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God’s heart is for all the lost. Yet, so many places around us do not have followers of Jesus to be a light for the community and show God’s love to the people there. As followers of Jesus, we are called by God to align our hearts to His heart for ALL the lost. We need to pursue a big vision that will reach all lost communities around us. We are trusting God to use us to bring “a church for every village and community and the gospel for every person!”
Large crowds were beginning to follow Jesus. They heard of the miraculous healings and the feedings of the multitudes. They were attracted to Him because of the benefits they hoped to receive from Him. But Jesus knew their hearts. He knew they really were not willing to follow Him unconditionally. He wanted them to recognize that to follow Him meant to surrender everything to Him.
Read or watch Luke 14:25-33 two times as everyone listens
28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you,30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
When we follow Christ, the benefits are eternal and beyond compare: forgiveness of sins, salvation, and security in the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But being a disciple of Jesus will not make you exempt from pain and trials. Because we live in an evil world, following Christ will also bring you persecution and challenges. Anyone who desires to live a godly life in Jesus will be persecuted by others. But let’s be encouraged by Peter, one of Jesus’ closest friends, read 1 Peter 4:12-16 and 19.
Once you know one or two people who have experienced Jesus and connected with Him, the next step is to form a group. Remember God’s heart is for your friend, their family, and their friends who don’t know Him (Acts 2:39).
This is why you don’t stop at one-on-one discipleship. Encourage the people you’re meeting with to identify friends and family in their networks who are on a spiritual journey and would like to connect together around God’s story.
In the meantime, while you’re waiting to form a group, you can start going through Life Principles using the Bible Discovery format.
A Bible Discovery group is a simple way to connect around God’s Word using questions based around who God is, who we are as people, and what difference that will make in our life. Your role is not to teach but to facilitate discussion trusting that the Holy Spirit will lead people to the truth.
Once you have a group of three to seven people committed to going through God’s story together, you can begin going through the Discover The Basics section. This is a big picture overview of the Bible from creation to Christ leading into their response to Jesus.
Note: If you have a few people who cannot make it to one of the Basics sessions, you can ask the group to choose one of the Life Principles to look at until you’re all together again. This is so everyone in the group goes through the big picture gospel message from creation to Christ together.
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