Pastor Corner
This Summer We have been looking at discipleship and what it means for us today. Our faith is a gift from God and as we look at our life and the situations that we find ourselves in we know that God is with us. He has given us everything that we need and everything that He has in store for us. What an awesome God we have and how much He loves us and cares for us. We never have to worry about Him leaving us or forgetting us. God is our parent and he is always looking out for us and doing what is best for us.
The word used in the New Testament for disciple is mathetes. The word means learner or disciple and is a technical term for the followers of Jesus. It also is used for the followers of John the Baptist, Moses, and the pharisees. In the New Testament world, a disciple would join themselves to a rabbi, or teacher, becoming a part of his school. This involved leaving behind the life they had known and spending all their time with their rabbi. In a sense, it was like going off to college. They wanted to learn everything they could about their rabbi, what He knew, How He talked, How he thought, and handled different situations.
What you see in Jesus and his disciples was typical of the rabbi/disciple relationship in New Testament Judea. Being a disciple was a full-time occupation. Those disciples were called to leave home and occupation behind and follow Jesus, learning what he had to teach them.
Being a disciple was not an end in itself. A disciple was ultimately expected to follow in their rabbi’s footsteps, becoming a rabbi himself. And, in turn, teaching other disciples what they had learned and were learning. So through our Baptism, we are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ, we too are called to follow after Jesus and to learn from HIM and to do what he would do. If we are going to get to know Him then we are called to spend time with him. That means that we are called -by our baptism, to spend time with him and to learn from Him everything that we can and to follow what it is that he has gifted and called us to do.
We read about the disciples and all that they had done and it is easy to think that it was easier to live their faith back then, when we realize that God has put us right where he needs us and has given us the gifts and talents that we need to accomplish all that he has in store for us and that we Just need to learn from Him.
Our desire should be to be in church and studying the bible so that we can learn all that we can about Him. Then learning what we can we are called to share it with others. To teach them how to have a relationship with Him and to see how God is with them. We need to treat everyone as a child of God and someone that God has called and gifted. We are Jesus’s hands and feet and we need to walk the way that He would and treat everyone the way that He treats us.
Discipleship is a big responsibility and an honor. We need not take it lightly and treat the gift with care. God does not make mistakes. He has called YOU for a reason. The more we center our life on Him the greater our discipleship can grow..
Hope to see you all in church every Sunday at 11:00
God Bless
Rev. Stephen W. Barch
This Summer We have been looking at discipleship and what it means for us today. Our faith is a gift from God and as we look at our life and the situations that we find ourselves in we know that God is with us. He has given us everything that we need and everything that He has in store for us. What an awesome God we have and how much He loves us and cares for us. We never have to worry about Him leaving us or forgetting us. God is our parent and he is always looking out for us and doing what is best for us.
The word used in the New Testament for disciple is mathetes. The word means learner or disciple and is a technical term for the followers of Jesus. It also is used for the followers of John the Baptist, Moses, and the pharisees. In the New Testament world, a disciple would join themselves to a rabbi, or teacher, becoming a part of his school. This involved leaving behind the life they had known and spending all their time with their rabbi. In a sense, it was like going off to college. They wanted to learn everything they could about their rabbi, what He knew, How He talked, How he thought, and handled different situations.
What you see in Jesus and his disciples was typical of the rabbi/disciple relationship in New Testament Judea. Being a disciple was a full-time occupation. Those disciples were called to leave home and occupation behind and follow Jesus, learning what he had to teach them.
Being a disciple was not an end in itself. A disciple was ultimately expected to follow in their rabbi’s footsteps, becoming a rabbi himself. And, in turn, teaching other disciples what they had learned and were learning. So through our Baptism, we are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ, we too are called to follow after Jesus and to learn from HIM and to do what he would do. If we are going to get to know Him then we are called to spend time with him. That means that we are called -by our baptism, to spend time with him and to learn from Him everything that we can and to follow what it is that he has gifted and called us to do.
We read about the disciples and all that they had done and it is easy to think that it was easier to live their faith back then, when we realize that God has put us right where he needs us and has given us the gifts and talents that we need to accomplish all that he has in store for us and that we Just need to learn from Him.
Our desire should be to be in church and studying the bible so that we can learn all that we can about Him. Then learning what we can we are called to share it with others. To teach them how to have a relationship with Him and to see how God is with them. We need to treat everyone as a child of God and someone that God has called and gifted. We are Jesus’s hands and feet and we need to walk the way that He would and treat everyone the way that He treats us.
Discipleship is a big responsibility and an honor. We need not take it lightly and treat the gift with care. God does not make mistakes. He has called YOU for a reason. The more we center our life on Him the greater our discipleship can grow..
Hope to see you all in church every Sunday at 11:00
God Bless
Rev. Stephen W. Barch