Discipleship is Relationship

Main Thought:

When you hear the word discipleship, what picture comes to mind? Maybe a class, a workbook, or a teacher lecturing students? Those tools can help, but when Jesus said, “Go and make disciples,” He wasn’t thinking of a program—He was thinking of people walking together. Discipleship is not about stuffing our heads with Bible facts. It’s about letting Jesus change our hearts and walking alongside others as He does the same in them. Discipleship happens when life is shared in Christ-centered relationships.

Life Groups, let’s remember:

• Discipleship begins with your relationship with Jesus. 

• Discipleship grows as we share life with others. 

• Discipleship multiplies when we invest in relationships that last beyond us.

Discipleship is not a class to finish; it’s a life to share. Jesus came not to give us a religion, but to bring us into relationship—with God, and with one another. So let’s live this truth: “Discipleship is relationship.”

Main Passages:

'“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”’ (Note: the Greek for ‘you’ here is plural, meaning that Jesus called the disciples as a community - not only as individuals.) 

- Matthew 4:19 NIV

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

- Mathew 28:18-20 NIV

“so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.”

- 1 Thessalonians 2:8 NIV

Questions:

  1. What do you think it means to “get closer to God “ or “walk with Jesus”?

  2. Are you walking closely with Jesus? Who is helping and encouraging you to achieve that?

  3. What relationship is God calling me to start investing in today? Is there an opportunity for you to disciple someone, or help them grow closer to Jesus?