“Making Disciples”
Matthew 28:16-20
Bob Homer’s family lived on “the other side of the tracks” as they used to call it.
They weren’t the most “upstanding” and “respectable” family in town.
They didn’t go to church.
Bob’s dad was boisterous and a bit of a trouble-maker.
And Bob was already getting into a bit of trouble himself.
But, Bob also had a job.
He was a newspaper boy.
And one of the people he delivered the newspaper to was the local Methodist Minister.
One day when Bob was collecting money from his clients the Methodist Minister got talking to him.
He asked Bob if he and his family went to church.
Bob said “no.”
Bob didn’t really even know what people did in a church—he’d never been in one.
Then the Methodist Minister said to Bob, “You do a real good job delivering my newspaper.
I bet you would also be good at handing out bulletins on Sunday morning.
We don’t have anyone to hand out bulletins.
Will you come and hand out bulletins for us this Sunday?”
Bob told the pastor he would have to ask his father for permission.
His dad was hesitant, but since he didn’t think it would last, he allowed Bob to do it.
That invitation to hand out bulletins in the local Methodist Church changed Bob’s life.
He went on to become a Methodist Minister himself.
He was my pastor when I was growing up.
And he was one of the most Christ-like people I have ever known.
Everyone loved him because he loved everyone.
The day before I left for college, Bob showed up on my doorstep.
He had to have known that I was a bit of a rebel and wasn’t the most stable teenager around.
Anyway, Bob handed me a Bible.
And it turned out to be the first Bible I really read.
That Bible was instrumental in changing my life.
Why are you here this morning?
How did you get here?
I don’t mean did you walk or drive?
I mean, how did you end up in a Christian Church on a Sunday morning when so many other people are doing so many other things?
Our Gospel Lesson from Matthew is called “The Great Commission.”
The dictionary says that a “commission” is an instruction, command, or duty given to a person or a group of people.
It’s a task, a mission, an assignment, marching orders, if you will.
And the marching orders of every Christian are to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything Jesus has commanded” us.
A year or so ago a member at the last church I served said to me: “I have some questions about the Great Commission.
I don’t think Jesus meant for it to be for everyone.”
She continued, “For instance, I think of myself more as a seed planter and a waterer.”
My answer was: “That is disciple making.”
I continued: “Also, I know you.
I have watched how you live your life.
You are most definitely a disciple-maker.
You show the love of God by how you treat others.
I’m learning a lot from you. You are discipling me.”
When I was 18 years old I made the decision to give my life to Jesus.
And my life has never been the same since.
It was the best night of my life.
But that was neither the beginning of my becoming a disciple nor was it the end.
When I was just a baby, my parents took me to church.
There, I was baptized and they made a promise to bring me up in the faith and in the church.
They kept their promise.
Also, when I was baptized, the church made a promise to me that they would proclaim the good news, live after the example of Christ, surround me with love and forgiveness, and provide me with opportunities to grow in my service to others.
They promised that they would pray for me in order that I would become “a true disciple of Jesus Christ who walks in the way that leads to life.”
They too, kept their promise.
But in order for them to be able to keep their promise, my parents, again, had to keep theirs’.
Some of my earliest memories are experiences I had in church.
I remember just about every minister I ever had.
I remember so many faces of so many church members.
My Sunday school teachers gave so much time for my good.
At home we said a pray before every meal.
When I had a problem my mother prayed for me.
I also watched as my mom visited persons who were sick, took meals to those who had lost loved ones and volunteered many hours at the church.
Hers was a faith lived out.
And so, I was a learner, a “disciple” shall we say from an extremely early age.
For that is what a disciple is—a learner.
I know that I am extremely blessed.
I had great parents.
I was a member of wonderful churches.
I was surrounded by quality people who were doing the best they could to follow Jesus.
But that’s not the way it is for everyone.
How was it for you?
Who has been a disciple-maker in your life?
