Sonlife Disciple-Making Podcast: Recent Episodes
Sonlife Ministries
Sonlife Ministries podcasts including: • 50 day Knowing Him Study supplemental resource • Annual Disciple-making Conference • Ongoing coaching and equipping from Sonlife's trainers • Stories from ordinary disciple-makers
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Today we're discussing international ministry with Jay Fast. Josh and Jay share their top ten excuses that they've heard for not taking missions trips, we talk about some best practices for international trips, and look at Jesus exampe of cross-cultural ministry.
Jay is the Iternational Ministries coordinator with Sonlife and has been leading overseas trips with teams in the U.S. and Latin America.
Show Links:
Fusion
Equipping Cross-Culturally (Blog)
Email Jay
This week we're talking about building relationships with Nathan Glover of Urban Impact. We discuss the win, build, equip, multiply model that they have used and the importance of training others to make disciples.
Nathan is the director of training center with Urban Impact. He has been either in or leading Urban Impact programs since he was 7 years old. He spent time participating and volunteering throughout his childhood before joining the staff in his early twenties.
Episode Links:
Urban Impact Youtube
Urban Impact website
Urban Impact misstion trip
Master Plan for Evangelism
We're talking about gospel conversations with Jeff Polen on today's episode of Everyday Disciple Makers. We discuss how Jeff started participating in an activity his brother was interested so that they could spend time together and Jeff shares his heart for ministry, music, and making disciples. Jeff is husband, father, speaker, and worship leader based in Ohio. He is a musician and a writer with a heart for the local church.
Show links:
Jeff's website
Weekly Worhsip Thoughts (Jeff's book)
Sonlife's 5 booklets
Today we're discussing perseverance in youth ministry with Bill Winton. Bill has been the middle school pastor at his church for 22 years and has leaders on his team that have been with him for over a decade. We discuss middle school ministry and the power of win, build, equip, multiply.
Bill is the Middle School Director and Director of Missions at Christian Family Chapel in Jaxonville, FL.
Show Links:
Christian Family Chapel
Email Bill
How Jesus Made Disciples
Today we talk about reaching Gen Z with Jordan Whitmer. Jordan is a Gen Z leader with a heart for leading his generation to Christ. We talk about what works in reaching Generation Z and his experience in ministry to this generation.
Jordan is leading the HowToLife Movement and taking the hope of Jesus to his generation. The movement started when he was 16 and empowers students to share the good news of Jesus.
Show Links:
HowToLife website
Jordan's Instagram
Barna's Gen Z resources
This week we sit down to talk about strategic investment in the next generation with Doug Holliday. We cover Sonlife's roots as a youth ministry disciple-making organization and how we are refocussing on the prayer of being part of transforming the culture of youth ministry in North America and restoring it to the disciple-making heart of Jesus.
Doug is the Executive Director of Sonlife and serves on the lead team with Concentric which is a global alliance of ministries that provide Biblical leadership equipping based on Jesus’ model and strategy
Links from this episode:
More about Doug
Sonlife's training
This week we're talking about caring for your soul with Trey Van Camp. As leaders we must be sure that we are spending time with Jesus so that we can lead others well. Trey talks about his journey with spiritual disciplines and how he incorporates the practices into his own life and helps others to do the same.
Trey is a pastor, church planter and YouTube creator from Arizona, where he resides with his wife and three daughters.
Links from the show:
Trey's YouTube
Celebration of Discipline (book)
Mansions of the Heart (book)
Invitation to a Journey (book)
Today we discuss where is your identity with Micah Foster. It can be easy for ministry leaders to find identity in our ministry roles, but what happens when, whether by our choices or the choices of others, our ministry role changes. We talk about Micah's ministry journey and where God is leading him now.
Micah has been a youth pastor and a church planter. He resides in Fresno, CA with his family and is launching into a new venture as an entrepreneur.
Links from the show:
Micah's YouTube channel
Roaring Lambs
Email Micah
This week we are talking faithful leadership with Daniel Goble. We discuss being faithful where God has called us, walking with people through the hard times, and how hard moments in ministry can lead to potential breakthrough.
Daniel is the associate pastor at Grace Evangelical Free Church in Colville, WA where he has served since 2009. He has a Masters in Theology and a Masters of Divinity and is wrapping up his dissertation for his Doctorate in Counseling and Psychology.
