Disciples of the Risen Christ

Identity answers the question, “Who am I?” Without it, a person gets blown about by the winds of change, never quite at home in themselves and never quite sure where they are going. Christian identity begins at the core: children of God in Christ. Church identity works in much the same way. A church without a settled identity gets pushed around by culture, anxiety, and every new fad that comes along.

The church’s calling to make disciples belongs to what it means to be the church. The church’s vision gives particular shape to that calling: to make disciples who receive, live, and proclaim the new life of the risen Christ. Matthew 28 centers everything on Jesus’ command to “make disciples,” while going, baptizing, and teaching show what that work looks like.

Discipleship means following Jesus with the whole life. Paul’s words in Colossians make the claim plain: whatever happens in word or deed belongs in the name of the Lord Jesus. Abraham’s call gives a picture of this kind of life. God calls Abraham out from his homeland, his family, and his security, and Abraham goes. God’s call brings suffering, change, and growth, but Abraham’s costly obedience is not wasted.

Abraham’s life also keeps discipleship from becoming merely dramatic. Abraham hears God, leaves home, and faces extraordinary moments, but most of his hundred years of faithfulness consist of ordinary things: raising children, tending animals, worshiping God, and growing through mistakes. Discipleship radically reorients ordinary life toward God. Work, money, gifts, relationships, worship, and service cannot be divided into God’s things and personal things. Everything comes before Jesus.

Jesus makes that whole life of discipleship worth it because the destination is Jesus himself. The risen Christ conquered death with power that no other person possesses. Jesus possesses all authority in heaven and on earth by right, both because he made the world and because he has defeated the forces of darkness that falsely claimed it. Jesus can actually do what he promises: redeem pain, make all things right, and bring his people through suffering.

Jesus’ promise, “I am with you always,” turns discipleship from fearful striving into worship. Christ’s presence is not the gaze of a cruel ruler but the companionship of the One who loves his people, walks with them in darkness, and will bring them to the other side. The risen Christ calls the church to become disciples whose whole lives receive, live, and proclaim his new life.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Identity steadies believers against changing winds. Identity in Christ keeps a believer from being defined by cultural changes, personal success, or shifting feelings. Children of God have a settled place before the Father that does not need to be earned again each morning. That settled identity gives direction when life feels uncertain. [00:44]
• 2. Discipleship gives Jesus the whole life. Discipleship does not leave room for a divided life where church belongs to God and everything else belongs to the self. Work, money, abilities, and relationships all come under the lordship of Jesus. Ordinary responsibilities become acts of worship when they are pointed toward his glory. [14:17]
• 3. God’s call often brings costly growth. Abraham’s departure from home shows that God’s call can disrupt comfort and remove familiar security. Suffering in obedience is not evidence that God has abandoned his people. God uses costly faithfulness to deepen fellowship with him and shape a life over time. [07:02]
• 4. The risen Christ is worth following. Jesus is not merely inspiring, convincing, or full of good ideas. His resurrection shows his power over death, and his authority gives weight to every promise he makes. Following him is worth everything because he can truly make all things right. [19:37]
• 5. Christ’s presence frees faithful worship. Jesus remains with his people always, including in their darkest moments. His presence is loving, not oppressive, because the One with all authority is also the One who gave himself for his people. That promise frees believers to worship without fear and endure suffering with hope.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:20] - The Question of Identity
• [01:16] - A Church Must Know Its Calling
• [02:01] - The Vision: Receive, Live, Proclaim
• [03:30] - Jesus Commands Disciple Making
• [05:07] - Abraham’s Costly Call
• [08:02] - Blessed to Be a Blessing
• [10:21] - Radical and Ordinary Discipleship
• [13:12] - Every Part of Life Belongs to Jesus
• [14:58] - Jesus Is Worth It
• [15:43] - Jesus Conquered Death
• [17:17] - Christ’s Authority by Creation and Conquest
• [19:58] - Jesus Is Always With His People
• [21:36] - Whole Life Worship

1. In Matthew 28:16–20, what commands and promises surround Jesus’ central call to make disciples? [03:59]
2. What does Colossians 3:17 include under the lordship of Jesus, and how does that challenge the idea that only certain parts of life belong to God? [04:45]
3. What does Abraham leave behind when God calls him in Genesis 12:1–4, and what does Abraham do in response? [07:02]
4. What ordinary parts of Abraham’s long life were described as places where he followed and worshiped God? [11:33]

1. Why does Jesus place “make disciples” at the center of his commission, with going, baptizing, and teaching describing how that mission takes shape? [03:53]
2. Genesis 12 shows that God’s call disrupted Abraham’s security and familiar life. How does Abraham’s response help believers understand that hardship in obedience is not necessarily a sign that God has abandoned them? [07:08]
3. If everything done in word and deed is to be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, what does faithful discipleship look like in work, money, relationships, and abilities—not only in church activities? [14:22]
4. Jesus has all authority and promises to be with his people always. How do those two truths together change discipleship from fearful striving into worshipful trust? [20:21]

1. What voices or circumstances most often try to define identity—success, failure, family expectations, cultural pressures, or changing feelings? How can being a child of God in Christ bring steadiness in that area? [00:32]
2. Is there an area of life that is easy to treat as “my time,” “my money,” or “my gift” rather than something laid before Jesus? What would it look like to place that specific area under his lordship this week? [13:33]
3. Where might following Jesus be calling someone in the group beyond comfort right now—perhaps in repentance, generosity, reconciliation, service, or speaking about faith? What makes that step feel costly? [08:02]
4. Most discipleship happens in ordinary responsibilities. What is one regular task—work, caregiving, school, managing a home, or serving a neighbor—that could become a more intentional act of worship this week? [12:24]
5. When pain, uncertainty, or disappointment comes, what makes it difficult to trust that Jesus can redeem what is broken? How does his resurrection and authority give real hope in that situation? [18:44]
6. Jesus promises his loving presence even in the darkest moments. Where is someone in the group especially in need of remembering that Christ is with them, and how can the group encourage that person this week? [20:49]