by Clint Crosier<\/p>\n
Disciple<\/strong>: A learner, pupil, or follower devoted to the teachings of a master.<\/p>\n In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me.<\/em>”\u00a0 Jesus holds the key to heaven and our salvation, and we can only be with God by following Jesus, his example, and his teaching; by being his devoted and committed disciple.<\/p>\n In 2015, the La Vista church will focus on “Growing as Disciples” — learning more about Christ, being more devoted to Christ, and being more like Christ.\u00a0 There are four key elements:<\/p>\n We must first truly understand the depth of our need for Jesus.\u00a0 Romans 3:23 and Romans 6:23 teach that we are sinners and deserve eternal separation from God.\u00a0 But Jesus loved us so much, he volunteered to die in our place, in a cruel and horrible death on the cross.\u00a0 And, even more amazingly, he didn’t do this for those who were worthy of his sacrifice, but specifically for those who were unworthy of it, for sinners (Romans 5:8).\u00a0 Christ died for us so we could be redeemed (Ephesians 1:7), and to bring us back to God (I Peter 3:18).\u00a0 He promised if we obey him, we will be saved (Hebrews 5:9).\u00a0 Jesus sacrificed himself in our place to give us everything and, therefore, we must give him everything – our obedience, our faith, and our love — because he first loved us (I John 4:19).<\/p>\n John 12:36 tells us that Jesus\u00a0is<\/em>\u00a0the light, and we are to become “sons of light.”\u00a0 I John 1:7 tells us that we are to “walk in the light<\/em>.”\u00a0 Recall that Jesus said that he\u00a0is<\/em>\u00a0truth (John 14:6) and III John 3 tells us we are to “walk in truth<\/em>.”\u00a0 II John 4 tells us to “walk in his commandments<\/em>” and John 14:15 tells us “if we love Jesus we will obey his commandments<\/em>.”\u00a0 We are commanded to walk as Jesus would walk, and live as Jesus would live, and obey his teachings.\u00a0 Walking in the light also means that we are to be an example of good deeds (Titus 2:7) to all of those around us of what it means to be a Christian, and in so doing we will glorify God before all men (Matthew 5:16).<\/p>\n Jesus commanded us to “love one another<\/em>” and said that by loving one another all men will know we are his disciples (John 13:34-35).\u00a0 And fundamental to loving one another is serving one another.\u00a0 Christ himself set the perfect example that even as the Son of God, Jesus “did not come to be served, but to serve<\/em>” (Matthew 20:28).\u00a0 Galatians 5:13 tells us “in love we are to serve one another<\/em>,” and we learn from I Peter 4:10 that we are to employ every gift God gives us in serving others.\u00a0 This applies to all of us, whether we believe we have gifts to offer or not; recall that I Corinthians 12:12-27 teaches that every Christian has a role in the work of the church.\u00a0 Philippians 2:3-4 tells us that with all humility, we should regard others as more important than ourselves.\u00a0 That means putting others’ needs ahead of our own. Jesus set that perfect example too when he died on the cross so that we might live.<\/p>\n Jesus told his disciples to “go into the world and make disciples of all nations<\/em>” (Mathew 28:19).\u00a0 We have that same responsibility too.\u00a0 Jesus told the demon-possessed man in Matthew 5:19 to “go tell people what great things the Lord has done for you.”\u00a0 How wonderful are the things God has done for us?\u00a0 Should we keep them to ourselves, or do like Paul instructed Timothy — to teach others? (II Timothy 2:2).\u00a0 When Jesus addressed the need for people to spread the gospel, he told his disciples that “the harvest is plenty, but the workers are few<\/em>” and then told them to pray to God to send workers into the field (Matthew 9:37-38).\u00a0 We, as Christ’s disciples, have the responsibility to fulfill Jesus’ prayer and tend to the harvest.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Clint Crosier Disciple: A learner, pupil, or follower devoted to the teachings of a master. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me.”\u00a0 Jesus holds the key to heaven and our salvation, and we can only be with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[642,1394,383],"class_list":["post-44759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-christianity","tag-disciples","tag-growth"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":81049,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-a-christian\/","url_meta":{"origin":44759,"position":0},"title":"What Is a Christian?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 5, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ken Dart If a person in today's world wanted an answer to this question, they would probably turn to the internet. Depending on the website they picked, they would find something along these lines: \"According to the World Council of Churches, a Christian is one who confesses Jesus Christ\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":70404,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/disciple-people\/","url_meta":{"origin":44759,"position":1},"title":"Disciple People","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 20, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ross Ward, Jr. \"Therefore, as you go, disciple people in all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I've commanded you. And remember, I am with you each and every day until the end\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":89934,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/changes-in-the-storm\/","url_meta":{"origin":44759,"position":2},"title":"Changes in the Storm","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 31, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Charles Box This lesson requires us to answer the question, \"Exactly what is a miracle?\" The term \"Miracle\" is used far too loosely and frequently in our society. \"A miracle is a divine operation that transcends what is normally perceived as natural law; it cannot be explained upon any\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/stormy-300x188.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":83530,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jesus-loves-the-little-children\/","url_meta":{"origin":44759,"position":3},"title":"Jesus Loves the Little Children","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Kent Heaton via Biblical Insight, Vol. 14, No. 9, September 2014 There are many scenes in which Jesus Christ is the imminent teacher of multitudes, advisor to noblemen, powerful Creator calming a storm, or the great physician healing and raising the dead. His wrath and fury are felt with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/jesus_and_the_children_2-247x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":92479,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/lessons-from-the-limited-commission\/","url_meta":{"origin":44759,"position":4},"title":"Lessons from the “Limited Commission”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Samuel Matthews \"And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease\u2026 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4625,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-were-the-first-two-disciples\/","url_meta":{"origin":44759,"position":5},"title":"Who were the first two disciples?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 4, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I have a question: who were the first two disciples? Answer: \"Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, \"Behold the Lamb of God!\" The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44759\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Strengthening our relationship with Jesus as our Teacher, Master, and Savior<\/h3>\n
Walking in the light, living a Christian life, letting others see Christ in us<\/h3>\n
Loving each other, and putting others before ourselves<\/h3>\n
Teaching those who don’t know Jesus<\/h3>\n