Links from the show:
Grace Evangelical Free Church
GC Designs
Daniel on Facebook
Boundaries (book)
We're talking about the power of story with Gwynne Gardner today. We discuss how sharing stories of what God is doing in our lives is a powerful tool. We also learn about how Josiah Venture is using stories from their team and what God is doing in Central and Eastern Europe.
Gwynne has served with Josiah Venture in Slovenia and Czech Republic since 2011 and is currently their Social Media Manager. She has a desire to see the gospel advance through the media highway and to use social media as a platform to tell young people across Central and Eastern Europe all about Jesus.
Links from the show:
Josiah Venture Stories
More about Gwynne
Jesus, the Middle Eastern Storyteller
Storify
This week we talk about following in His steps with Dave Noden. It is a great conversation with a man who spent his life following after Christ one step at a time. Dave's faithfulness to the assignments that he's had from the Lord are truly encouraging.
Dave served with African Inland Mission for many years and in 1967 traveled by ship to their assignment in Africa.
Show links:
Africa Inland Missions
How "Knowing Him" impacted my life
This week we talk about reproducing disciples with Bill Hodgson. The conversation covers how to equip folks in our ministry to make disciples, the problem with some evangelism training, and how to move from a ministry mindset to a moment mindset. Thanks for checking out the episode.
Bill is the National Strategy Director with Power to Change in Australia. He teaches and trains on disciple-making movements. He also the Making the Shift podcast.
Links from the episode: Making the Shift (podcast)
Church Movements
Discovery Bible Study
This week are talking about an unhurried life with Alan Fadling. This audio is from a message Alan gave at D•Conference 2020. It inspires us to take a look at Jesus and learn from his rhythms.
Alan has been a pastor and spiritual director and runs Unhurried Living ministries.
You can buy An Unhurried Life here.
Podcast with Bill Perkins about The Jesus Story
Podcast interview with Alan Fadling
This week we talk information vs. inspiration with Joshua Verwers. There is great value in knowing what scripture says. But how do we move people from knowing to doing? How can we help them go beyond information and live like Christ?
Josh is a vlog pastor from Iowa. He has been on staff at his church since 2007. He has also been investing in digital ministry since 2018 where he encourages people to live by faith.
Josh' website
Vlog style sermon
Bill Perkins has been a pastor for over 25 years and has written or cowritten over 20 books. Today we sit down and talk about The Jesus Story, a blending of the four gospel accounts that Bill helped put together.
You can find more information at readtheJesusstory.com or follow his blog at billperkins.com.
We get to have a conversation about being a disciple making church with James Gleason. We talk about how it is important for the pastor to be investing personally in disciple making if he is going to lead a disciple making ministry.
James is the lead pastor of Sunrise Church in Hillsboro, OR. He has served on staff there as the youth pastor and lead pastor.
Today we talk about disciple making in small groups with Josh Burt. Josh is the associate pastor at Grace Bible Church in Columbia, MO.
This week we sit down with Val O'Brien to talk about bridging the generational divide in disciple making. It's a great conversation with insights on making disciples through the generations.
Val recently joined the Sonlife team and will be helping out with the Traverse project. We are excited about this chance to spend time listening to a younger generation of leaders. Through this our hope is to better understand how we can continue to equip ministry leaders.
What a great conversation with Michele about Jesus being away with the Father and His disciples.
You can email Michele at: michele@singular.org
Find out more about Singular at: www.singular.org
Michele's talk on women disciples: https://youtu.be/KSe07LRmU7M
Pray As You Go: https://pray-as-you-go.org
This week we sit down with Rev. Larry Austin who works as the director of church health with the Central District of the EFCA. He shares about how churches can use this season of change to refocus on making disciples.
You can connect with Larry on Twitter at : @llaustin
You can learn more about his ministry at https://efcacentral.org/team/larry-austin/
You can find Sonlife's 4 Chair Discipling book at https://store.sonlife.com/4-chair-discipling/
This week we sit down with Jay Fast and Josh Mangioni to talk about student ministry missions, Jesus as our model for ministry, and inviting students into our lives.
