Dare to be a Disciple 4c
Read Dare to be a Disciple 4
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
This course has been born out of a conviction that I have, in my 22 years as a preacher, teacher and pastor, concentrated too much on making converts and too little on making disciples. I have come to the realisation that the two are not the same. Jesus command is "Go and make disciples", so
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
This course has been born out of a conviction that I have, in my 22 years as a preacher, teacher and pastor, concentrated too much on making converts and too little on making disciples. I have come to the realisation that the two are not the same. Jesus command is "Go and make disciples", so
ACTS OF JUSTICE
I
will endeavor to oppose injustice, in whatever form.
When
I am aware of injustices practiced in my Church, my community, my nation, and
the world,
I
will speak out.
We
will not be silent when confronted with social injustice, and we will witness
for justice, inclusiveness, and equality, and will encourage reconciliation
wherever possible.
I
will stand up for those who are not present or able to stand up for themselves.
I
will actively support a movement for world peace.
I
will communicate regularly with my elected national representatives on issues
of world peace.
I
will get to know ate least one unemployed person.
I
will communicate regularly with my elected local representatives on issues of
unemployment and economic justice.
I
will get to know at least one person of a different ethnic background at my
place of work.
We
will become more aware of social situations through attention to the news
(newspapers, television, magazines, radio.)
I
will ask forgiveness of God each day for those who die of starvation, and I
will work to alleviate world hunger.
We
will become and advocacy group for prisoners of religious and political
conscience.
As
a group, we will speak out whenever God’s justice is ignored by our leaders at
work, at church, in our nation and in the world.
We
will devote our daily Bible study to the eighth century prophets for the whole
of the coming year.
I
will dissociate myself from racial slurs and jokes at my place of work.
I
will express disapproval of racial, social and sexual prejudice among my
relatives and friends.
We
will practice responsible stewardship of the world’s resources in the context
of our personal lives and communal commitments.
We
will take action to improve our relationship with our natural environment.
I
will strive for unconditional love and acceptance of all God’s creations.
My main resources in drawing up this course are:
Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Covenant Discipleship by David Lowes Watson
The Sermon on the Mount by Scot McKnight
The Sermon on the Mount by Cedric Poole
