Through His Body
About this series
This mini-series follows on from our talk titled Reforming Church: Disciples, which you can watch here.
Being a follower / disciple of Jesus is both a position (I’ve decided to follow Jesus) and a process (I'm seeking to become more like him). So when we think of the church, we should imagine not only a group of people who have a belief, but a people on the move because they’re following Jesus - they’re in training, they’re changing, growing, learning about him and becoming more like him.
"But how do I follow Jesus? How do I become more like him?”
Of the many ways we could answer that question, here is a crucial one: listen to him and learn from him and then do whatever he tells you. But then we might ask, "How do I hear him, how can I listen to Jesus and learn from him?” To which the answer would be: We hear Jesus in his Word, by his Spirit and through his Body.
About this talk
This is the third video in our topic 'What does it mean to be a disciple', where Tim encourages us to follow Jesus, this time through 'His Body'. Tim reminds us that we need others in our lives to help us become more like Jesus, that sharing our lives with other believers helps to smooth off our 'rough edges' and helps us to grow in the fruit of the Spirit. Tim encourages us to be those that are not only becoming more like Jesus but those who are helping others to do the same, disciples making disciples.
If you have any questions about this talk, want to find out more about Citygate Church, or want to know more about what it means to be a Christian, please fill in our online Connect form at citygate.church/connect.
Watch it here
Questions for Life Groups
The questions below have been created for our Life Groups to facilitate discussion around this talk.
Watch Tim's video and use the questions/suggestions below to aid discussion and growth in your groups. Feel free to shape the conversation according to the needs of your group.
Remind yourselves of what scripture says about the body, the family of God in 1 Corinthians 12: 12-31
In today's video Tim talks about others he can think of across his lifetime who have inspired him, and encouraged him to be more like Jesus. Take some time to encourage one another in your group, how do they 'sharpen' you to be more like Jesus. Tell them what you see in them that is like Jesus and how they inspire you. Do you love their passion for prayer or their fervour for sharing the good news of Jesus with others, maybe you see great compassion for others in them, or they provoke you because they are so joyful about giving, or excited about the presence of God or using the gifts of the Spirit. As group leader you can decide how to do this best for your group. you could give each person in your group the name of just one other person to encourage or you could take more time over this asking the whole group to encourage one person at a time, or just go with the flow to see what those in your group will volunteer about others, but ensure that no-one gets missed, be ready to reveal the gold you see in others.
In what areas do you want to grow to become more like Jesus and why (maybe using the examples in Q1 to prompt)?
As a follower of Jesus, think about where and how you might be currently 'making disciples'? Is there anyone in your life who might be interested in joining a DNA group with you who doesn't yet know Jesus?
DNA Groups
Tim's video leads nicely into more discussion around implementation of DNA groups, so now would be a good time to look at that in more detail. Take a look at the DNA web page together with your group using the 'share screen' option on Zoom, you can access it here.
Prayer
Thank God for each other and the Christlike qualities you see in others in your group.
Pray for each other regarding the desired areas of growth as in Q2.
Pray around the launching of DNA groups and that these will have the desired effect of disciples making disciples, both with those who know Jesus already but also for those who are yet to hear the good news.