How did you get here?
Who invited you?
Who were your Christian role models?
Who shared the love of Christ with you?
This coming Thursday evening there is going to be a back-to-school-bash right outside our church building.
And from 5p.m.-8 p.m. 500 families from the Red Bank community will be bringing their children into our gym in order to register them for school.
That means there will be well over a thousand folks on our property and in our building during a three-hour period of time.
Most of these people do not have a church home.
The majority of these folks need people in their lives—people like YOU—to teach them and show them the love of Jesus Christ.
We live in dark times.
David and I were speaking with the principle of Red Bank Middle School this past week.
There is a lot of poverty in our community.
There are a lot of desperate people.
All the students at the middle school get free breakfast and lunch.
80% live below the poverty line.
Will you come out and exercise the Christian faith God has given you on Thursday night?
Will you wear a Red Bank United Methodist Church shirt, put on a name-tag and be Christ to the people entering our doors?
You don’t have to do anything except be friendly, smile, shake hands, and perhaps, invite the folks you come in contact with to worship with us—let them know they are wanted—that there are people who care about them.
We also need folks to come out and help with some display tables we will have set-up.
Sarah will have one for the children’s ministries, and there will be one for the Youth Group and another for Safe House.
Speaking of Safe House, this incredible disciple-making ministry will be starting up Monday, August 13, and of course, volunteers are needed.
For those who might not be familiar with Safe House, it is an after-school ministry of this church.
It provides Red Bank Middle School students with a safe place to come after school—5 days a week from 2:30 p.m.-6 p.m.
The children are given time to play, they are tutored, given a snack, have a 15 minute devotion, and are mentored and enter into personal relationships with members of this church.
Again, most of these kids don’t have a church home.
Many have not even been in a church.
Some have never even heard of Jesus.
You have been doing this ministry since 2001, and David tells me that “to the majority of the kids who come here—this becomes not just their church but their home!!!”
What a chance to change lives for Christ!!!
What an opportunity to make a difference in someone else’s life—with YOUR life.
If you have ANY time at all on Mondays through Fridays between 2:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. please speak with David Bracket.
Even if you can only volunteer a half hour a week, it is important.
Jesus says that “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to” Him.
That can sound scary until we learn how Jesus uses His authority.
Jesus doesn’t exercise His authority like a brutal dictator nor any human power figure.
Jesus doesn’t force Himself on us.
Think about it.
When the Romans had Jesus Crucified, He refused to retaliate.
Instead, He forgave.
When Jesus rose from the dead He didn’t scold His disciples who had fled from Him in His time of greatest need.
He loved them.
He gave them His Spirit.
He offered them a different kind of power, the power to live differently and to love fully.
And He gave them important jobs to do.
Jesus comes to us and loves on us.
Jesus uses ordinary people—people like you and perhaps even me—to bring others to Himself.
Jesus says that we are to make disciples…teaching people everything
He commands.
A command can sound kind of threatening and intimidating until we learn and remember what Jesus has commanded us:
“Be reconciled to one another.
Love and pray for our enemies.
Be peacemakers.
Do not return evil for evil.
Turn the other cheek.
Deny yourself.
Put the needs of others first.
Be humble.
Serve.
Forgive.
Feed the hungry, cloth the naked, give a drink to the thirsty, show mercy, be kind, welcome the stranger, visit the sick, help the poor, don’t play favorites.
And above all—love God and love your neighbor as you love yourself.”
These are the things Jesus has commanded us to do.
This is the way we are to live our lives.
And this is how we make disciples.
Oh, and most important of all—we aren’t alone in this endeavor.
Not only do we have one another, but Jesus promises: “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Being a disciple and making disciples goes hand in hand.
Both are life-long journeys.
It is what makes life worth the living.
It is the way to live.
That’s why I am here this morning.
Others discipled me.
That’s how I got here.
How about you?
Praise God!!!
Amen.
