“Now I rejoice in my suff erings for your sake, and in my fl esh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s affl ictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.”  Colossians 1:24-29

 …We make disciples (Who makes disciples?).

• We believe that followers of Christ are called to multiply through the proclamation of the gospel from one person to the next and through the ensuing process of relational discipleship. Therefore, we mobilize our people in order to expand God’s kingdom to the neighborhoods and nations until they all know the gospel. How do we make disciples?

1. We _________. (v.28a)

• Mark 5, John 9 → “Our problem in evangelism is not that we don’t have enough information—it is that we don’t know how to be ourselves. We forget we are called to be witnesses to what we have seen and know, not to what we don’t know. The key on our part is authenticity and obedience, not a doctorate in theology. We haven’t grasped that it really is OK for us to be who we are when we are with seekers, even if we don’t have all the answers to their questions or if our knowledge of Scripture is limited.”  Rebecca Manley Pippert, Out of the Saltshaker & into the World: Evangelism as a Way of Life

2. We _________ and ___________ . (v.28b) 3. We __________. (v.28c)

“For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.”  I Thessalonians 2:19-20

4. We _________. (v.29a)

“…my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!”  Galatians 4:19

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

1. What is one way for you to taste the glory of the gospel in a fresh way this week?

2. What is one sphere in your life where you can spend time with people who don’t know Christ?

3. For whom will you toil in prayer this week?