Announcements
1) Ladies, our annual women’s advent service is coming up on Sunday, December 2nd from 7:00-9:00pm! Be sure to add this date to your calendar so we can reflect and worship together on Jesus’ role as a holy servant and humble king!
2) Students! Our intern applications for the spring semester are now open! If you are interested in an internship with us to learn more about gospel-centered ministry then apply now on the app! The applications will close on Dec 5th.
3) Lastly, we are taking a GC break over the holiday season from Dec 9 – Jan 12!
Theme
Drawing on content from the passages and the sermon, this week’s guide will focus on making disciples as an essential part of what it means to follow Jesus.
Key Passages
Matthew 4:17-25
Summary
After his temptation in the wilderness, Jesus begins his preaching ministry, proclaiming the exact same message as John the Baptist did, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Jesus’ first order of business: gathering disciples. He first asks two fisherman brothers to follow him, Simon and Andrew, using a fishing metaphor to foreshadow their own future of making disciples! Their reaction is complete surrender of their vocation and lives to fully follow this man Jesus.
Next, he collects another set of brothers: James and John. Their response was the same as Simon and Andrew.
After these first disciples are collected, we are given a snapshot of the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and his growing fame as he preaches the gospel, heals the sick, and excercises demons. Entire crowds begin to follow Jesus, even throughout their whole region and beyond, presenting the question: Will these crowds follow Jesus in the same way as his disciples will?
Discussion
Why would Jesus’ invitation to discipleship require repentance? What does that say about who we are and who he is?
If Jesus invited you to follow him now, what would you have to leave behind? Was there anything that stands out in your mind that was most difficult to leave behind when you became a disciple of Jesus?
Discipleship Activity
1) Divide into groups and take time to check in on each other. Talk about what has been going on in everyone’s lives. It can be in regards to job, family, or personal struggles. Then set up a way in which you can follow up as the people of God. The most essential practice of discipleship is to be present.
2) In about 15 minutes, introduce this second discussion:
Jesus’ invitation to follow him was an invitation to live life with him. In a way, it was an invitation to enter into the most intentional moments of Jesus’ life. Is there anyone in your life you could invite to live life with you as you pursue becoming a more faithful disciple of Jesus?
Prayer Activity
Staying in groups, enter into a time of prayer, for each other, and for your group’s extended network of discipleship.
1)Pray that God would create in you a desire to intentionally live life with the person or people that He has brought to the forefront of your mind.
2)Pray that those people would be so transformed by the gospel that they too would one day desire to make disciples of Jesus Christ.