Sermons on Discipleship (Page 4)
Discipleship 101: The Connection Between My Peace & Our Peace | Philippians 4:2-9
I worked on a ranch for a summer. While I was there I helped brand cows, run cattle through chutes, and even tagged one cow’s ear. I’m not much of an animal person, but I do know that in a cattle herd the health of one cow can affect the health of the whole herd. Sickness and disease can spread quickly, so you want to make sure each cow is healthy. If one cow becomes stressed, it can get sick,…
Discipleship 101: Philippians 2:19-3:9 | Two Great Disciples & One Garbage Disciple
Have you ever gotten sucked into one of those cheap magazine or buzzfeed quizzes that tries to tell you something about yourself? You answer a dozen questions and it categorizes you as a certain type of person (introvert, extrovert, shy, outgoing, etc.) or as a character from one of your favorite movies or books. I took a “Which Harry Potter Character Are You” quiz and got Severus Snape. Severus Snape is pretty much the bad guy for most of Harry…
Discipleship 101: The Excitement of Being a Disciple | Philippians 3:10-4:1
For the last month or so we have been looking at what it means to be a disciple. We discovered that being a disciple means to be a student. And in our scripture text for today Paul says that He wants to know Christ. Paul was not satisfied just to know about Jesus. He wanted to know and to experience everything about Him. Please click “Save” and then “PDF” to download a copy of Bernie’s sermon manuscript. Thank you! Church Service You can watch…
Discipleship 101: Joyful Disciples | Philippians 2:12-18
Jesus and the 12 disciples walk into a restaurant and Jesus says to the hostess, “Table for 26 please.” So she says to him, “But there’s only 13 of you?” Jesus says, “Yes, but we all want to sit on one side.” Is it okay to tell jokes in church? Is it okay to laugh? I think so. But what if I were to tell you that the Bible actually encourages us to be joyful and happy as a church.…
Discipleship 101: The Humble Disciple | Philippians 2:1-11
Have you ever heard of a humble brag? A humble brag is a display of false modesty. People do this on Twitter all the time, and thankfully, one user has compiled some of the most humble humble brags. “Can we start a media campaign to question how I got into Columbia, too? Still scratching my head about how I got accepted & demand answers!” – Annie “I just did something very selfless. But more importantly, it was genuine & I…
Discipleship 101: Counter-Cultural Disciples | Philippians 1:27-30 (Tim Tebow vs. Colin Kaepernick)
What word would you use to describe our world right now? Chaotic? Angry? A mess? It seems like every week there’s a new story covering the strife in Washington and filling our globe. North Korea. Russia. Healthcare. The President. NFL. It seems like no matter the topic, our world is bitterly divided. But the great news is that Christians are in agreement! We are unified. We are at peace. We offer a safe-haven to those who want to get away…
Discipleship 101: The Difficulties of Discipleship | Philippians 1:12-26
As I was preparing this sermon on the difficulties of following Jesus this, I began to think about places we face hardship, and I thought of boot camp. I have not gone through boot camp, but my brother went to the Marine Corps boot camp. Boot camp is known for being really hard. You constantly drill, study, workout (sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, running), and this all culminates at the end in the crucible. The crucible is a 54-hour test where you’re…
Discipleship 101: The Servant Disciple | Philippians 1:1-2
What is a disciple? That’s not a word we hear very often. When you think of a disciple, you may think of a religious person who adheres to the teachings of Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, Plato, or some other religious teacher or philosopher. Disciple means “learner” or “student,” but the idea of being a disciple seems to be less and less popular, at least among my generation, the millennials. According to a Pew Research Center study, more than one-third of Millennials…
Into The Unknown | Genesis 11:27-12:9
Genesis 11:27-12:9 tells us the story of God calling Abram out of his homeland towards a new and better place. God promises three blessings: a place, a people, and a presence, but Abram will only receive these through faith. This faith is a living and active faith, faith enough to go. God calls us out of our comfort too. God invites you into the unknown by faith so that you might know Him.
My Way vs. God’s Way | Genesis 11:1-9
Genesis 11:1-9 is the story of the tower of Babel. All the people of the world gather together not just build a city and tower, but to show God they are more interested in doing life their way than his way. The marks of a life lived for self instead of God are: 1) pride, 2) disobedience, and 3) idolatry. The signs of living life for God instead of self are the opposite: 1) humility, 2) obedience, and 3) worship.…
Called to Serve | Exodus 31:1-11
What’s the greatest thing you can imagine being a part of? For some, maybe it’s the Apollo Space Program that sent Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the moon. Today we’re given an even greater opportunity to join Jesus in serving God and building His kingdom. In Exodus 31:1-11 we see the leader of Israel, Moses, give his people a similar opportunity as they begin to construct the tabernacle. In this story we learn what a call is and three…
Discipleship | Matthew 28:16-20
“Discipleship – We learn to love and obey Jesus and help others do the same.” We find this Core Value in Matthew 28:16-20, as Jesus calls his disciples to reach the world in what we now call The Great Commission. This passage is a story of discipleship, a story of mission, and ultimately, a story of following Christ in the midst of doubt. Christ’s call is simple. Make, mature, and multiply followers of Jesus. Please also see our Matthew 28:16-20…