You can check out Josh Mangioni's student ministry podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-life-bridge-youth-podcast/id1509735478
And you can learn more about Fusion at www.sonlife.com/fusion
Huron Claus is president of CHIEF, Inc., and is a fifth-generation follower of Jesus Christ. He comes from the Mohawk/Kiowa tribes of New York and Oklahoma. The Claus Indian family has ministered through evangelism and music in Native communities and villages across North, Central, and South America.
https://chief.org/
Today's guest is Alan Fadling, Founder and President of Unhurried Living. Alan is a trainer Spiritual Director and author of these books-
• An Unhurried Life: Following Jesus' Rhythms of Work and Rest
• An Unhurried Leader: The Lasting Fruit of Daily Influence
The Sonlife staff read An Unhurried Leader for our 2019 staff retreat and asked Alan to speak at the Orlando D•Conference 2020 due to the impact his books had on all of us. Take a listen.
Today's guest is Jeff Wells, Lead Pastor at WoodsEdge Community Church in Spring, Texas. He is an avid runner (with several first place marathon finishes) and author of these books-
- Breaking Free of OCD: My battle with Mental Pain and How God Rescued me.
- Unhurried Time With God
He is one of the most downloaded podcasts on our Sonlife channel from the 2016 D•Conference.
This is podcast to listen to and repeat.
What a great way to start our new podcast. On this episode we catch up with Dann Spader, Sonlife's founder and global ambassador. Dann shares his honest reflections and lessons learned over the past 50 years of ministry. The insights are priceless.
Hello friends!
We'll be dropping new podcasts to help guide us in disciple-making into today's changing culture. A lot has changed in the past few weeks and Sonlife wants to walk with you as we discover the timeless truths of disciple-making. One thing is true that we can remain confident in, Jesus never changes. Stay tuned and be part of the story.
We are honored to have Mike join us for both conferences this year. This is a powerful message to a world that is crazy. This is a message you want to put on repeat and share with your friends.
Learn more about Mike Silva at:
www.mikesilva.org
Micah first shared at our D•Conference in Florida. The power and simplicity in which Micah communicates the hope we have in Jesus needed to be shared at our conference in Portland. We are grateful that Micah cleared his schedule and joined us again.
Learn more about Micah's ministry at:
www.adamsroadministry.com
Mike shares why this important question is the key that unlocks authentic disciple-making in a lost and broken world.
http://www.mikesilva.org/
A very zealous Mormon goes to Florida for his missions, where he tries to convert Baptists and is instead presented the gospel of Jesus.
https://www.adamsroadministry.com
Strategies for increasing your ministry effectiveness in reaching the spiritually lost.
Peter leads a large group of disciples to an isolated (perhaps secretive) meeting where Jesus will once again give them their marching orders. Then they make their way back to Jerusalem to await the coming Holy Spirit as the movement switches into its next phase of multiplication. Let’s take a look at these last two meetings with the disciples.
Knowing Him Study: pages 180-182
After rising from the dead, Jesus appears to His disciples on several occasions. Paul lists the appearances in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8. He appeared to many people individually — to His leaders on several occasions and even to a group of disciples numbering more than 500. On one of these appearances Jesus repeats a miracle that had changed Peter’s life early in the ministry. This is the last breakfast with Jesus. See what instructions Jesus gives about being a leader!
Knowing Him Study: pages 177-179
Check out video #37 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com
After laying His life down for you and me, two men come to retrieve His body and prepare it for burial. One is Joseph of Arimathea and the other is our friend Nicodemus. As you read today, take special note of these two men. The Lord is risen indeed!
Knowing Him Study: pages 174-176
Check out video #36 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com
Jesus is identified to the crowd of people who have come to take Him away by Judas, who has come to betray Him. Judas kisses Jesus, and Jesus responds by calling him “Friend” (Matt. 26:50). He was a friend of sinners until the end! Betrayed into the hands of the religious leaders, Jesus is led away to be questioned, lied about, treated unjustly, beaten, whipped and, finally, to be hung on a cross between two criminals.
Knowing Him Study: pages 171-173
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Jesus shared a lot of cool stuff with His disciples that night in the upper room, besides the fact that He loved them and expected them to lead as servant leaders. He tells them once again that
He will be leaving them but not to be afraid, that He is leaving to prepare a place for them. He tells them to remember that He is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). He shares what the role of the coming Holy Spirit will be in their lives and much, much more. Come and take a look.
Knowing Him Study: pages 168-170
Check out video #31, #33, #34, #35 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com
Jesus spends the week teaching at the temple during the day and in prayer, communicating to His Father each evening on the Mount of Olives (Luke 21:37). The things Jesus teaches this week are incredibly significant. They are a study, in and of themselves, full of leadership lessons and truths. The week is coming to a close, and Jesus’ time is short, so He has a few of His disciples make arrangements for a Passover supper in town. Jesus has been eagerly anticipating and preparing for this particular evening. He says, “‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God’” (Luke 22:15-16). What will happen on this last Passover night? Take a look.
