Discipleship  

Dallas Willard made a great point when he wrote, “The word disciple occurs 269 times in the New Testament. 'Christian' is only found three times and was first introduced to refer precisely to the disciples... The New Testament is a book about disciples, by disciples, and for disciples of Jesus Christ.” Discipleship is the way a disciple lives his or her life. If you are a disciple of Jesus then your lifestyle must be one of discipleship to Jesus. Through discipleship to Christ, Jesus desires to have an intimate relationship with each of us. The world is full of people who “believe in God,” but how many truly know Jesus? How many of those who “believe in God” know Jesus' teachings, follow his teachings, recognize His voice and are willing to go where He sends them? Jesus said to His disciples that if they had seen Him, they had seen the Father. Those words of Jesus are sharper today than ever before, as they cut through the masses to divide those who say they “believe in God” but do not know Jesus, from those that know Jesus and therefore can say they believe in God. Jesus and the Father are inseparable. Jesus is the image of the invisible God and He is calling us into this intimacy with His son that we might know Him better.

 Jesus, in his last days on Earth did not leave us a trend or a program, He left His disciples with instructions to continue in the lifestyle that He had led them through. They were to now go out and replicate this lifestyle throughout their life no matter where the Spirit of God led them. He left them these instructions, not because it was a good idea or just because it was the Jewish thing to do, but because it was essential to the continued growth of His church.

Our church community offers many ways to continue to grow in your discipleship to Jesus. Beyond coming to worship on Sunday mornings, there are small groups, prayer meetings, Koinonia and ministries to serve in. Yet, to be a whole-hearted disciple means more than just engaging in church activities; it means that your entire life is lived in a manner that glorifies God. At First Baptist Yarmouth we are seeking to build up true disciples of Jesus Christ whose entire way of living in everything they do is a reflection of Jesus to the world around them.