I hope this blog finds you all doing well, Beloved! Last Sunday night Pastor Nate Gast walked us through what discipleship looks like in a very practical manner. The importance of personal discipleship simply cannot be overstated, and there is great joy in being a part of a body where older, more mature believers are taking the lead in discipling younger, newer believers. Pastor Nate helped us see that even though the thought of discipleship may seem somewhat daunting, the actual practice of discipleship is pretty straightforward. One of the objections, however, to engaging in discipleship that Pastor Nate brought up was the insecurity that we may feel because we are often keenly aware of our own inadequacies when it comes to biblical knowledge and application. That understandable concern actually provides a great bridge to discussing the different discipleship opportunities that we will be providing this fall here at LifePoint Church that are designed to help us “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18).
Discipleship should be occurring on personal levels, but it does not merely occur on personal levels. When we see discipleship as the process of training up into Christ-likeness through studying Scripture together, Scripture memorization, and accountability (and the list goes on), then we see that discipleship can occur in both smaller and larger groups. This fall we will be offering up some opportunities for discipleship in larger group formats through our Fellows Program, Hermeneutics curriculum, and Apologetics curriculum. Each one of these classes has a different focus in mind, from working through biblical and systematic theology, to studying how we interpret the Bible, to providing training on how to give a defense for the faith once for all delivered to the saints (cf. Jude 3). Each one of these classes provides a great opportunity to ground ourselves in biblical truth so that we might also teach those who come after us. If one reason you are hesitant to disciple others is because you feel unprepared yourself, I’d encourage you to take advantage of some of these opportunities this fall.
Discipleship comes through many avenues, two of which we just looked at. There is another form of discipleship, though, that we may overlook. Family worship is another way that discipleship takes place in the home. As dads and moms work together to train their children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (cf. Eph. 6:4), discipleship is taking place. As the truths of God’s wonderful works throughout redemptive history, culminating in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, are sung, prayed through, and studied together as a family, parents are training their children to hope in God (cf. Ps. 78:5-8). On June 24, we will be offering another Sunday evening seminar that will focus on family worship. It will be from 6:00-7:00 p.m. in Room 102-103, and we will be walking through some aspects of family worship together. I’m looking forward to this time together, and I trust that the Lord will use it to grow us and our families more into the image of Jesus Christ.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Nate Meece
