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“What Is a Disciple? Part 2”
I remember when I was in 8th grade, I signed up to be part of the JV football team at Mulberry High School. That summer, we had football camp, and I learned a lot about playing football. You see, I had watched the Miami Dolphins and the Florida Gators play. I had played a lot of sandlot football with my cousins and friends, but this was a different situation.
Part of what I learned that summer was what it looked and felt like to be a football player at Mulberry High School. I learned what it looked like and felt like to wear a heavy helmet, a bunch of well-used pads, and a well-used uniform. I learned what it looked like and felt like to run drills and have a team meeting. I learned how we didn’t have many water breaks, and when we did, we drank out of a PVC pipe. I learned that it’s very hot in the summer, especially when you are wearing full football gear. I learned what it meant to get knocked down and lose. I learned that Mulberry High School was more of a soccer and basketball school than a football school. I learned a lot about what it meant to be a part of the Mulberry High School Fighting Panther football team.
We’re in the middle of a short series called “What Is a Disciple?” Today, we’re on the second of three sermons. This is “What Is a Disciple? Part 2.”
The question that we’re seeking to answer is, “What is a disciple?” We want to know what it looks like and feels like to be a disciple at First Baptist Church Bartow.
So, that is the question before us.
Before we go any further, let’s pray together and ask God to speak to us through this time.
(prayer)
Ok, so what does it look like to be a disciple at this church?
Well, here’s what we learned so far in part 1:
A disciple experiences spiritual growth.
A disciple is part of a big group.
A disciple is part of a small group.
But wait, there’s more! There’s more to being a disciple than these three traits. In fact, you have a card that has seven traits. So, let’s keep learning.
The next trait of a disciple is . . .
I. A disciple participates in Christian fellowship.
Fellowship is sort of a Christianese word that people sometimes can’t really define (You know what Christianese is, right? It’s a word that Christians use that others don’t really know what it means).
Well, to fellowship basically means to hang out in a friendly way.
So, a disciple is someone who spends time in a friendly way with other Christians. A disciple participates in Christian fellowship.
Fellowship may include eating together, visiting each other’s homes, or simply spending time together at church.
So, as we consider Christian fellowship, consider first that . . . A disciple is integrated into the lives of others who follow Jesus.
Listen, church: we are a family, and we are part of a body that is united together with other Christians.
1 Corinthians 12:27 tells us, “Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it.”
Just as a body is integrated together, so also we are integrated together. An eye does not work independently from the body, nor do the feet work independently from the rest of the body. Our bodies work together. We need our entire bodies to function at our best. After all, a lot of us can’t even walk and chew gum at the same time. We need our entire body to function properly so we can function properly.
So also, we need each other in the body of Christ; we need each other in the church.
In fact, Paul warns us elsewhere about being too closely aligned with those who are not a part of the church.
2 Corinthians 6:14 says, “Do not be yoked together with those who do not believe. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness
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By First Baptist Church Bartow
5
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I remember when I was in 8th grade, I signed up to be part of the JV football team at Mulberry High School. That summer, we had football camp, and I learned a lot about playing football. You see, I had watched the Miami Dolphins and the Florida Gators play. I had played a lot of sandlot football with my cousins and friends, but this was a different situation.
Part of what I learned that summer was what it looked and felt like to be a football player at Mulberry High School. I learned what it looked like and felt like to wear a heavy helmet, a bunch of well-used pads, and a well-used uniform. I learned what it looked like and felt like to run drills and have a team meeting. I learned how we didn’t have many water breaks, and when we did, we drank out of a PVC pipe. I learned that it’s very hot in the summer, especially when you are wearing full football gear. I learned what it meant to get knocked down and lose. I learned that Mulberry High School was more of a soccer and basketball school than a football school. I learned a lot about what it meant to be a part of the Mulberry High School Fighting Panther football team.
We’re in the middle of a short series called “What Is a Disciple?” Today, we’re on the second of three sermons. This is “What Is a Disciple? Part 2.”
The question that we’re seeking to answer is, “What is a disciple?” We want to know what it looks like and feels like to be a disciple at First Baptist Church Bartow.
So, that is the question before us.
Before we go any further, let’s pray together and ask God to speak to us through this time.
(prayer)
Ok, so what does it look like to be a disciple at this church?
Well, here’s what we learned so far in part 1:
A disciple experiences spiritual growth.
A disciple is part of a big group.
A disciple is part of a small group.
But wait, there’s more! There’s more to being a disciple than these three traits. In fact, you have a card that has seven traits. So, let’s keep learning.
The next trait of a disciple is . . .
I. A disciple participates in Christian fellowship.
Fellowship is sort of a Christianese word that people sometimes can’t really define (You know what Christianese is, right? It’s a word that Christians use that others don’t really know what it means).
Well, to fellowship basically means to hang out in a friendly way.
So, a disciple is someone who spends time in a friendly way with other Christians. A disciple participates in Christian fellowship.
Fellowship may include eating together, visiting each other’s homes, or simply spending time together at church.
So, as we consider Christian fellowship, consider first that . . . A disciple is integrated into the lives of others who follow Jesus.
Listen, church: we are a family, and we are part of a body that is united together with other Christians.
1 Corinthians 12:27 tells us, “Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it.”
Just as a body is integrated together, so also we are integrated together. An eye does not work independently from the body, nor do the feet work independently from the rest of the body. Our bodies work together. We need our entire bodies to function at our best. After all, a lot of us can’t even walk and chew gum at the same time. We need our entire body to function properly so we can function properly.
So also, we need each other in the body of Christ; we need each other in the church.
In fact, Paul warns us elsewhere about being too closely aligned with those who are not a part of the church.
2 Corinthians 6:14 says, “Do not be yoked together with those who do not believe. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness