Adult Mentor: 2nd Quarter 2015

By Malcolm R. Rhodes

Adult Mentor (ages 36 & older).This book is for the adult learner, ages 36 and older. It is designed to increase Christian faith and biblical understanding using a variety of learning methods.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation
• Release date: Oct 23, 2015
• ISBN: 9781589429536

Book preview

JESUS CHOSE HIS DISCIPLES

QUARTERLY THEME:

My Spiritual Transformation

Lesson

Scriptures:

Matthew 4:18-22;

Mark 1:14-20;

3:13-19;

Luke 5:1-11;

John 1:35-51

DISCIPLINES LEARNED

  I.  JESUS CHOSE PEOPLE TO HELP HIM

 II.  JESUS COMMANDED FOLLOW ME

III.  FOLLOWERS OF JESUS OBEY HIM

KEY VERSE:

And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach. (Mark 3:14, KJV)

INTRODUCTION:

W hat does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? That question is at the heart of this quarter’s study. At its most fundamental level, a disciple (Lat. discipulus ) is simply a student. This seems simple, but we can be easily misled if we read into this our modern notions of what it means to be a student. So much of modern education is essentially a credentialing process. It’s about seeking financial aid, completing assignments and exams, accumulating semester hours, and maintaining a certain grade point average—all toward the goal of obtaining a diploma that will help us gain access to a certain kind of job.

But none of this has anything to do with the things that lay at the very heart of discipleship in the ancient world. At the forefront of the ancient understanding of what it means to be a student is relationship. Like Jesus and His Disciples, the ancient philosophers taught groups of students who in turn spent most of their waking hours with their teacher, talking with him and learning from him. The time they spent together, the relationships they built together, went further toward the students’ development than any written test or assignment. This is perhaps the critical difference between ancient and modern education. We have to understand it if we are to understand the nature of discipleship in the New Testament.

THEOLOGICAL CONCEPTS:

1 Today’s lesson introduces us to the concept of calling or vocation. Each of us is called by God to specific tasks for ministries.

2 Jesus calls us to work alongside Him in the work of sanctification and salvation.

3 At the heart of discipleship is obedience.

EXPOSITION:

I. Jesus Chose People to Help Him

Jesus is the Son of the living God, the second Person of the Trinity. He is fully God, but He became man, taking on all of our weaknesses and infirmities, in order to help us in our helpless condition. So why would He choose men to help Him in His earthly ministry? Did He need help? Couldn’t He do everything that needed to be done for the salvation of humanity by Himself?

Certainly, He could. But He chose not to. In this there is a recognition of the fact that we have a role to play in our own salvation. We are called, in other words, to be active participants with God in our own sanctification. On a certain day, as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus called two brothers, Simon and Andrew, to drop everything and follow Him (see Matt. 4:18-20; Mark 1:16-18). In this simple exchange, we can see something significant about the nature of discipleship. Even in our weakness, Jesus still calls us and stoops to work with us and through us for the salvation of the whole world. Through us—mere earthen vessels (2 Cor. 4:7, KJV), as the Apostle Paul wrote—the light of the glorious gospel of Christ (v. 4, KJV) goes forth into the world. Despite the Apostles’ weaknesses (consider the story of Simon Peter), the work of the Kingdom went forward in and through them.

II. Jesus Commanded Follow Me

Jesus’ command was simple: Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men (Matt. 4:19, KJV). Indeed, it is unnerving in its simplicity. Most of us want to know what it is we’re signing up for when we make a commitment. Typically, we will learn all the ins and outs of home ownership before we sign the mortgage. We will research the claims made by candidates for office before we give them our vote. We will date a person and talk and get to know them in great depth before we say yes to marriage. But none of that is evident in today’s texts. We are not told that Simon and Andrew sat down and discussed at length Jesus’ plans or His agenda. They asked no questions about what would be required of them or what kind of benefits they might expect to receive.

ACTIVITY:

MAKING IT STICK

Think back over the course of your life. What is the one thing that has been the most difficult for you to give up? Do you still struggle with this thing or have you grown in faith to the point where it is no longer a