Discipling Life

I recently visited a sweet church member, Helen Little, from my days at Horne Memorial. She is always a joy to spend time with and on this visit she gave me a couple of old newsletters from my days at Horne. The text that follows is from the article “The ‘Would-be Disciples’” that was run in the church’s newsletter The Methodist Messenger . Jesus had his twelve disciples. Actually, he had many more disciples, but there were the Twelve. They were the closest to Jesus. Sometimes they were called Apostles. There were other disciples. We know that 70 were sent out two by two to prepare the way for the coming of the Teacher. We also know that many women went about with Jesus. I imagine that it seemed to be quite a caravan whenever Jesus moved on to another town. It is no wonder he craved time to be alone with the Twelve or to be by himself. Sadly, there were the others - the “Would-be Disciples”. Jesus called many people to follow him. These were people who said they wanted to be discipl...

Matthew 28:16-20 brings the Gospel of Matthew to its powerful conclusion as the risen Christ meets his disciples on a mountain in Galilee and commissions them for the work ahead. Often called the Great Commission, this passage is both a sending and a promise. Jesus calls his followers to make disciples, baptize , and teach in his name, extending the good news of God’s kingdom to all nations. At the same time, he reassures them with the enduring promise of his presence: “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (v. 20). In these final verses, we see the heart of Christian discipleship, a life shaped by worship, obedience, mission, and the sustaining grace of Christ. Today’s text begins with the disciples gathered with the risen Christ on the mountain in Galilee. Matthew tells us, “When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted” (v. 17). That small detail is comforting. Even in the presence of the risen Christ, some struggled with uncertainty. Yet Jesus did not turn them a...