Living and growing as a disciple is the most rewarding life possible, and it offers each of us an opportunity to serve, love and care for others in the best possible way. We get to be rescuers, and grow stronger while we’re in training.

Discipleship is very hard and very expensive. We discussed this in the last episode, and will see it in explicit detail as we work through Luke. And though it’s hard and expensive, God has provided two things that can be helpful to us all: the bible, and the church. Sadly, we fail to recognize the value of each of these. As we proceed through these lessons, we’ll learn a lot about the bible, and by the end of it, you’ll understand how to use it.

In this episode, I’m going to explain the way churches are; and the way God intended church to be. God specifically commands certain things for churches, and they ALL have to do with the purpose, or function of church.

This should be our last ‘overview’ lesson, and next time we’ll get into the text of Luke itself. But hopefully you’ll find some partners and form your own “church” – your own group with whom you can study and grow as fellow disciples. This “church” is something you should do whether or not you already attend a “regular” church, but don’t try to force a regular church to fit this model. Rather than rebel against your church … look for a few people who you can partner with and help one another to grow.

Scriptures mentioned in this lesson include:

• 1 Corinthians 14.26
• Hebrews 10.24
• Ephesians 4.11-16
• Luke 3.3-17