it?

    3. The magnetism and power of the person of Jesus is at the heart of our faith (Luke 5). Why does Peter respond as he does in this passage? What does it mean to catch people?

    4. What questions do these passages raise for you?


  3. Quiet Time

    4. Core truth: Just as Jesus went to a "solitary place" to meet with his Father (Mark 1:35), so a disciple should daily pull away from the busyness of life for a quiet time with the Master.

    Read Psalm 1:1-3 (tree planted by streams of living water), John 15:1-11 (I am the vine, you are the branches)

    1. Restate the core truth (above) in your own words.

    2. What does it mean to delight in the law of the Lord (Psalm 1)?

    3. How would you define "prospers" (Psalm 1)?

    4. What does it mean to "remain" (John 15)?

    5. What does it mean "apart from me you can do nothing" (v.5)?

    6. Our purpose, according to Jesus, is to bear fruit (v.8). What is the nature of the fruit that is to be produced through our lives?

    7. What was the joy of Jesus that he wanted us to have (v.11)?

    8. What questions do these passages raise for you?


  4. Bible Study

    5. Core truth: What place should the Bible have in a disciple's quiet time? Because the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the uniquely inspired revelation of God and the standard of truth in all matters of faith and practice, a portion of each day should be set aside to read, study and meditate on God's Word. The Bible is to the spirit what food is to the body.

    1. Restate the core truth (above) in your own words.

      2. Read 2.Timothy 3

    2. How is Scripture useful in teaching, rebuking, correcting, training?

    3. How does Scripture equip us for every good work?

    4. Studying Scripture can simply increase our information. How do we move from there to transformation?

      5. Read Psalm 119:1-16

    5. What are different words and phrases for the law of God?

    6. Vers 11 gives one reason for memorizing Scripture. What is the reason stated here, and what other reasons come to mind?

    7. What questions do these passages raise for you?


  5. Prayer

    6. Core truth: Wat is prayer, and how can a disciple pray effectively? Prayer is transparent dialogue. It is a conversation with God in which we address him and in quiet are addressed by him. There are four types of prayer: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication (ACTS)


    1. Restate the core truth in your own words.

      2. Read Matthew 6:9-13

    2. What scope of subjects does the Lord's Prayer cover?

    3. Why is this a helpful model for prayer?

      4. Read Luke 11:5-13; 18:1-8

    4. What attitude of prayer is Jesus calling us to have in 11:9 and 18:1,8?

    5. Can God's actions be influenced by our prayers? Why or why not?

    6. What questions do these passages raise for you?


  6. Worship

    7. Core truth: What activity defines the primary purpose of the church? The functions of the church have been variously defined as teaching, fellowship, outreach and worship (see Acts 2:42-47). Of these important functions, honoring God through worship is the church's primary purpose, because it is our eternal vocation.


    1. Restate the core truth in your own words.

      2. Read Revelation 4-5. Memorize 4:11

    2. Note the elements of worship in this heavenly scene.

    3. What does it mean that God is worthy?

    4. What does it mean for God to receive glory?

    5. Why is Jesus considered worthy to open the scroll (5:9-10,12)?

    6. What questions do these passages raise for you?


  7. The Three-Person God

    8. Core truth: Who is the God a disciple worships and serves? Though we cannot fully comprehend the nature of God, there is only one eternal God, who though one is at the same time three persons, the Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit


    1. Restate the core truth in your own words.

      2. Read Deuteronomy 6:4. Memorize 2.Corinthians 13:14

    2. Why do you think it was necessary to be so adamant that there is one God? What is the relevance of such an insistence today??

    3. What characteristic is associated with each member of the Trinity?

      4. Read Exodus 20:1-7, 3:13-14; John 8:58-59; Acts 5:1-4

    4. What is a graven image?

    5. What claim was Jesus making for himself?

    6. How is the Holy Spirit a personal, divine force?

    7. What questions do these passages raise for you?


  8. Made in God's Image

    9. Core truth: What is humanity?
    God, the self-existent Creator, called the world into being through his infinite creativity and power. The peak of God's creative work was humankind, male and female, made exclusively in his image.


    1. Restate the core truth in your own words. What questions or issues does the core truth raise for you?

      2. Read Genesis 1 and 2

    2. In Genesis 1 the six creation days are described using a repeating pattern that changes when it comes to the creation of humanity. Compare the six patterns.

    3. How does the benediction ("it was good") change? Compare 1:10,12,18,21,25.

    4. God refers to himself in the plural ("us"). What could be the reason for this? What does this reveal about what it means to be created in the image of God?

    5. How is the creation of male and female (1:27) another clue for how we are created in God's image?

    6. If being created in God's image means we are made for relationship (2:18), what impact should this have on our priorities or how we measure success in life?

