All of Me: Living as a Triend and Tested Proven Disciple

By Shirley Moses

Whether you've been a Christian for many years or just beginning your journey as a new believer, this study will help you grow as a committed follower of Christ. It will also provide an invaluable resource if God is leading you to disciple other Christian women.

Jesus Christ said, "Come follow me." Never underestimate the importance of this call. Choosing to truly follow Him will fill your life with hope and joy. The author understands if you're afraid to say, "Jesus, here's 'all of me.'" She too wanted complete control of every aspect of her life. She knows first-hand the growing desire to follow Christ and the nagging fear of how things might change. Without someone to guide you through this process, you might miss out on discovering the joy of fully living for Christ and allowing Christ to become the lover of your soul.

All of Me will explore certain characteristics and behaviors that naturally develop once a Christian begins yielding more control to Christ—like spending time in prayer, studying God's Word, and allowing the Holy Spirit to influence words and actions to glorify God.

Format:

All of Me provides a flexible format! It's possible to journey through All of Me by yourself, in a small group experience, or one-on-one with a discipleship mentor. Resources for small groups or one-on-one discipleship mentoring are available to download at www.beyondthecallministries.org.

All of Me provides eight weeks of study. Each week includes four days of instruction with the fifth day set aside for small groups or for one-on-one review and reflection with a discipleship mentor. Options include meeting face-to-face over coffee, through FaceTime, or by sharing the study digitally.

The only additional item you'll need is a notebook for capturing your thoughts you'll want to share with your discipleship mentor.

If God has been waiting for you to take this journey of faith, All of Me offers a perfect first step on the road to becoming a proven and committed follow

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Sep 21, 2019
• ISBN: 9781543982060

Book preview

© Shirley Moses 2019

Print ISBN: 978-1-54398-205-3

eBook ISBN: 978-1-54398-206-0

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Meet the Author

Introduction

The Disciple’s Call

The Disciple’s Path

The Disciple’s Devotion

The Disciple’s Character

The Disciple’s Confidence

The Disciple’s Comfort

The Disciple’s Fruit

The Disciple’s Commitment—All of Me

Leader’s Guide

Treasures for Your Heart

Disciple Application

Mentor Application

Acknowledgments

I would first like to thank Truman, my husband, who has spent many hours praying for my writing. He never allowed me to give up on my dream and encouraged me to continue trusting God. You are the love of my life, Truman!

I am especially grateful to Kathy Dophied and Linda Lesniewski; both spent numerous hours reading and editing my writing. Through all of this we have developed a kindred spirit that is so dear to me.

Dr. Jim Wolfe, who has been my friend and pastor, is due my sincerest gratitude for all the support and encouragement he gave so freely to make this writing possible.

My special friend, Judy Van Hooser, has encouraged and prayed for me, all the while taking a journey with me I will never forget. I love you, Chickadee!

Above all, I thank God for guiding me in the writing of this Bible study. Lord, may this bring You honor and glory and help guide Your women to become Proven Disciples.

With a grateful heart to all,

Shirley Moses

Meet the Author

Shirley Moses

Her passion for guiding women to walk with Jesus prompted Shirley to start Beyond the Call Ministries, which led her to speaking at women’s conferences nationwide. Shirley has served as speaker, trainer and author for LifeWay Christian Resources. Shirley is a contributor to Transformed Lives: Taking Women’s Ministry to the Next Level by LifeWay Christian Resources and has co-authored Heart Friends . She served as Women’s Ministry Consultant for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention for ten years and served as the Director of Women’s Ministry State Leadership Team. Shirley and Truman live on a ranch in North Texas.

Introduction

Welcome!

Whether you’ve been a Christian for many years or just beginning your journey as a new believer, this study will help you grow as a committed follower of Christ.

Jesus Christ said, Come follow me. Never underestimate the importance of this call. It’s changed my life from despair and disillusionment to one filled with hope and joy. Many Christians struggle with following Christ with their all. They’re afraid to say, Jesus, here’s ‘all of me.’ I understand. I also wanted complete control of every aspect of my life. When I made the decision to submit fully to Jesus Christ’s Lordship of my life, I discovered a growing desire to live more consistently for Him. With time, He became the lover of my soul. Even though I didn’t know how to navigate this journey, God sent a woman to guide me. Without discipleship, I might have missed the joy of fully living for Christ.

As we grow in our relationship with our Savior, certain characteristics and behaviors naturally develop, like spending time in prayer, studying God’s Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to influence our words and actions to glorify God. It’s possible to journey through All of Me by yourself, but sharing the experience with a small group or pairing with a discipleship mentor increases the impact it can have on your life. Resources for small groups or one-on-one discipleship mentoring are available to download at www.beyondthecallministries.org.

The Journey

All of Me offers eight weeks of study. Each week includes four days of study with the fifth day set aside for small group or one-on-one time with a discipleship mentor for reflection. Consider meeting face-to-face over coffee, through FaceTime, or by sharing the study digitally.

The only thing you’ll need is a notebook for capturing your thoughts or things you’ll want to share with your mentor.

God has been waiting for you to take this step of faith, so let’s get started!

The Disciple’s Call

Week One

Believing and Belonging

Overview

We begin this first week thinking through the basics of what it means to believe in Christ as your Savior and to belong to Him forever. We’ll observe Jesus’ encounter with a man who wanted to know this very thing— what it means to believe and belong to Jesus .

Our passage this week is John 3:1–18.

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. ²He came to Jesus at night and said, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.

³Jesus replied, Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.

⁴How can someone be born when they are old? Nicodemus asked. Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!

⁵Jesus answered, Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. ⁶Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[ gives birth to spirit. ⁷You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.

⁹How can this be? Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰You are Israel’s teacher, said Jesus, and do you not understand these things? ¹¹Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. ¹²I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? ¹³No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. ¹⁴Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.

¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

I’ve found simple outlines helpful for grasping the truths in a passage of scripture. Here’s one for John 3:1–18. See if it helps you with the big picture!

John 3:1–18 Outlined

The Meeting (Who and When) verses 1–2

Nicodemus—a Pharisee

Jesus—a Rabbi

Night

Topic of Conversation—eternal life (What) verses 3–8

Lesson #1, You must be born again (What) verses 3–8

Born of water

Born of the Spirit (How)

Lesson #2, Jesus is the Messiah (Who) verses 9–18

He testifies about the truth

He descended and ascended

He gives eternal life to everyone who believes

He is God’s only Son

Week One, Day One

The Meeting

Nicodemus, an influential religious Jew, sought out Jesus. Nicodemus must have found real courage to initiate this meeting since Pharisees were angry and condescending to Jesus. Imagine the strong stirring in his heart that allowed him to overcome peer pressure and fear of losing religious status in pursing this one-on-one encounter.

Do you face this same pressure or know someone who allows pressure from family, friends or co-workers to keep them from seeking Jesus? Stop and pray right now, asking the Father to give them or yourself the courage