Thursday, August 7, 2014

Nurturing Spirituality: part 4: The Process, Product, and Context of Discipleship

Our society has replaced heroes with celebrities, the quest for a well-informed character with the search for a flat stomach, substance and depth with image and personality. In the political process, the makeup man is more important than the speech writer, and we approach the voting booth, not on the basis of a well-developed philosophy of what the state should be, but with a heart full of images, emotions, and slogans all packed into thirty-second sound bites. The mind-numbing, irrational tripe that fills TV talk shows is digested by millions of bored, lonely Americans hungry for that sort of stuff.”
Love Your God with All Your Mind, J. P. Moreland
“Suppose someone invented an instrument, a convenient little talking tube which, say, could be heard over the whole land. . .
I wonder if the police would not forbid it, fearing that the whole country would become mentally deranged if it were used.”
Søren Kierkegaard, who died in 1855, speculated about the impact of radio and television long before they were invented.
The Process of Discipleship
1. Exposing
 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:9
2. Equipping
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:9
·        Teaching
ü A biblical view of the authority and truth of Scripture
ü A biblical value system
ü A biblical view of hope
ü A biblical view of purpose
ü A biblical view of motivation
ü A biblical view of contentment and gratitude
ü The development of personal convictions
ü The role of tribulation in our lives
ü A biblical view of work and leisure
ü The challenges of our culture to the application of biblical truth
ü The nature of the spiritual warfare and of our spiritual resources
ü The process of spiritual formation
·        Training (good studies, good books)
3. Encouraging and Exhorting
·        Be FAT (Faithful, Available, Teachable)
·        Be HOT (Honest, Open, Transparent)
·        The Devil

It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter. Psalm 74:17
 In that day, the LORD will punish with his sword, his fierce, great and powerful sword, Leviathan the gliding serpent, Leviathan the coiling serpent; he will slay the monster of the sea. Isaiah 27:1
 The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the harp, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand 1 Samuel 18:10
 But an evil spirit from the LORD came upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was playing the harp, 1 Samuel 19:9

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