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Sermon Notes

Restoring Relationship One Neighbor at a Time | Neighboring Like Jesus Taught

Matthew 28:16–20, ESV) Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

WE ARE CALLED TO GO - STARTING WHERE WE ARE
Matthew 28:19a – “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations

GO: AS YOU ARE GOING - Jesus says, “as you are going…”— Place to Place
BUT YOU DO NOT GO ALONE
We go in the authority given to Jesus which is given to us to GO!
This is reiterated in Acts 1:8
Acts 1:8
Jesus was telling the disciples to begin right where they were. Jerusalem was home base.
That’s where neighboring begins—right where you are.
Your street
Your home
Your workplace.
Your gym.
Your favorite coffee shop.
MAKE DISCIPLES
Imperative: DO IT NOW!
We are to participate in creation and MAKE what we ARE - REPRODUCE
WHAT IS A DISCIPLE?
Matthew 16:24-25 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Come after Jesus
A Disciple is one who wants to: (John Mark Comer)
BE WITH JESUS - Follow Jesus
BECOME LIKE JESUS - Be Transformed, Changed, Die to Self
DO WHAT HE DID
BUT, to make a Disciple you have to BE a Disciple
WE ARE TO BE MAKING DISCIPLES THAT MAKE DISCIPLES THAT MAKE DISCIPLES THAT MAKE DISCIPLES
That means we aren’t just inviting people to believe something—we’re inviting them into a life of transformation, relationship, and obedience to Jesus.
DISCIPLESHIP IS RELATIONAL.
WHERE TO BEGIN:
EIGHT HOUSE RULE
GET TO KNOW THEM
B.L.E.S.S. THEM
LOVE THEM
SERVE THEM
JOURNEY WITH THEM
OF ALL NATIONS:
BUT This is EVERYONE
There is no one you encounter of whom God doesn’t want to be a Disciple - Someone living out a transformed life in Jesus
BAPTIZING THEM
Some in here need to make a decision to die to self and be made alive in Christ

TEACH THEM TO OBEY EVERYTHING - LOVE IS THE CURRICULUM
Matthew 28:20 – “Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…”
TEACH THEM TO OBEY EVERYTHING I HAVE COMMANDED
What did Jesus command?
LOVE. That’s the summary, the heartbeat, the very essence of His teaching.
John 15:9–13 – “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in MY love. If you keep MY commandments, you will abide in MY love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in HIS love. These things I have spoken to you, that MY joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. “THIS IS MY COMMANDMENT, THAT YOU LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

The standard isn’t “love as they deserve.” It’s “love as Jesus loved.”
John 3:16
1 John 4:19 - 21
John 13:34–35
This is the message we carry into our neighboring: God loves you, even in your mess. He wants a relationship with you.
BUT WHY DON’T WE DO THIS? WHY DOES THIS NOT MOTIVATE US?
I believe it is because we don’t REALLY KNOW how much God loves us.
We still question whether God loves us so we have no urgency to tell others about His love.
God loves me!
God loves you!
HE LOVES YOU LIKE THE FATHER LOVED HIM
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in MY love. If you keep MY commandments, you will abide in MY love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in HIS love.
I fight with this!
I knew my dad loved me but he didn’t always show it.
I was committed to make sure my kids KNEW and KNOW I love them.
IF I WAS THAT COMMITTED FOR MY KIDS TO KNOW MY LOVE FOR THEM, HOW MUCH MORE IS GOD COMMITTED FOR US TO KNOW HIS LOVE?
He sent His Son to show us that LOVE
John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

COMMUNITY IS WHERE GOD’S LOVE BECOMES VISIBLE
Matthew 28:20b – “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
Jesus promises His presence as we walk this out—but His plan is that we do it together.
Jesus is forming us as Disciples so we can make Disciples
John 17:23

Reflection/Application Questions

Who around me needs to see God’s love in practical ways this week?
Am I intentionally discipling anyone right now?
Do I view my everyday life as part of the Great Commission?
How well am I reflecting Jesus’ love in my neighborhood or community?
What hinders me from stepping into relational discipleship?
How has God’s love transformed my life personally?
Where do I need to “go” more intentionally—across the street, the office, the classroom?
How can I teach what Jesus commanded without losing love at the center?
What would it look like to build deeper community in my small group?
Who can I invite into a disciple-making friendship this week?

Time of Response

Take a few minutes of silence. Allow your own thoughts to quiet and be still. Where does the Holy Spirit want you to decrease so that Christ could increase in your life? What part of your life, if reduced, would make more room for you to thrive spiritually?

Give Here

QUESTIONS TO ASK WHILE READING SCRIPTURE

What does this reveal about God?

What does this reveal about you in relation to God?

What do you need to do about it?

The Covenant Prayer from John Wesley's Covenant Service, 1780 (adapted)

I am no longer my own,

but Yours.

Put me to what you will,

rank me with whom you will.

Put me to doing,

put me to suffering.

Let me be employed for You or laid aside for You,

exalted for You or brought low for You.

Let me be full,

let me be empty.

Let me have all things,

let me have nothing.

I freely and heartily yield all things

to Your pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

You are mine,

and I am Yours.

So be it.

And the covenant which I have made on earth,

let it be ratified in heaven.

Amen.

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How Can I Be Intentional When Reading Scripture?

One Method To Use When Reading Scripture:

The S.O.A.P.S. Method

S.cripture: Write down the Bible passage you will be studying.

O.bservations: Examine the text and write down what you notice and see. Start with the obvious and move to the deeper.

A.pplication: Apply God’s Word to your life in a practical way. What is God saying about Himself, about you and about what He is calling you to?

P.rayer: Respond to God’s Word with your own words.

S.hare: Commit to share what God is showing you with someone else.

Inductive Bible Study:
Observation (what does the passage say?)

What is happening in the passage?
Who is involved in the passage?
What happened before and after the passage.
Where are they located and how is that influencing the passage.

Interpretation (what does it mean?)

What is the passage saying considering everything I have observed and what I know from the rest of Scripture
What does the scripture say within context of the entirety of Scripture?

Application (how does it apply to my life?)

What does the passage say about God?
What does the passage say about me and to me?
What am I being called to DO because of the passage of Scripture?

How do I talk with God?

WAYS TO PRAY

One Way to talk with God is to:

Pause.

Rejoice.

Ask.

Yield.

ANOTHER OPTION

Adoration

Confession

Thanksgiving

Supplication: Requests

Worship Experience