Discipleship

{EMULATING JESUS}

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{FRANÇAIS}

1. Aime ton Ennemi - (La façon dont nous répondons à l'hostilité et à la persécution démontre si nous sommes des disciples du Christ et quel royaume nous servons) - {Télécharger le PDF}

{TO FOLLOW HIM}

1. Following the Lamb - {PDF Copy} - (The Messiah of Israel submitted to the way of the Cross and now summons us to follow his example in our daily lives)
2. The Cruciform Road - {PDF Copy} - (To follow Jesus wherever he goes requires a life of self-denial and mercy and sacrificial service to help others – Matthew 20:20-28)
3. His Exceptional Kingdom - {PDF Copy} - (Jesus proclaimed a new and different political reality, the Kingdom of God, and it bears little resemblance to the governments of this world)
4. Overflowing Righteousness - {PDF Copy} - (Mercy and love are the defining characteristics of the followers of Jesus, and they reflect the nature of his Father – Matthew 5:43-48)
5. My Cup and My Baptism - {PDF Copy} - (His disciples are called to self-sacrificial service for others just as Jesus gave his life to ransom many from sin’s bondage)
6. Counting the Cost - {PDF Copy} - (To be the disciple of Jesus one must take up the cross and follow in his footsteps, even if it results in rejection, impoverishment, or death - Mark 6:7-30)
7. Choose whom you will serve - {PDF Copy} - (Humanity is divided into two, and only two, groups, the followers of the Lamb and the devotees of the Beast)
8. True Greatness - {PDF Copy} - (As his disciples, we are called to engage in self-sacrificial service for others just as Jesus gave his life as a ransom for many – Mark 10:35-45)
9. The Imperative of the Cross - {PDF Copy} - (Christ Crucified is the example we are summoned to follow daily, and it is the test of the genuine Apostolic Faith and true spirituality)
10. My Way or His Cross - {PDF Copy} - (Following Jesus means a life of self-denial and service, and a willingness to suffer persecution and loss for his sake)
11. The Narrow Road - {PDF Copy} - (Following Jesus requires a lifetime of self-denial, sacrificial service for his kingdom, and a willingness to lose everything for his message)
12. The Mind of Christ - {PDF Copy} - (The submission of Jesus to an unjust death becomes the paradigm for the love and service to others that disciples are summoned to manifest)
13. On the Cruciform Road - {PDF Copy} - (On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus explained his Messianic Mission and inevitable death at the hands of his enemies - Mark 8:27-38)
14. The Suffering Servant - {PDF Copy} - (Paul summoned believers to adopt the same mind that Jesus had when he poured out his life unto death for others – Philippians 2:5-11)
15. Handed over to Death - {PDF Copy} - (Following Jesus means living a self-sacrificial life of service to others, especially to the weak and the insignificant)
16. Embracing the Cross - {PDF Copy} - (To be the Messiah of Israel meant suffering and death for others, and Jesus summoned his disciples to follow that same path – Mark 8:31)
17. Power and Wisdom - {PDF Copy} - (The power and wisdom of God are found in the proclamation of a Messiah who was crucified on a Roman cross)
18. Jesus Refused Satan's Offer - {PDF Copy} - (Jesus rejected Satan’s offer of unlimited political power and instead chose of the way of the Suffering Servant)
19. Slave of His Kingdom - {PDF Copy} - (To be a citizen of the kingdom of God requires a life of self-sacrificial service for others, not power over them – Mark 10:35-45)
20. Sanctified Wholly - {PDF Copy} - (Considering the future arrival of Jesus, Paul summons the Assembly to become sanctified completely by that Day – 1 Thessalonians 5:23)
21. Preach the Gospel! - {PDF Copy} - (The mission of the Church is to proclaim the Good News of God’s Kingdom and Salvation to all Nations until the moment Jesus returns – Matthew 24:14)

{SUFFERING}

1. "Rejoice and Exult!" - {PDF Copy} - (When disciples are persecuted for their faith, they should rejoice for being accounted worthy to suffer for Jesus and his Kingdom)
2. Suffering for Him - {PDF Copy} - (To follow Jesus requires the willingness to suffer for his sake, and enduring persecution is the highest honor imaginable in his Kingdom)
3. Though He Slays Me - {PDF Copy} - (“Though He slays me yet will I trust in him, and I will maintain my ways before him” – Job 13:15)
4. Appointed for Tribulation - {PDF Copy} - (The disciple who faithfully bears witness to the Gospel and Jesus will endure tribulation and persecution for his sake)
5. Tribulation and Endurance - {PDF Copy} - (Exiled on Patmos, John is a fellow participant in the tribulation, the kingdom, and the endurance that are in Jesus – Revelation 1:9)
6. Tribulation vs Wrath - {PDF Copy} - (Disciples escape God’s wrath, but they endure tribulation, and the Assembly has been appointed to tribulation – 1 Thessalonians 3:1-4)
7. Summons to Persevere - {PDF Copy} - (Through a series of seven beatitudes, Revelation summons believers to faithfulness despite hostility and persecution)
8. His Faithful Witnesses - {PDF Copy} - (In the Book of Revelation, overcoming saints persevere in their testimony for Jesus whatever the cost, even a martyr’s death)
9. Expect Tribulation - {PDF Copy} - (The New Testament teaches followers of Jesus to expect persecution and suffering, and this is especially so in the Book of Revelation)
10. Mercy, not Sacrifice - {PDF Copy} - (Forgiveness links the call of the tax collector to the healing of the paralytic - the Son of Man’s authority to discharge sins and restore men – Mark 2:13-17)

{OPPOSITION}

1. The Ancient Beast - {PDF Copy} - (The Beast from the Sea is the latest incarnation of the ancient creature, the Dragon, that has stalked the seed of the woman since the sin of Adam)
2. The Ascending Beast - {PDF Copy} - (To identify the Antichrist, we must understand what the relevant scriptures say about him, his methods, and his agenda)
3. The Beast Goes to War - {PDF Copy} - (In Revelation, the language of war is used metaphorically to describe the persecution of believers by the Beast from the Sea)
4. Spiritual Warfare - {PDF Copy} - (Disciples wage spiritual warfare with Satan through right conduct, acts of love and mercy, and by proclaiming the Gospel)
5. The Antichrist Spirit - {PDF Copy} - (The Spirit of the Antichrist works to destroy the church from within through deception propagated by false teachers and false prophets – 1 John 2:18-22)
6. In the Assembly - {PDF Copy} - (John identified false teachers in the church as ‘antichrists’, and their deceptive teachings confirmed that the Last Days had commenced)
7. The Persecuting Beast - {PDF Copy} - (The Dragon and his earthly vassals wage war against the saints, the followers of the Lamb, and not against other nation-states)
8. Disciples and the State - {PDF Copy} - (Paul instructed believers living in the Roman Empire not to resist the government since its authority is arranged by God – Romans 13:1-8)
9. The Great Cosmic Conflict - {PDF Copy} - (Throughout this age, Satan and his minions are waging an all-out cosmic war against the saints that will culminate in Armageddon)
10. Love your Enemy - {PDF Copy} - (When we react to hostility with hostility, whether by government, society, or individuals, Satan triumphs)

[Steep Trail by Ashim D’Silva on Unsplash]