What’s Next?

Follow Along with the Message

Learning to reorient your life around the ways of Jesus

Here are some observations of what makes a person a Christian:

1. Someone who has  the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

2. Someone who  the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

3. Someone who  from the way they’re going and turns to Jesus.

4. Someone who  the grace of God.

5. Someone who  a Disciple, a follower of Jesus.

If being a Christian is becoming a Disciple, then what makes a Disciple?

Some Misconceptions about Discipleship:

• Misconception #1: Discipleship is all about increasing our Biblical knowledge.
• Misconception #2: Discipleship happens only on certain nights in a church building.
• Misconception #3: Discipleship is optional for a Christian.
• Misconception #4: Discipleship’s goal is to show me the rules to be a better Christian.

It’s important to have a healthy view of apprenticing your life around Jesus.

“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit.”

--Jeremiah 17:7–8 (NLT)

“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. (Know God.)

1.  to follow Jesus.

They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water. (Find Freedom.)

2.  with Jesus.

Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought. (Discover Purpose.)

3.  like Jesus.

Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit. (Make a Difference.)

4.  what Jesus did.

Let’s dig a little deeper into the definition of Discipleship.

Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.”

--Luke 9:23–24 (NKJV)

1. Being a Disciple requires  (let him deny himself).

2. Being a Disciple requires total  (… take up his cross daily).

3. Being a Disciple requires complete  (… follow Me).

“So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.”

--Luke 14:33 (NLT)

“At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him.”

--John 6:66 (NLT)

“Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.”

--Ephesians 4:11–13 (NLT)

filled earth with his gifts. He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ’s followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ’s body, the church, until we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.

--Ephesians 4:11–13 (The Message)

1st Misconception: Discipleship is all about increasing our Biblical knowledge.

• Truth: Discipleship is about increasing our knowledge of God.

2nd Misconception: Discipleship happens only on certain nights in the church building.

• Truth: Discipleship can take place anywhere at any time.

3rd Misconception: Discipleship is optional for a Christian.

• Truth: Discipleship is not optional for a Christian.

4th Misconception: Discipleship’s goal is to show me the rules to be a better Christian.

• Truth: Discipleship’s goal is to teach you how to be like Jesus.

What is a Christian?

A Christian is someone who has placed his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

--John 1:12 (NLT)

A Christian has been born again by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

--John 3:3 (NLT)

A Christian “belongs to Christ” and is daily being transformed into the likeness of Christ.

So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

--2 Corinthians 3:18 (NLT)