    7. What questions or issues do these passages raise for you?


  9. Sin

    10. Core truth: What severed the relationship between God and humanity, and what were the consequences?

    Though we were created in the image of God (see previous lesson) we willfully distrusted his goodness. Instead we chose to rely on ourselves for life. As a consequence our relationship with God was broken, resulting in spiritual death, which in turn tarnished our relationship with ourselves, others and creation.

    Restate the core truth in your own words.


      Read Genesis 3

    1. What was the serpents ploy in verse 1?

    2. In verse 3:2-3 how does the woman demonstrate that she is already distrusting God?

    3. What temptation is placed before the woman in verses 4 and 5?

    4. From observing the serpents strategy, how would you define sin?

    5. How do the consequences of sin affect humankind's relationships with self (v. 7), with God (vv. 8-10), with fellow humans (vv. 11-16), with creation (vv. 17-19)?

      Memorize Romans 3:23 and 6:23

    6. How is sin defined? Is the glory of God a fair standard to be measured by?

    7. Paul says we "earn" death by our sin. What is meant by "death"?

    8. While death is described as a payoff for sin, life is a gift in Christ. How would you describe this contrast and this gift in your words?

    9. What questions do these passages raise for you?


  10. Grace

    11. Core truth:


    1. Restate the core truth in your own words.

      2. Read ...

    2. ...?

    3. ...?

      4. Read ...

    4. ...?

    5. ...?

    6. What questions do these passages raise for you?


  11. Redemption

    12. Core truth:


    1. Restate the core truth in your own words.

      2. Read ...

    2. ...?

    3. ...?

      4. Read ...

    4. ...?

    5. ...?

    6. What questions do these passages raise for you?


  12. Justification

    13. Core truth:


    1. Restate the core truth in your own words.

      2. Read ...

    2. ...?

    3. ...?

      4. Read ...

    4. ...?

    5. ...?

    6. What questions do these passages raise for you?


  13. Adoption

    14. Core truth:


    1. Restate the core truth in your own words.

      2. Read ...

    2. ...?

    3. ...?

      4. Read ...

    4. ...?

    5. ...?

    6. What questions do these passages raise for you?


  14. Filled with the Holy Spirit

    15. Core truth:


    1. Restate the core truth in your own words.

      2. Read ...

    2. ...?

    3. ...?

      4. Read ...

    4. ...?

    5. ...?

    6. What questions do these passages raise for you?


  15. Fruit of the Holy Spirit

    16. Core truth:


    1. Restate the core truth in your own words.

      2. Read ...

    2. ...?

    3. ...?

      4. Read ...

    4. ...?

    5. ...?

    6. What questions do these passages raise for you?


  16. Trust

    17. Core truth:


    1. Restate the core truth in your own words.

      2. Read ...

    2. ...?

    3. ...?

      4. Read ...

    4. ...?

    5. ...?

    6. What questions do these passages raise for you?


  17. Love

    18. Core truth:


    1. Restate the core truth in your own words.

      2. Read ...

    2. ...?

    3. ...?

      4. Read ...

    4. ...?

    5. ...?

    6. What questions do these passages raise for you?


  18. Justice

    19. Core truth:


    1. Restate the core truth in your own words.

      2. Read ...

    2. ...?

    3. ...?

      4. Read ...

    4. ...?

    5. ...?

    6. What questions do these passages raise for you?


  19. Witness

    20. Core truth:


    1. Restate the core truth in your own words.

      2. Read ...

    2. ...?

    3. ...?

      4. Read ...

    4. ...?

    5. ...?

    6. What questions do these passages raise for you?


  20. The Church

    21. Core truth:


    1. Restate the core truth in your own words.

      2. Read ...

    2. ...?

    3. ...?

      4. Read ...

    4. ...?

    5. ...?

    6. What questions do these passages raise for you?


  21. Ministry Gifts

    22. Core truth:


    1. Restate the core truth in your own words.

      2. Read ...

    2. ...?

    3. ...?

      4. Read ...

    4. ...?

    5. ...?

    6. What questions do these passages raise for you?


  22. Spiritual Warfare

    23. Core truth:


    1. Restate the core truth in your own words.

      2. Read ...

    2. ...?

    3. ...?

      4. Read ...

    4. ...?

    5. ...?

    6. What questions do these passages raise for you?


  23. Walking in Obedience

    24. Core truth:


    1. Restate the core truth in your own words.

      2. Read ...

    2. ...?

    3. ...?

      4. Read ...

    4. ...?

    5. ...?

    6. What questions do these passages raise for you?


  24. Sharing the Wealth

    25. Core truth:


    1. Restate the core truth in your own words.

      2. Read ...

    2. ...?

    3. ...?

      4. Read ...

    4. ...?

    5. ...?

    6. What questions do these passages raise for you?


  25. Money

    26. Core truth:


    1. Restate the core truth in your own words.

      2. Read ...

    2. ...?

    3. ...?

      4. Read ...

    4. ...?

    5. ...?

    6. What questions do these passages raise for you?


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