Reflections on Sunday's Message & Discipleship

What a great Sunday we had last week as we kicked off our new message series. It was great to have so many of you join us for lunch after church. As we learned Sunday, a practical atheist is one who believes in God but lives his or her life as if God doesn't exist. There is no evidence in a person's life that he or she knows God or fears Him.  At the root of practical atheism is real discipleship. So, what is a disciple anyway? How do we define the term disciple? There are three areas to look at:

1) A disciple is one who is committed to following Christ. They have made Jesus Lord or their life. Jesus said in John 8:31, "...If you hold to my teaching you are really my disciples." 
2) A disciple is one who is committed to being changed by Christ. They are becoming like Christ in attitude and action. Jesus said in John 15:8, "This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."
3) A disciple is one who is committed to the mission of Christ. We call it being a bridge of God's love to all people at Ridgeview. It is about seeking to build a bridge for people so they can connect to Jesus who is "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6) and is the only way to the Father. 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said "Christianity without discipleship is Christianity without Christ." Our Practical Atheist series has challenged us all to examine our Christianity and whether or not it has Christ in it. If it does, then we will obey Jesus as Lord, we will become more like Him everyday, and we will be burdened for those who do not know Him and we will look for opportunities to share Jesus with others. 
As Jesus clearly lays out in the Scriptures, there is no room for casual, lukewarm Christianity when you follow Him. What steps can you take today to align your life with true discipleship?  

Pastor Tommy