Kicking Off 40 Days of Discipleship
4 Times to Start a 40 Days of Discipleship Church-Wide Challenge
New Years + Easter/Spring + Summer + Fall/Winter
1. NEW YEARS:
Usher in the New Year by making God a priority for the first 40 days of the year!
2. EASTER + SPRING:
Sustain growth and build momentum through the spring with these after Easter sermons focusing on the fundamentals of following Jesus!
3. SUMMER:
Build energy and grow deeper in your small groups and/or Sunday school with 40 days of discipleship in the summer!
4. FALL + WINTER:
Jump-start the fall season and impact your community by gathering new people to small groups for 40 days of making God a priority!
Find FREE resources below (i.e. poster, website graphic, 7-week course, full sermon manuscripts, Bible discussion questions, and more) to kick off 40 days of discipleship on Sunday mornings, Sunday School classes, small groups and personal studies.
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The Discipleship Dare Discussion Guide
The Discipleship Dare Discussion Guide is based on the book. It can be used as a stand alone guide without reading the book. It is best used in small groups, Sunday School classes, couple devotions, or one-on-one discipleship relationships as a companion guide to the book.
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The Discipleship Dare 7-Week Course
The Discipleship Dare 7-Week Course works best with small to mid-sized classes. Each week begins by debriefing that week's readings that led up to it and ends with a weekly Action Dare. A Big Idea meant to memorably encapsulate the thrust of the session governs each class.
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The Calling of a Disciple
Changing the world is risky. Jesus risked his life to make the world a better place. When was the last time you took a risk for the cause of Christ? If you are like most, it was not recently. As the saying goes, "The greater the risks the greater the rewards." What if the biggest risk in life is not taking any risks at all for the cause of Christ? In God's plan to make the world a better place, He unleashes us to be adventurous in our everyday lives.
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The Character of a Disciple - Part 1
Followers of Jesus will not survive unless they embody his character. Living like Jesus will make a fashion statement in today's culture. If we want to make a difference in the world, then we have to act differently from the world. Following in the footsteps of Jesus might not be the most popular thing to do at times, but surely the most meaningful thing. He lived a life worth dying for, a life he was killed for as well as others that followed him. Would anyone die for the life you live? If not, then its time to start embodying Jesus' character as you live dangerously for God.
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The Character of a Disciple - Part 2
Followers of Jesus will not survive unless they embody his character. Living like Jesus will make a fashion statement in today's culture. If we want to make a difference in the world, then we have to act differently from the world. Following in the footsteps of Jesus might not be the most popular thing to do at times, but surely the most meaningful thing. He lived a life worth dying for, a life he was killed for as well as others that followed him. Would anyone die for the life you live? If not, then its time to start embodying Jesus' character as you live dangerously for God.
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The Commissioning of a Disciple
The C.I.A., during the cold war, had a code of conduct their agents followed called the Moscow rules. One agent reported, “Although no one had written them down, they were the precepts we all understood…By the time they got to Moscow, everyone knew these rules. They were dead simple and full of common sense.” One of them was “Know Your Mission.” The mission of the Church is to change the world through discipleship—leading people to become self-initiating, self-reproducing fully devoted followers of Christ.
Disciples of Christ are to be laser focused on this mission. In the book, The Path, Laurie Beth Jones tells the story about those at war who got away from their platoon. If they got caught stumbling around, they were asked, “What is your mission?” And if they did not know it, they would be killed on the spot. If someone asked you, "Do you know the mission of God on earth?" Would your answer leave you alive or lead to your death?
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The Community Life of a Disciple - 1
Following Jesus is impossible apart from interacting with His other followers on a regular basis. Without others guiding you along the journey, the potential for mission drift significantly increases. Mission drift is the result of navigating through life without allowing others to direct you in your words and works. Drifters tend to find themselves lost. If you are not emulating the words and works of other followers of Christ, then you will eventually abandon the mission. But if you are able to embody the words and words of Jesus, you will become a dangerous weapon in God's arsenal.
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The Community Life of a Disciple - 2
Following Jesus is impossible apart from interacting with His other followers on a regular basis. Without others guiding you along the journey, the potential for mission drift significantly increases. Mission drift is the result of navigating through life without allowing others to direct you in your words and works. Drifters tend to find themselves lost. If you are not emulating the words and works of other followers of Christ, then you will eventually abandon the mission. But if you are able to embody the words and words of Jesus, you will become a dangerous weapon in God's arsenal.
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