Announcements
- Men’s Prayer Breakfast- Men! Please join us on Tuesday, July 16th, upstairs at 6:30 am for our Men’s Prayer Breakfast. We will be sharing a meal and praying specifically over our church! Please sign up on the app or through the events page on our website so we know how much breakfast to provide.
- Summer Extravaganza- Sunday, July 21st @ 4:30 pm Come join us for a wildly fun evening of family-friendly competition!!! We will buddy up to see which color team has what it takes to win a little game we like to call Organized Mass Chaos! Mark your calendars now! https://www.thewellabilene.com/events/2019/7/21/summer-extravaganza
- Daddy Play Date- Saturday, July 27 @ 10am. We will have a time for Dads and kids of The Well to get together to play, hang out, and drink some coffee. Black coffee and Chick-Fil-A will be provided!!!
Objectives
- Identify the need for disciple-makers or “laborers” in Jesus’ kingdom work.
- Compare and contrast how Jesus’ instructions for his disciples apply to our own calling to make disciples.
- Pray for more laborers for the kingdom.
Key Passages
Matthew 9:37-10:15
Summary
In 9:37-38, Jesus seems to be addressing further the problem of the crowds being “like a sheep without a shepherd.” In a farming metaphor, Jesus teaches his disciples that actually many of these crowds are ready to receive the gospel, but there are not enough disciple-makers, so disciple-makers are what they should pray for.
This sets Matthew’s audience perfectly to understand why Jesus calls his 12 disciples together, gives them authority to perform his same gospel-proclaiming miracles, and then sends them out to Israelites. Again, in vs. 6 Jesus uses Sheperd language, explaining that the disciples should share Jesus’ kingdom message with only the “lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Therefore, in 10:5-15, Jesus is giving instructions to the disciples so that they can act as these “Shepherds” that the Israelites truly need. However, Jesus also includes instructions on what to do if the Israelites deny them or the gospel they preach, foreshadowing that this will be the case for many Jews.
Sample Questions
Feel free to use or reword the questions below that you think will be most helpful to meet the objectives above. Remember, these questions should ultimately cultivate discussion of ways to respond to or apply what the Holy Spirit has revealed to us through Scripture.
- What does it mean to be laborers of the kingdom?
- What do you imagine it would look like for The Well to continue responding to the gospel by obeying the great commission?
- What areas in your life do you feel a particular calling to make disciples?
- When it comes to making disciples, it is the Lord’s work to bring forth fruit, but what is our part?
- In this text, the context is for the disciples, but how does the calling to make disciples apply to us? Do you ever feel like this is someone else’s responsibility and not yours?
- How have you personally seen God use the unqualified or unlikely to make disciples?
- Jesus told his disciples not to bring anything with them as they set out to share the gospel on their own. What items, metaphorical or physical, are you most tempted to bring with you as you go out?
- How is God calling you to trust him more when it comes to living a life of disciple-making?
Sample Responses
Either in smaller groups or as a whole GC:
- Spend time praying for the Lord to bring forth laborers from our church. For him to awaken our hearts to love him and to receive this calling, learning to see the opportunities he has given us to reach out to those who do not know him.