This article is an extract from my short book, Jesus, Disciple, Mission, Church (JDMC). The bite-sized piece below is roughly two percent of the book. This article opens a deeper look at the first forgotten way.
Introduction
It’s extremely important that Jesus is at the heart of our lives, both individually and in church life too. If we don’t get this foundation right we cannot be built into what he wants us to be. What would happen if you built a house of heavy stones but didn’t have proper foundations?
The fact is, this forgotten way is fundamental; everything else depends on it and results from it. We need Jesus to be in the right place because he is the only foundation we can trust (Matthew 16:15-20, 1 Corinthians 3:9-11). Has this way been truly forgotten? Not completely, perhaps, but we have sometimes been half-hearted in following it.
Discuss or consider – Do you follow Jesus in everything? List some parts of your life where you follow him. List some parts where you don’t. Is he the foundation of your daily living, truly?
The One
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 makes it very clear; Yahweh is One and we are to love him with everything we have and are. What a dramatic change from earlier times when offerings and worship had to be made to many gods, perhaps repeatedly during the day. For us, today, ‘Jesus is Lord’ in exactly the same way (1 Corinthians 8:6). No other loyalties are acceptable in our lives, just Jesus.
There are at least three helpful habits we can develop; these are keeping Jesus at the centre, following Jesus alone, and putting the gospels way, way ahead of anything else.
Discuss or consider – Read Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and think about the difference between one and many where gods are concerned (most people 2000 years ago had to make offerings to many gods). In John 10:30 what does Jesus mean when he says, ‘I and the Father are one’? And in John 17:20-23, what does he mean when he prays for all his followers – including you and me?
Jesus at the centre
We need a fresh understanding of who Jesus really is, every explosive church growth movement throughout history has had this focus. Many of these movements were persecuted and this seems to have given them a fresh and urgent vision. They let go of everything that would hold them back and clung to the core of their faith.
We need to know how Jesus lived and worked because he intends to live and work in these same ways through us. We can so easily block him, that’s part of having the privilege and responsibility of free will. And we are often overwhelmed by the complications and demands of modern life; our focus on the essential is lost and we are distracted by so many side issues.
To get away from everything that hinders us we need to focus on Jesus much more. The Bible calls him King, Shepherd, the One and Only, the Son, Master, Teacher, Lord, the Almighty with us (Immanuel), Prince of Peace, the Word and more. Jesus himself said, ‘Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father’. (John 14:9) By reading books about him, watching films about his life, and going through the gospels repeatedly we will begin to notice for ourselves what he is like, what he says, what he does and who he is.
Discuss or consider – Carefully think about where you are spiritually. How do your lives (individually and together) compare with that of Jesus? What changes would he want to see? When you meet, remember that you are meeting, as in all things, in Jesus’ name. (Colossians 3:17)
More sections of JDMC
Introduction – JDMC, what does it contain? – Using JDMC – how to approach it
Working together in six ways – Intro and Way 1 – Ways 2, 3 and 4 – Ways 5 and 6, six ways
Way One, Jesus at the centre – Jesus at centre 1 – Jesus at centre 2 – Jesus at centre 3
Way Two, Becoming disciples – Disciples 1 – Disciples 2 – Disciples 3
Way Three, Outward and integrated – OutAndInt1, OutAndInt2
Way Four, Gifts for building – GiftsForBuilding1, GiftsForBuilding2
Way Five, A living organism – LivingOrg1, LivingOrg2
More sections will appear here…
The work of the Spirit – Intro – Jesus, disciples, outward – Gifts, living, community, help
Other church leaders – Intro, bishops, elders – Deacons, pastors, priests
Last words – The end can also be the beginning
Read the book
This was extracted from Jesus, Disciple, Mission, Church (JDMC), pages 13 and 14. Download the whole thing or read it online – GetJDMC.scilla.org.uk
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Journeys of Heart and Mind 