Knowing Him Study: pages 165-167
Check out video #31 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com
As Jesus makes His way from Jericho to Jerusalem, He is about to receive an incredible gift from the Father — a king’s welcome into the Holy City. It is a day of celebration and great emotion. What will happen as Jesus enters into Jerusalem? Take a close look!
Knowing Him Study: pages 162-164
Check out video #31 and #32 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com
After spending several months on the other side of the Jordan River in Perea, Jesus makes His way back across the Jordan and into the town of Jericho, where He will reinforce many of the leadership principles that He has been teaching His growing team of leaders. He will live them out and put them into practice once again. Jesus was a person who did not just talk about things, but actually acted on them. He so desires to live out these principles through you and me today, if we will only yield to Him. Check out Jesus in action, living out what He teaches, unlike the Pharisees.
Knowing Him Study: pages 159-161
Check out video #30 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com
Jesus continues His teaching over the next several months. We only have time in this study to cover a couple of His lessons on leadership development. These days for Jesus are packed with incredible teaching on the development of leaders. One of the most important teachings that Jesus gives during this time is on being an unleavened leader. Read carefully and digest what Jesus is saying to His disciples about leadership. He is calling for a radically different style of leadership than what they had seen their whole lives from the religious leaders. As you read, ask God to examine your leadership style.
Knowing Him Study: pages 156-158
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Jesus leaves the Feast of Dedication and travels to the other side of the Jordan River, where John had baptized him three years earlier (John 10:40). Jesus will use this as a base for the next few months, awaiting His final entrance into Jerusalem and His pending death on the cross. What will He do in these last several months to ensure that the movement continues after He is taken up to His Father? What will His final steps be? Let’s look in on what this passage says.
Knowing Him Study: pages 153-155
Check out video #29 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com
Jesus returns to the Galilee and continues to train His apostles and prepare the next group of disciples who He will soon send out on their first mission trip. But there is another feast, the Feast of Dedication, or Lights. This is not an Old Testament feast, but a new one added several years before Jesus comes on the scene. This was in honor of the miracle that took place when God supernaturally provided light in the lamps when there was not enough oil to keep them burning, when the temple was taken back during the Jewish Maccabees’ revolt under the leadership of Judas Maccabees. What will happen on this next trip to Jerusalem? Who will Jesus meet and what trap will the religious leaders set for Him? Read on!
Knowing Him Study: pages 150-152
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After meeting with Moses and Elijah, they went back down the mountain and “[w]hen they came back to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him” (Mark 9:14-15). Jesus comes down off the mountain and is immediately confronted with the needs of the people. He ministers to the people as the movement continues to expand. I wonder what will happen this year at the feast? Check it out!
Knowing Him Study: pages 146-149
Check out video #28 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com
Six days after this incredible leadership team evaluation, Jesus reveals that He has begun a movement that is so powerful that the gates of Hell will not be able to slow its advance. Jesus, as the leader of this movement, is Himself the Lion of Judah and will lead the charge through the centuries. As they walk, He reveals to them that this advancement of the movement would not be without great personal suffering and loss of life (Matt. 16:21). Jesus then makes a bold move. Take a look!
Knowing Him Study: pages 143-145
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After walking on water, Jesus continues to
train His leadership team for the mission. He is teaching them about love, humility, faith and their understanding of authority. He will cast out various demons, heal a little girl, confront the religious leaders once again and feed 4,000 people, a similar miracle because “they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened” (Mark 6:52). It is time now for another retreat with His leadership team, so He takes them north to the district of Caesarea Philippi (Matt. 16:13). Check out what happens next!
Knowing Him Study: pages 139-142
Check out video #26 #27 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com
After a full day of ministry and picking up twelve baskets of leftovers, Jesus sees that the disciples are exhausted. So He sends them off in a boat, onto the Sea of Galilee to get them away from the crowd and allow them to rest, while he dismisses everyone else (Mark 6:45). After bidding the crowd farewell, Jesus makes His way back up a nearby mountain to spend some time debriefing with His Father (Mark 6:46). It has been a long day, filled with a whirlwind of emotions for Jesus. He begins to relax and is just enjoying the communion with His Father, when…
Knowing Him Study: pages 136-138
Check out video #25 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com
The news of John’s death and the way in which he died stung like a sharp knife, piercing Jesus’ soul. Grieving, Jesus retreats to the comfort of the Father and the silence of the Sea of Galilee. He tells His disciples to come with Him and He escapes to a secluded place. People were coming from everywhere after hearing the news about John’s death (Mark 6:31). Some feel that this crowd is angry and ready for a revolution and a new king (John 6:15)! What is going to happen?
