Master the Bible: How to Get and Keep the Big Picture of the Bible's Story

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Mas ter the B i b l e : How to Get and Keep the B i g P i c ture of the B i b l e ’ s Stor y

• Commit yourself to the discipline and rigor of becoming a mature disciple, and ask God to grant you the opportunity to make disciples in the context of your local church.

Overview We will begin our study by discovering the biblical roots of Christian maturity. We will first seek to understand how the biblical analogy of spiritual childhood in the New Testament provides a framework for understanding spiritual growth and formation, and God’s desire that all his children grow to maturity in Jesus Christ. We will then explore the essential elements of the profile of a mature disciple of Jesus Christ, surveying the various perspectives, practices, and posi tions that a mature disciple fleshes out. Finally, we will look at the implications of God’s call to maturity, and the challenge to make disciples of Christ in the context of your local church. “Too many years to still be a little kid in the faith.” One of the greatest problems in a majority of our evangelical churches today is conserving the fruit of our evangelism and en suring that those who make verbal commitments to Christ become involved in the life of a church. Frankly, believers who have been members of their local church for many years can show no measur able growth in Christ. They do not know Scripture, live like their unchristian counterparts, and never share their faith. Many pastors and other church leaders are overwhelmed with duties that could easily be shared among members of the church body, but, for lack of faithful and mature workers, they become stressed, overburdened, and discouraged. In your judgment, what would you cite as the three main reasons why many professing Christians in our churches seem so immature in their faith? What would you consider the root issues that contribute most to this difficult and tragic situation? “Gimmicks are cute, but they don’t produce fruit.” One of the signs of our struggling church life today is the appeal that so many congregations are making toward gimmicks and weird attractions. In order to lure more people into their Sunday services, a number of churches are resorting to amazingly creative approaches, forms of enlistment that may be clever but sadly lack spiritual credi bility. One church, for instance, gives each person in attendance Contact