Living the Sermon
I am very encouraged of late in our vision as a church of developing more and more into a church truly committed to discipleship. From our very beginning we have always valued discipleship at Greater Portland Bible Church. As leaders we have a renewed passion to see us as a church of disciple makers, rethinking how to align what we are doing, why we do what we do, and how to do what we do to create a culture of disciple makers. Everyone is a disciple, being discipled to become a disciple maker.
So a question I have been asking myself is, how shall I alter my life to better reflect the life of a disciple and a disciple maker? One of the things I decided to do was do a devotional journey through The Sermon on The Mount. As we have preached through the Sermon, I have personally been challenged, blessed, and motivated to go through the Sermon myself. I want to allow God to test my heart, as I study to better understand the Sermon for me personally and pursue a life of obedience and application to the sermon. I want to do this all in such a way that I can disciple others in their own journey through the Sermon so that they in turn will be equipped to take others through the sermon as they disciple them.
I presented this to our Sunday class, Come and See, and that is what we as a class have decided to do. We are going to be experimenting with some different approaches and implementing a different approach from one of mostly interactive teaching into a more discipleship type format.
One of the key goals is that we will go through the sermon in such a way that each of us will have a deep understanding of the heart of the text, practice the teaching of Jesus, and so experience a fresh touch from Him so we will be prepared to share our lives and disciple others. This will equip us to introduce a non-Christian to the King and teach and demonstrate how a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven lives for the Glory of God in a fallen world.
A few things we will learn, experience and practice: What King Jesus’ invitation to everyone means in everyday life. Also, to enter the Kingdom of Heaven because Jesus has come near to us and called us to a life that reflects His life. To live the Jesus life, which is a life different from the world of cold religion and hypocrites, into a life of love and forgiveness. This is life that demonstrates our love for God and man, even our enemies. We will learn and experience prayer, stewardship and fasting. We will be challenged to look into our hearts to allow King Jesus to transform us. He wants to free us from lust, anger, and hypocrisy. Jesus offers a life of deep intimacy with our God whom we can trust in any and every situation in life, because we know that our Loving Father knows what we need, even into the deepest part of our soul.
You are welcome to come join us in the Come and See class for this discipleship experiment or find somewhere else where you can continue your journey of discipleship wherever it might be.
If you join us, bring non-Christians with you, bring a friend, let’s journey together. Each one can travel at their own pace. Participate as deeply as you wish.
A verse we mention a lot in reference to our journey is Gal 4:19 …”until Christ is formed in you”…