Ripe for Harvest

364 • R IPE FOR H ARVEST

3. Becoming a brother or sister, John 1.12-13

a. Mutuality as the goal of all discipleship

b. Soul friendship: walking together in mutual agreement and desire

c. Both giving and receiving: the reciprocation in all healthy discipling relationships

4. Nurturing a godly friendship

a. Aristotle’s three kinds of friendship

b. The importance of dialogue: open communication

c. The importance of honesty: revealing one’s heart

d. The importance of mutuality: two-way street

5. The special nature of friendship

a. Sharpening one another, Prov. 27.27

b. Sticks closer than a brother, Prov. 18.24

c. Loves at all times, Prov. 17.17

d. Whose wounds are faithful, Prov. 27.6

Christlikeness: The Ultimate Aim of All Discipling in the Church

The Christian is united to Christ by virtue of their faith in Him. Only when we understand that God’s overarching desire is to conform every member of His church to the beauty and glory of Christ can we place discipleship in its proper context. The Christian is united to Christ in all dimensions of His life and ministry, and so discipleship is effectively seeking to make visible in our lives what God has done in our position in Christ (Rom. 8.29; 1 John 3.2-3; 2 Cor. 3.18; Phil. 3.4-12). Discipleship, therefore, is to make visible in our condition what the Holy Spirit has done already in our position. In pairs, try to match the text with their respective description!

Context Values/Vision

Prepare Launch Assemble Nurture Transition Schedule/Charter