A Word For Preachers...Stephen Smallman on Discipleship

"No doubt we will need to confess that we are weak disciples or new disciples or struggling disciples--but it is vital that believers understand that they are disciples...Those who are pastors and teachers in Christ's church should let this truth sink deeply into their consciousness so that it impacts their preaching. One reason Christians make discipleship an added commitment is that they have only heard the gospel as a call to believe in Jesus for forgiveness and salvation, not as a call to follow Jesus. We need to preach a gospel that assumes discipleship because to believe in Jesus is to follow Jesus as his disciple. Before we fault the members of our churches for their weakness in this area, we need to ask ourselves what is the content of the gospel message we have been consistently proclaiming."

Stephen Smallman
What Is Discipleship?

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom...Iain DuGuid on Suffering

"This world is a place where we are constantly being called to exercise faith and trust in God’s promise in the face of the evidence of our senses. Your sufferings are not a sign that God is out to get you. Your sufferings are not even a test to see if you can have faith like Abram’s. No, your sufferings are the path of discipleship that God has chosen and designed for you. Suffering is the furnace in which God will refine your faith and will grow your ability to trust in him as you find him faithful to his promises yet again."

Iain Duguid
Laying Hold of God

What It Means to Follow Jesus

Josh Harris posts this humorous cartoon today:


(HT: Vitamin Z)