Go Therefore: Living and Making Disciples

The Great Commission in Matthew 28 pushes the question Verna Dozier loved to ask straight into ordinary life: what would it look like to actually follow Jesus? Jesus sends disciples to make disciples, not just rack up converts, and that charge names the church’s primary reason for gathering. The text calls discipleship a lifelong journey of growing into the likeness of Jesus and helping others do the same. The Greek verb folds both callings together. To be a disciple is to make disciples. The work cannot be outsourced to clergy or a program because formation happens by word and example in relationships where slow change is possible.

The command of Jesus narrows the content of this formation. Jesus tells his disciples to teach obedience to everything he has commanded, which Scripture sums up as love of God and love of neighbor. Practices that train that love name the shape of the road: forgiveness, welcoming the stranger, proclaiming good news to the poor, feeding the hungry, visiting those in prison, even love of enemy. The contrast between leadership and discipleship exposes the goal. Leadership gathers followers to the leader. Discipleship gets people to follow Jesus.

An image from music lessons brings this home. Apprenticeship in a craft passes a lineage from teacher to student across years until there is a great cloud of witnesses in a single performance. That is how discipleship works. Apprentices look for good teachers, carry humility as students, practice each week, and then teach others what has been learned. The result in music is beautiful sound. The result in discipleship is a beautiful life in rhythm and peace with God, with others, and with the earth.

Trinity Sunday roots this calling in God’s own life. The Father creates and holds, the Son shows the way by his life, and the Spirit guides in the daily practice of obedience. The communion of the Three is the blueprint for relational formation. So the church gathers to be sent. Every dismissal is a quiet commissioning into co-mission with God for the sake of a hurting world, an alternative to power and domination, real hope for the forgotten and the suffering. The cost is daily and lifelong. The change will be inconvenient. Yet the reward is true life from the One who is with his followers always, even to the end of the age.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Make disciples, not mere converts [35:04] The commission directs attention to lifelong formation, not to counting decisions or swelling rosters. Conversion can be a moment, but discipleship is the long apprenticeship that begins after the moment. Real fruit shows up over years as obedience, character, and love take root. Evangelism without formation leaves people undernourished and easily formed by rival loves. [35:04]
• 2. Apprenticeship is the path to likeness [38:20] Like learning an instrument, following Jesus requires teachers, humility, and steady practice. Formation flows through relationships so that a lineage of faith gets handed down, not just information. Over time the student begins to sound like the Master because daily habits tune the heart. Skill without a teacher stalls, and zeal without practice burns out. [38:20]
• 3. The Trinity is the relational blueprint [41:12] Father, Son, and Spirit make discipleship a communal work, never a solo project. The Creator holds the story, the Son incarnates the way, and the Spirit supplies guidance and power. Relationship is not an add-on but the center of how God forms people. Isolation shrinks a soul, while shared life opens room for obedience to grow. [41:12]
• 4. The church gathers to be sent [42:24] Sunday worship aims at Monday mission, sending people to carry good news into real places of hunger and hurt. The dismissal is not a benediction to hurry to lunch but a commissioning into God’s co-mission. A healthy congregation measures faithfulness by how many are sent, not only by how many sit. Being the church in the world is the point of being in church. [42:24]
• 5. Following Jesus costs and gives life [46:10] Obedience will interrupt convenience and ask for change that takes time. The daily cost trains desire, loosening the grip of lesser loves. Paradoxically, that loss opens into truer life, because Christ himself meets disciples along the road. His presence is the promise that turns sacrifice into joy. [46:10]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [31:09] - What would it look like?
• [31:53] - The church’s primary reason
• [32:25] - Go therefore and make disciples
• [32:59] - Be a disciple, make disciples
• [34:30] - Great Commission, not colonization
• [35:19] - Discipleship vs one-time conversion
• [36:52] - Organ apprentices and mentorship
• [38:20] - Practicing like learning an instrument
• [39:09] - Leadership or following Jesus
• [40:23] - Teach love of God and neighbor
• [41:12] - Trinity as relational blueprint
• [42:24] - Gathered to be sent out
• [43:23] - Christlike change as the purpose
• [44:56] - Show what belief changes
• [45:39] - Find teachers, become teachers
• [46:10] - Cost and reward of obedience
• [52:11] - Amen and commissioning
• [68:57] - Final blessing and dismissal

1. In Matthew 28:19-20, what specific actions does Jesus command his disciples to prioritize, and how does this contrast with merely "making converts"?
2. How does the Trinity (Father, Son, Spirit) shape the relational nature of discipleship, according to the sermon? [41:12]
3. The sermon compares discipleship to learning an instrument. What key elements of apprenticeship (e.g., teachers, practice) are highlighted as essential for growth? [38:20]

1. Why might Jesus emphasize "teaching them to observe all that I have commanded" (Matthew 28:20) instead of just teaching beliefs or doctrines? How does obedience relate to love?
2. The sermon states, "To be a disciple is to make disciples." How does this interdependence challenge individualistic approaches to faith? [32:59]
3. What does it mean for the church to "gather to be sent"? How might prioritizing "sending" over "sitting" reshape a congregation’s priorities? [42:24]

1. Who are the "teachers" or mentors actively shaping your faith journey right now? If you don’t have any, what steps could you take to seek out such relationships? [38:36]
2. Reflect on your daily habits: which practices (e.g., forgiveness, serving others) are intentionally training you to "love God and neighbor"? Which ones might need more focus?
3. The sermon says every dismissal from worship is a commissioning. What specific "real place of hunger or hurt" in your community could you engage this week? [42:24]
4. How has following Jesus already cost you convenience, time, or comfort? What "lesser loves" might still compete for your heart’s allegiance? [46:10]
5. The sermon asks, "What difference does your belief make?" What recent decision or action in your life clearly reflects the teachings of Jesus? [44:56]
6. If discipleship is a "lifelong apprenticeship," what area of your character (e.g., patience, generosity) needs intentional practice this month? Who could hold you accountable?