Telling the story of the rescue club to serve as a reminder of our primary purpose, because “rescue” = “seek & save.”  Like good rescuers working together, we teach, heal and reproduce … that’s rescue, recruiting, training and developing rescuers.  As we move forward, we’ll talk about growing up into stronger, wiser and more mature rescuers.  

Visit chapter 9 & 10 … where Jesus (the sent) sends the 12 as 6 pair, who also send 6 pair.  These were their first “baby steps,” in which they start taking responsibility to do God’s will and “go” to make disciples by healing, teaching and reproducing.  

We cover chapter 8, briefly discussing each of the chunks, but focus mostly on the Parable of the Sower and the Seeds.

This lesson started out as a quick overview of chapters 7 & 8, but I ran out of time. 

Remember the two layers: 1) Jesus & his audience – and 2) Luke and his audience.  We skimmed over the bits and put it into “chunks,” as Luke laid it out for his audience … mostly to show them how Jesus dealt with his own people (Jews) and other groups of people.  You should practice doing this as you study through any gospel … break it into chunks, stories, thought ideas, parables, etc.  Then see the message the writer was trying to convey to his audience. 

Then – focus on Jesus and his audience.  As disciples, this is our primary interest.  We want to understand how Jesus handled different people differently, so we can handle them the same way.  How did Jesus treat religious folks, compared to “sinners,” and why?  How did he treat Jews differently than gentiles?  But mostly … we want to watch how Jesus trained the 12.  He started them off with the Sermon on the Plain in chapter 6 (last two lessons), and then now he’s demonstrating for them how to live that sermon.  Again: first he said it, and now he is demonstrating it.  He is giving himself to people, he’s sharing what he has … just as we should.  He had the miraculous gift of healing, but we have money and medicine and time … we can also be healers!  Should we “heal” only Christians?  Should we focus only on them?  How should we treat “sinners,” like the sinful woman who came to the religious guy’s house?  

Jesus taught us in the sermon to love people … now he shows us what that looks like in real life.

This is a review of the sermon on the plain from Luke 6.17-49 … but our focus in this lesson is on the disciple’s view of scripture.  The steps are these:

  Review the “chunk” of text, and then break it down into mini-chunks, being sure to keep it in context, to know who Jesus is talking to, who he is talking in front of, and what he’s trying to accomplish.  Pay special attention not only to what Jesus is saying, but also how he’s saying it.  

  Then review the same text, and this time look at Luke’s layer.  Why did Luke choose this particular lesson, and why did he put it in this place in the gospel?  These are the sample kinds of questions you should learn to ask.  

  Now go over the text yet again … this time hopefully with others who also want to be disciples of Jesus … and challenge yourselves to see if you’re doing what Jesus teaches.  Learn to take these lessons personally and apply them to your life when your life matches his circumstances.

  Now again, go over the same section of text.  This time see it not as a disciple, but as a disciple-maker.  If you’re making disciples as Jesus did, then you’ll want to teach the way he taught, react to things the way he did, lead the way he did.  You’ll want to understand how/why he started with what he did, and why he saved some teachings until later.  

Finally, do all of the above as a conversation with God.  Remember that the bible is God’s word – it’s God’s way of speaking to you.  Now have a conversation with God.  Prayer is talking to God, reading the bible is listening to Him.  Ask Him to help you understand His word, to apply it, and to see the parts He most wants you to understand and live.  

PS: the formatting video I mentioned is located here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVkcNzIelC0 

We want to learn to understand the bible as disciples of Jesus, not scholars or preachers or Sunday school children.  To do that, we need to keep each section in context.  The goal of this short lesson is to give you an intro to this idea … to see the text as Luke portrays it: Jesus’ introduction to his new dedicated disciples, and a reminder that they’ll become unpopular, but need to love the bad guys, anyway. 

Now you have lots of homework: study the section of Luke 6.17-49.  Break this lesson into the chunks we discussed last lesson.  then see each chunk as it fits in with the work of Jesus so far, and as it applies to those he’s teaching.  Finally, consider how this will apply to you as a disciple, and as a disciple maker.  That means you’re first a student, like Jesus’ 12, but also that you want to learn to teach others as Jesus taught.  When you make disciples, you’ll want to do exactly as Jesus is doing, right?  

This is the lesson where the principles introduced so far should begin to merge together into the story of Luke.  Remember, Luke’s original audience were active gentile disciples of Jesus, and their version of church and Christianity was very different than ours, and much more like what Jesus intended.  So it was necessary to help you also understand the nature of discipleship … before we begin to see the text from which it’s taken. 

Here I introduce you to the major characters in the gospel: Jesus, his close disciples, “the crowd,” or “the people,” and the religious conservatives, generally called Pharisees and teachers of the law.  It’s easy for us to see the religious people as bad guys, but it’s important to remember that they are the ones with the right doctrine and teachings. 

My hope is that from this study of the text you’ll be able to picture yourself imitating Jesus in your own life, at your job, in your school, and with your family.  Can you find a “Simon” at work, and train up a “Peter” who will one day be a great man in our Father’s Kingdom?  No, you can’t – at least not on your own.  But with God’s help, and close attention to Jesus … you can do this and more!  

Up until now, Jesus has been working alone – teaching & healing.   Now he reproduces by asking Peter, James, John & Levi (Matthew) to follow him.  He is rescuing them from their lives of slavery to sin and a religious system – to become fellow workers with Jesus for God.  From now on, they’ll be working together as a team.  They will often leave the religious people to mix with the “sinners.” 

We must also understand these principles: we are to leave the religious people and go to the lost, the sinners.  We ought to join them where they are, rather than asking them to ‘clean up’ and come to church with us … instead, we seek to reach out to them. 

In this lesson we also introduce the “person of peace,” who is one we will find that belongs to a social group other than our own.  Allowing that person to be a representative for God within his or her own culture is the right way to make disciples.  

Jesus’ preparation included study of the Torah, and spiritual maturing in wisdom and favor with God and man.  Once he was baptized and endured the temptation in the desert, he began his ministry among his home communities.  The area of Galilee became his base of operation.  The same was true of Paul.  He also became an expert in the bible and then allowed his ministry to grow first in the town of his conversion, and later in his home town and surrounding area.  It wasn’t until more than a decade after his conversion that Paul began his missions work.  

These two are good suggestions for our beginnings, too.  We should begin at home.  If you attend church, start there - just as they began in Synagogues.  Begin also at your place of work, in your own neighborhood, and go out and have some fun.  Play ball with guys outside the church, or take night classes, or whatever – but begin with things that are not too hard, very local, and where you can make the biggest impact as people see you change.  

Jesus began his ministry in his home region, preaching in synagogues, among his own people.  Let’s imitate him – begin your work right where you live. 

Also we discuss the concept of slavery and freedom.  It’s helpful to begin to see our world as flesh vs. spirit … that natural desires aren’t evil by themselves, but when we pursue them too far, we become enslaved by them.  Instead of seeing our world as “evil vs. good,” let’s rather decide who or what we will serve: our own appetites, or God.  And when we encounter others, we should see ourselves as helping free them from their slavery.   

2 Peter 2:19 (NIV)    John 8:31-36

Romans 6:1-23                       Romans 16:17-18

Galatians 6:1-10