b. Do you think this practice of the early church provides a principle that is applicable to todays church?

Explain your answer. See also Acts 2:2, 46, 8:1-3, 20:20; Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15; Philemon 2. _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________

His Life Ministries

Discipleship Guide
In the Pursuit of Making Disciples and Glorifying God

GOD has a PLAN

Borrowed from LLI

Matthew 28:19, 20
Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.

God has a plan for making disciples. It is best illustrated in the ministry of Jesus Christ. For three years He built a relationship with twelve men. He walked, talked, ate and lived with them, teaching and demonstrating all He wanted them to know about the kingdom of God.

The 33 means, 33 minutes spent Meeting, Sitting, Teaching, Talking and Praying will make a whole lot of difference in your Christian walk. It could be 33 minutes to 103 minutes!

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>>> USE THIS GUIDE as you MEETSITTEACH TALK PRAY with one another. It CAN be done in a group of 3, 5, 12 or more!
compiled by Pastor JR for His Life Ministries Discipleship Module GO TO www.hlmcentral.multiply.com FOR MORE DISCIPLESHIP RESOURCES

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In John 17:18 Jesus prayed to the Father saying, As You sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. He asked them to go and share their lives with others as He had done with them. In other words, His will for them was much more than the ongoing proclamation of the gospel: it was the discipling of all men. (Matthew 28:19-20). It has always been the will of God to make men into something. The church is far more

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than a salvation station; it is Gods official disciple-making community. The early church understood this principle of making disciples through in-depth sharing in small groups. In Acts 2:46 we find the believers met in the temple collectively and also in their homes in small groups, breaking bread together and sharing their lives. It is the second part of this New Testament experience that the modern church lacks. Where had the early church learned it? They learned it directly from the Master Himself. Paul followed a similar pattern of intensive personal discipling. He took with him young men like Timothy to assist in his missionary outreach. Paul was constantly sharing all he knew about the ministry with those who traveled with him. (2 Timothy 2:2) We in the modern church must embrace this New Testament principle. If men and women are going to be discipled, we must be prepared to pour our lives into them. It is impossible for this to be done if a large corporate service is all the local church offers. The church must return to a format where small home fellowships are given equal emphasis and support along with the weekly collective celebration.

HOME STUDY GUIDE

(should be done during Quiet Times / Personal Devotion)

What did Jesus say had to be done in order to make men into His disciples? Matthew 28:20 _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ Think about how a child learns in the family setting. More fundamental learning and character development take place during the first few years than at any other time in life, and yet, there is very little formal training given. Now relate the childs experience to how a new Christian must learn his new life. List all the ways a small group can assist the learning process in a new Christians life as opposed to a larger church meeting. _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ a. What were the two types of meetings in the early church? Acts 5:42 _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________

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