Rooted in Christ #1

Rooted in Christ - Introduction

• Thank you for joining me on this mini journey
• I appreciate you. You already have Christlike characteristics I see in you that I admire and desire to incorporate into my life. For example —
• Joy
• Humility
• Servant hearts on
• Desire for others to know Jesus
• Unique God given gifts
• Desire to grow spiritually
• Open with brief prayer
• Jesus chose his disciples. They were ordinary men like you and I. He asked them to “Follow Me” Matthew 9:9; other
• They did.follow! They left everything to follow Jesus. They were committed to Him. These ordinary men were given the Holy Spirit when Jesus left this earth to be with His Father and have since changed the world. They obeyed the great commission and great commandment to make disciples that would also make disciples and love one another showing themselves to be a follower and disciple of Jesus and doing what Jesus would do. We here are followers of Jesus today because of what Jesus’ disciples have accomplished by obeying Him and by His Holy Spirit operating in and through them! We too have been given the same Holy Spirit to accomplish His will and obey His commands and commission.
• A disciple is a Jesus learner or Jesus follower. Kind of like a Master - apprentice relationship. Jesus taught them, showed them what and how to do various things, gave them assignments, followed up with discussing what they could have done differently, occasionally rebuked and corrected them, often encouraging them -kind of like a Teacher-student, Father-son, coach-athlete, Master-apprentice role.
• In the little book I have put I am not  saying “Follow me. . .and “Become like Me” but saying let me help you to learn to “Follow Jesus” and “Become like Jesus”! Jesus says “Follow Me”!!
• I have been a follower of Jesus for several years - just over 45 years. I am still learning and growing in my spiritual walk and can see how many others have had an impact on my life and helped disciple me. The most memorable experience is when my first pastor spent several mornings with me, one on one, once per week, walking through the book of Romans. Over the years, I wish I had other men in my life to be my mentor, to learn from, answer questions, provide advice, to be accountable to, and to learn how to be more effective in being a witness for Jesus.
• I have learned that God uses several people and methods and circumstances to disciple us and to help us get rooted in Jesus and become Christ-like. He transforms us- i. e. sanctifies us-little by little. Ultimately-one day-when we see Jesus face to face, we will be glorified and be like Him.
• In the mean time we want to work on becoming like him, obeying His Word, doing our part to “work out our salvation”
• We have so many resources in our generation to help us grow and mature in Christ. Many have written books on a variety of Christian topics. I have and have read many books on
• How to Study the Bible
• Prayer
• Evangelism
• Discipleship
• Holy Spirit
• Marriage
• Raising children
• Teaching
• Leadership
• Small groups
• Books of the Bible
• Commentaries
• And the list goes on!
• These books are all great but the most important book is the Bible. Your best teacher is the Holy Spirit. Your best practice is prayer - talking to God and listening quietly to His voice and ultimately, by faith putting into practice/obeying His Word as you work with and serve others, love one another. “Trust and obey, for there us no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey”
• What we will be looking at over the next few weeks are this things which I have found important for you to know to help you be rooted in Jesus and continue to grow spiritually in Him. Things that you will likely want to pass on to anyone The Lord wants you to work with to grow spiritually.
• We will discuss over the next 12 to 15 weeks
• Prayer
• Scripture
• The Holy Spirit
• Meditation
• Confessing our sin
• Fellowship
• Serving
• Giving
• Being a witness
• The Great Commission
• Questions and Discussion
• Group commitment
• We will meet at the day and time we have agreed to
• If  only 1 can’t meet for a particular week, the others in group will still meet
• If 2 or more inform me that they have a conflict with time, we will cancel that meeting and carry on next week 
• We agree to doing assigned homework
• We agree to be open with one another 
• We agree that those things shared in the group should remain in the group i.e. Kept confidential
• Share a little bit of your story.
• Age
• When did you become a believer in Jesus
• How long lived in Saugeen Shores
• Where you lived grew up before if applicable
• Training / schooling
• Occupation
• Things you enjoy doing
• Family
• I Share my testimony
• Assignment Read pages 2 to 11, answer questions on page 10. Be prepared to share your story.
• Closing in prayer around group