The New Testament Witness to Christ and His Kingdom, Mentor's Guide, MG13

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T H E N E W T E S T A M E N T W I T N E S S T O C H R I S T A N D H I S K I N G D O M

must seek to capture and sustain the same level of wonder and devotion that turned that scared little group into world-changing Apostles and messengers of God. They were transformed, in a radically revolutionary way. The experience that catapulted them into the volumes of history was their experience of the risen Lord. The encounters they had with the Lord Jesus, and then with the Holy Spirit after his ascension changed them in every way, from head to toe. The power of faith in Messiah to transform and radicalize our lives is critical to everything we are doing, both in our own discipleship and in our service for Christ. What should be encouraging to all of us is that a single encounter with the risen Savior is enough to make world-changers out of a scared, timid, little band of Jesus' followers. May God so touch us as to make us world-changers, too, through the same powerful encounter with the glory of the risen Christ. One of the primary aims of this lesson is to emphasize the importance of the apostolic deposit of faith, the Apostles’ doctrine regarding Jesus as the Messiah. In our day, which has tended to downplay doctrine as a kind of old-fashioned, abstract, and uninteresting relic of past theological wars, it is important to rediscover the power and wonder of the theology, especially in its most central and fundamental form (i.e., the teaching regarding the resurrection of Jesus Christ). Emphasize throughout this lesson the central role that doctrine plays in the Christian life and ministry, and do not hesitate to exhort your students to new levels of committed, firsthand study of the scriptural evidence for Jesus as the Messiah of God. Below are some texts to aid you in your exhortations and challenges: Jude 1.3 - Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Acts 28.28 - Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen. Gal. 3.28 - There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

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