Knowing Him Study: pages 133-135
Check out video #25 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com
Meanwhile, as the disciples are wandering the countryside having the adventure of a lifetime, something else very exciting was happening in Israel. It was the birthday of King Herod and he was throwing a party for himself that would last for days, if not weeks. At this party something would happen that would launch the movement to a new level at a deep personal cost to Jesus Himself. Read this sad story very carefully.
Knowing Him Study: pages 130-132
Check out video #25 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com
After months of intensive leadership training, it is finally time for the twelve apprentices to be sent out on their own mission trip. Remember, Jesus called these twelve guys for two reasons: first, so that they might be with Him and grow closer to him and second, so that He might send them out (Mark 3:14). It is no surprise to them that Jesus is sending them out. It is an exciting time, and yet the twelve are scared to death. How will they respond to the challenge? Where will Jesus send them? What will He say to them and what will happen? Check it out!
Knowing Him Study: pages 127-129
Check out video #25 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com
Have you ever been so tired that you slept right through a storm? That is where we find Jesus today. As the movement continues to expand, Jesus finds it harder and harder to find a place to rest or even get a bite to eat. In Mark 3:20, Peter notes “Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.” Luke records, probably from Mary’s memories, “Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd” (Luke 8:19). Can you imagine how hard it must have been to constantly come back to a full house and growing crowds? Where could Jesus escape
or get away from the crowds? Come and see!
Knowing Him Study: pages 124-126
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It appears that there is a curious Pharisee living in Capernaum, who has been following the ministry of Jesus. He is intrigued enough to risk his reputation and invite Jesus over for a meal with some of his friends. Jesus accepts the invitation and what transpires is nothing less than life transforming. Take a look!
Knowing Him Study: pages 121-123
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Wow! I hope you are wrestling with leading like Jesus. I so want to be a leader that loves, is humble, has great faith in God and who knows who his authority is. I struggle with all four aspects of leadership and so need Jesus living in me and through me to be the leader He calls me to be. Note also that as we work our way through this study in the life of Christ, I was forced to pick only fifty events, thus we will be leaving out important events like the one found in Luke 7:11-17 when Jesus shows the power and authority over the dead by raising a widow’s son to life.
Jesus was often misunderstood as a leader. In today’s study, Jesus pays tribute to another greatly unappreciated and misunderstood leader. He honors this leader who was both His dear friend and co-laborer in the Kingdom of God. Come learn some
more from the Master about leadership.
Knowing Him Study: pages 117-120
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After choosing the first leaders for the movement and laying out the Father’s plan for reaching the world, Jesus comes down from the mountain and returns to His home and ministry center in Capernaum. His leaders are now with Him almost 24/7. And who does the Father have waiting in the wings but a Roman centurion? Oh, the humor of our Father in Heaven! How will Jesus model His new leadership style? How will it all play out?
Knowing Him Study: 114-116
Check out video #24 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com
After letting His disciples know what they should expect as they leave this mountaintop experience with Him, He turns His attention to explaining the Father’s plan for reaching the world. I imagine the atmosphere was electrifying with everyone shouting, “Let’s take the world!” Jesus quiets them and begins sharing the game plan to bring freedom from Rome and the curse of sin. They all listen with great anticipation to the new plan. It is an awesome plan and one Jesus will explain and live out in front of His new leaders and disciples over the coming two years. It will end in the ultimate act of love — His own death. Get ready to have your world rocked!
Knowing Him Study: pages 11-113
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When we left Jesus yesterday He had just announced the appointment of twelve leaders. I am not sure that everyone was happy with the final decision. What about the women disciples? Yes, there were many women who were not just Christ-followers, but also disciples. In Luke 8:1-3 we have a list of several of these women. As Jesus looks into the faces of those not chosen as well as those who were chosen, I am sure He saw many different expressions. Maybe everyone expected Peter, but how about Matthew, the tax collector? Surely some people had a hard time with this selection. After all, Matthew was a traitor to his people and hated — how could Jesus choose him? And how about the fact that eleven of the twelve were from the region of Galilee?
