Fresh Ideas for Discipleship & Nurture

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Disobedience to God's Word needs no encouragement; it's abundant enough, thank you. Yet without intending to, local churches frequently establish patterns that hinder actually doing the Word.

The formula is deceptively simple: Expose people to more biblical material than they can digest, do it in a context separated from real life, and emphasize Bible facts, not personal acts.

Imagine the typical situation of a new believer: He attends a Sunday morning Bible class studying Paul's three missionary journeys. Full of excitement from Dr. Luke's dynamic account of worldwide salvation in Jesus (but with no time to assimilate it), he enters the sanctuary for worship. The sermon is "Speaking Covenant: The Ultimate Language of Love," part of a series on Hosea. The new believer is impressed with the need for covenant love in both his relationship with God and with his spouse.

On the way out, he picks up the current copy of Daily Light. Using this or some other excellent plan for daily Bible study, he'll spend six brief sessions in Psalms.

If he's really serious, he'll also attend a midweek Bible study/prayer group, where the parables are being taught. But they won't explode in his mind cither, because he's still half-thinking about what the TV evangelist said last night.

He's effectively been inoculated.

In the Great Commission, Jesus calls not for teaching the Word but "teaching them to obey" (Matt. 28:20). Doing, not hearing biblical truth is the measure of biblical faith. When we encourage gathering information or even inspiration without learning to live it, we unwittingly encourage disobedience. We erect barriers against the Holy Spirit.

Kierkegaard once ...

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