One Conversation @ A Time (book)

* Disciple: people who follow Jesus (p.12)
- enjoying companionship w/Jesus
- learning about the kingdom of God from Him
- and taking whatever steps He is taking ahead of us

* Goal of discipleship needs to be like Christ
- disciples grow in their walk w/Christ in the context of personal friendship

* A kingdom is a territory under the dominion of a king. The territory that God seek to have dominion over and govern is our hearts. Our hearts is the place that God wants to set up His kingdom and establish His order. Our role is to place our lives under His authority and allow for Him to have complete access to our hearts, allowing His kingdom to flow naturally out of our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit shapes and bends our character and life to look more and more like Jesus…Romans 8:29 tells us our eternal destiny is to be conformed to the image of His Son.

* Holy Spirit:
1. teach
2. guide
3. comfort
4. correct

Our Role:
1. help our friends stay in tune with the Holy Spirit...how:
- by talking
- discussing
- holding accountable
- confronting
- encouraging
- listening
- asking good questions

* John15:13 – most of us will not have the privilege or opportunity to lay down our lives physically for our friends as Jesus did for us; however, we can lay our lives down in 3 main areas:
1. our time
2. our resources
3. our convenience

*Jonathan did 3 things for David that we should be doing for our friends
(1 Sam 23:15-18):
1. he encouraged David’s heart in the Lord (v.17)
2. he reminded David of the promises (v.17)
3. he demonstrated loyalty to David by “cutting a covenant” with him

* 5 ways to help sow into a discipleship culture (p.26-27):
1. make disciples yourself
2. make heroes of those helping others to follow Jesus
3. encourage people to do the will of God – strength their love for Jesus…challenge them to follow Jesus and obey Him
4. spend a lot of time training people to be good friends, neighbors, and family members…healthy friendship = production of disciples
5. Redefine what it means to be a Christian: Jesus never said raise your hand and be saved for eternity; however, He did say take up your cross and follow Me.


* Col 1:28-29 (JP Phil)
“So, naturally, we proclaim Christ! We warn everyone we meet, and we teach everyone we can, all that we know about Him, so that, if possible, we may bring every man up to his full maturity in Christ. This is what I am working at all the time, with all the strength that God gives me.”


* Vision = key: the ability to see finish product in raw material…bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all thins – love sees who they’re in the Lord and who they are becoming, not what can be seen on the surface. May God help transform me more and more to see with the eyes of redemption.