Knowing Him Study: 108-110
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As Jesus moves into this new phase, He knows it is crucial that He listen carefully to His Father in order for the movement to expand according to the Father’s master plan. Jesus called an isolated (perhaps secretive) meeting with His disciples from every area He has been in over the past two years. Probably some 120 disciples move quietly to the mountains of Naphtali just northwest of Capernaum. As they are arriving from all over, Jesus climbs to a high spot. What will He do? What will He say? What will be the next step His Father will ask Him to take? Let’s take a look.
Knowing Him Study: 105-107
Check out video #23 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com
This phase in Jesus’ life is focused on leadership development. As the movement continues to grow, Jesus begins to hand-select from His disciples a few to be servant leaders of the movement. After a full night of prayer, consulting with His Father, Jesus appoints twelve men who will begin their apprenticeship as leaders and will eventually become the leaders of the movement.
Knowing Him Study: pages 101-104
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The sixth fishing expedition is amazing and, honestly, a bit astonishing to me. There is this guy living in Capernaum — he is well off, well-dressed, has it all. He is, in fact, the son of the powerful Alphaeus and commissioned, trusted and protected by Rome to collect taxes from the people of Israel. He may have been following Jesus from afar and weighing carefully the call to leave everything and follow. But there is so much
to leave — the house, the money, the job, the lifestyle. If he could only know for certain that Jesus could give him what he most wants. Let’s see what he discovers.
Knowing Him Study: pages 98-100
Check out video #22 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com
After this last fishing expedition, the movement is snowballing. Did you catch how the movement of multiplication is beginning to get out of control? Peter notes that during this time in the ministry, the leper “went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely place. Yet the people still come to him from everywhere” (Mark 1:45). From the eyewitnesses that he interviewed, Luke notes: “Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses” (Luke 5:15). What will happen next?
Knowing Him Study: pages 95-97
Check out video #22 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com
As Jesus moves throughout the Galilee of the Gentiles, sharing who He is, He comes across a man covered from head to toe with a fatal disease. What will happen and how will this lead to a teaching experience and a fishing expedition for His team? Let’s dig right in.
Knowing Him Study: pages 92-94
Check out video #22 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com
Okay, so far we have Jesus fishing at the synagogue and at the disciple Peter’s house. Where will He go next? One outreach was well planned, the other spontaneous. What kind of event will follow? When we left Jesus yesterday, under the direction of His Father, He had departed with His disciples (or at least most of them) for the surrounding villages to train His young team and go fishing for men. Fishing in the marketplace is where we will find the Master today. Check it out.
Knowing Him Study: pages 89-91
Check out video #22 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com
We are in the process of looking at the first six fishing expeditions of Jesus. We are doing this for two reasons. Do you remember what they are? His aim was both to train the ministry team and to reach the masses. Although yesterday’s expedition was well executed, today’s fishing expedition may surprise you. When we left yesterday, Jesus had healed a demon-possessed man of an evil spirit and, immediately, news about Jesus spread into all the surrounding district of Galilee (Mark 1:28). Jesus leaves the synagogue in Capernaum and heads to Peter’s house. Yes, Peter owned a house and he was even married. Check it out.
Knowing Him Study: pages 86-88
Check out video #22 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com
Jesus is now ready to begin what will be another year and a half of fishing expeditions with His disciples. We will be looking at the first six expeditions. These are the first six outreach events that Jesus does in order to train His
young ministry team to reach the masses with the Good News that He is the Messiah. There is a progression to these fishing trips, a good pattern for us to follow, and much to learn about fishing for men. Read the story from the three different points of view, or better yet, print them out and try to piece the event together chronologically. Jump right in and learn to fish Jesus-style.
Knowing Him Study: pages 83-85
Check out video #22 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com
Jesus leaves Jerusalem and makes His way back up north to His new home in Capernaum. He most likely heads over to the shores of the Sea of Galilee to meet up with some of His early followers, who had returned home as well to their parents, wives and families. He arrives early in the morning, just as the sun breaks over the horizon. These fishermen have just come off of a long night of fishing and are hard at work washing and mending their nets. What will Jesus say to them? Will they be excited to see Him?
