{Updated 11/27/04}
Some General Questions & Statements
1. What are some synonyms for the word “disciple”?
2. The Christian author Dallas Willard suggests that “apprentice” is a good synonym for disciple. What’s your reaction?
3. In the popular television show The Apprentice, who is the teacher and who is the disciple? Do you think this is a good model for discipleship? Why or why not?
4. How do you react to the following statement that we used in our initial study of the spiritual disciplines?
In English we have a nice parallelism between the words disciple and discipline. Both words stem from the Latin word discipulus, which means simply “pupil”. A disciple is a pupil of a teacher, and to follow his teaching means to learn the disciplines or practices that make up his body of learning.
Matt. 16:13-20
1. Who is Jesus talking to in this passage? Compare the usage here with the definition we just considered. Are they consistent?
2. Why does Jesus ask them what others are saying about his identity? What is he probing about their discipleship?
3. Why does Jesus say Simon Peter is blessed? What does this tell us about the central issue regarding discipleship?
4. Why does Jesus make such a big deal about where Peter got his information from?
5. Later, before his ascension, Jesus tells his followers to “make disciples of all nations.” Please relate that commandment to what we’ve just learned about how disciples are made. How does this make you feel about evangelism and missions?
6. Was Peter the first Pope? If not, give an example from Peter’s life of his using the “keys of the Kingdom”.
7. Please read verses 21-23. What lessons do these verses teach us about discipleship?
Acts 11:19-30
1. What happened in Antioch? Why was this significant?
2. Note in verse 23 the phrase: “evidence of the grace of God”? What is grace? Please relate the grace shown in this passage to that exhibited in the passage in Matthew that we just read.
3. What is a Christian? Is the usage of this term in this passage comparable or different from its use here in the 3rd millennium?
4. What do we see the disciples/Christians doing in Antioch? Were they practicing any spiritual disciplines?
Exercise
1. Please guess how many times the word “disciple” is used in the New Testament:____
2. Now guess how many times “disciple” is used in the books starting at Romans and ending at Revelation:___
3. Why do you suppose this is?
4. What word—particularly used by Paul in his letters—would you guess seems to be a replacement for “disciple”? _____________
Acts 9:1-16
1. Who, specifically, was Paul “breathing out murderous threats” towards as he set out from Jerusalem to Damascus?
2. Who, specifically, does Ananias say Paul has done harm to in Jerusalem.
3. Who discipled Paul? What impact did this have on Paul’s future life as a believer?
Interesting Fact:
· The word "disciple" is not used in the New Testament after the book of Acts.
· Acts 9: 13 is the first use of the word “saint” in the New Testament (used 45 times compared to 290 occurrences of the word “disciple”). The other writers, particularly Paul, use the word saint instead of disciple. Acts 9 is unique in that both words are used in the same chapter, somewhat interchangeably.
4. Why do you suppose the word “saint” replaces the word “disciple” as a designation for a follower of Jesus Christ?
5. Why do we sing “When the Saints Go Marching In” instead of “When the Disciples Go Marching In?”
6. Should we replace the concept of “discipleship” with the concept of “saintship”?
7. Why don’t we tend to use the word “saint” in our description of fellow believers?
Romans 1:1-7
1. What do we learn about the meaning of the word “saint” in this passage?
2. What additional meaning does saint have that is not found in disciple?
3. Comment on the following equation: DISCIPLE = SAINT
4. Now comment on this equation: CHRISTIAN = DISCIPLE
5. Do you think “Christian”, “Disciple” and “Saint” have the same meanings here in the 3rd millennium as they had in the first? Why or why not?
As we confront the challenges and opportunities of the third millennium,our vision is to be a worshipping community of disciples who are bringing God’s Kingdom to bear upon the world and building His Church among all peoples.
(vision statement of Town North Presbyterian Church)
What does it mean to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Third Millennium since his first appearance? At first glance the millennium we live in seems vastly different than the one in which he founded his church. Think of the following list: electricity, indoor plumbing, automobiles, airplanes, radio, television, telephones, cell phones, motion pictures, anesthesia, antibiotics, recorded music on CDs, supermarkets, drugstores, men on the moon…. None of these were present in the first century AD. In fact, most of them came into existence only in the last hundred years of the second millennium. Is it possible in such a technologically advanced culture that the teachings of a carpenter’s son from a small town in an insignificant corner of the Roman Empire over 2000 years ago could be relevant now?
Now consider two other lists (from the book of Galatians):
sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies.
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Regardless of our technological sophistication, it’s apparent that man’s fallen nature and his redemption from it are just as much a central issue of our third millennium as they were when our Lord addressed them in the first.
Yet, there is no doubt that the trappings of our millennium produce both unique challenges and unique opportunities never seen before in the history of our planet. Against this background, then, we want to ask the question: what does it mean to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ in this new millennium? We will be addressing this question through a series of inductive Bible studies, augmented by other material that gives us insight into the way which discoveries in the realm of general revelation impact our understanding of our Creator and his love for us.
Three books will aid us in our studies:
· The Cost of Discipleship, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
· The Divine Conspiracy, by Dallas Willard
· Christ’s Call to Discipleship, by James Montgomery Boice
In addition we will be viewing a video entitled Unlocking the Mystery of Life, produced by the Access Research Network, to give us insight into just how “intricately woven” our bodies are as designed by our Sovereign and Loving Creator.
The course outline below is meant to be indicative of topics we will explore together. However, we want to be flexible in these topics depending on the needs of the class. Please feel free to make suggestions for topics that you would like to see emphasized, and areas of concern that you would like to see addressed that may not be on the list below. Our only constraints are that the topics should line up with the general subject of discipleship, and the videos are non-negotiable: you have to see them!
(Tentative) Course Outline
1. What is a disciple?
· The first disciples
· The Apprentice and the apprentice
· What do disciples do, actually?
2. The cost of discipleship
· Taking up the cross
· Leaving father, mother, sister, brother
· Cheap grace
3. The covenants and the disciple
· What is a covenant?
· What is the “new covenant in my blood”?
· The new covenant and eternity
4. The disciple and the Kingdom
· What is the Kingdom of God?
· How near is the Kingdom?
· How powerful is the King?
5. The disciple and the family
· Does bearing the cross mean abandoning the family?
· Sanctification in the family
· Who disciples our children?
6. The calling of the disciple
· Part time Christian service, or full time?
· What’s my line?
· Who’s my boss?
7. Disciplines for disciples
· What did Jesus do?
· What did Paul do?
· A review
8. The disciple in God’s creation: part 1
· Psalm 139
· Viewing of Part 1 of Unlocking the Mystery of Life
· Discussion
9. The disciple in God’s creation: part 2
· Viewing of Part 2 of Unlocking the Mystery of Life
· Discussion
10. The disciple and the sanctifying Spirit
· Romans 7
· Romans 8
11. The making of other disciples
· The Great Commission
· Why is evangelism so hard?
· Our place in the Body
12. The worshipping disciple and his Lord
· Who is Jesus, really?
· “Your God is Too Small”
· Glimpses of Heaven
13. Death of a disciple
· The end of this life
· Our deaths and those of ones we love
· How long is eternity?