Knowing Him Study: pages 80-82
Check out video #21 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com
This is a big day for Jesus! Today he will appear before the religious leaders in Jerusalem. He is being brought up on two very serious charges. Charge #1: Jesus broke Sabbath by healing
a man and then telling him to carry his mat (do work). Charge #2: Jesus was claiming that God was His real Father and that He and God the Father were equals. Wow! I hope you can’t wait for the declaration of truth that is coming your way today.
Knowing Him Study: pages 77-79
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After moving to Capernaum, Jesus makes the long trip down to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Jews. (Some believe this was the second Passover that Jesus attended. Some believe it was the Feast of Tabernacles, thus placing the following two events about 6-7 months later.) Remember what happened last year at the Passover (John 2)? Jesus definitely shook things up then! I wonder what will happen this year. There must have been a buzz about Jesus as people made the journey from all over the world to Jerusalem to celebrate this important Jewish festival. Let’s find out what happens.
Knowing Him Study: pages 74-76
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Jesus now moves into a period of transition in the ministry. After preaching in Nazareth in His hometown synagogue and being rejected by the people, Jesus moves (and some believe Jesus also moved His whole family with Him). Where will He go and how will the ministry change? His fame is becoming widespread now and people are coming from all over looking for Him. Jesus, during this time, will make four transitions that
we want to note before we look at the training of the His ministry team and the six “Fishing Expeditions.” Take a look!
Knowing Him Study: pages 71-73
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These next two phases in Jesus’ life we have titled Ministry Training and Expanded Outreach. We do this because we see Jesus doing two things here at the same time. As the movement of multiplication grows, Jesus issues His next call:
“‘Come, follow me’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.’” (Mark 1:17)
It is the third call. It is made to those He has already called: “Come and see” and “Follow Me.” This third call is to come closer to Jesus, to draw near enough so He can now teach you how you can be a part of the process of making disciples. He invites these first followers to join Him in the ministry, to become apprentices in the school of disciple-making and share in the multiplication of the movement.
Knowing Him Study: pages 68-70
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Jesus now moves back to the His hometown of Nazareth, the place where he had grown up. Remember what it had been like for Jesus from your study in Psalms 69? Jesus may have suffered here in His youth at the hands of the elders who had constantly discussed what they were going to do with Him and the town drunkards who seemingly made up songs about Him. Now He was returning to teach in their synagogue on the Sabbath. What will happen?
Knowing Him Study: pages 65-67
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As Jesus and His followers leave Samaria and head back into Galilee, the news about Him has already reached the people and the talk in all Israel is about the new prophet on the scene — Jesus of Nazareth. As His hometown tries to sort through their emotions about who Jesus really is and how they could have missed it, Jesus makes His way a little north, to the town of Cana. Remember Cana? Jesus had been there several months ago and had revealed His glory to His family and first followers at the wedding. Why was He going back to this town? What would He do this time? Take a look.
Knowing Him Study: pages 62-64
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Jesus leaves His best friend John at the River Aenon and heads back down into Judea where He had left His first followers to continue testifying about Him and baptizing the people (John 4:1-3). Do you remember what baptism meant? Jesus’ early followers were helping the people to identify with the person and work of Jesus. This was why they were baptizing them. Jesus collects His followers and begins to head back up to Galilee, but first He must pass through Samaria. Look again at the map and get your bearings. Let’s go north into Samaria to the town of Sychar.
Knowing Him Study: pages 59-61
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Take a moment and find the River Aenon on the map. Note that the river Aenon is on the border of Samaria. This is a very important place, and we need to ask the question — why was John the Baptist near Samaria? What was he doing there? Up until this time, he had spent his time preparing the way for the Messiah among the Jewish people, like a voice crying in the desert, making straight the path (Isa. 40:3). John had been focused on the Jews, so why is he here near Samaria? And by the way — why did John not leave his ministry of preparing the way and just follow after Jesus like he tells his disciples too? Well, let’s see what we can uncover.
Knowing Him Study: pages 56-58
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Jesus’ display of passion in the temple during the Passover must have raised many eyebrows, but Jesus was then launched onto the stage of popularity in His day. The Bible says, “When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there” (John 4:45). But before that, Jesus had a meeting with a man named Nicodemus, who was very religious. He was probably one of the people who had most likely seen what Jesus did at the wedding. He comes to meet Jesus under the cover of dark, because he was deeply concerned with his own reputation and did not want to be seen with Jesus. Take a look.
Knowing Him Study: pages 53-55
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