Go Therefore: Living and Making Disciples

Devotional

Day 1: Apprenticeship in Faith: Learning the Organ of Discipleship

Discipleship mirrors learning a complex instrument. Just as young organists train under mentors like Jeremy, absorbing wisdom from generations of teachers, following Jesus requires humble apprenticeship. Spiritual growth happens through patient practice, intentional relationships, and passing on what we’ve received. Like a musical legacy, discipleship weaves individual faithfulness into a collective masterpiece. The goal isn’t perfection but steady participation in God’s unfolding song. [36:52]

“And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:2, ESV)

Reflection: Who has mentored you in faith like a music teacher trains an apprentice? What specific lesson from their life could you share with someone this week?

Day 2: The Great Commission Beyond Colonization

Jesus’ command to “make disciples” rejects coercive conversion. Discipleship isn’t conquest but lifelong companionship—walking with others as Christ walks with us. It’s slow, relational work that honors dignity rather than demanding conformity. True disciples multiply love, not control, inviting others into freedom rather than enforcing compliance. This commission starts where domination ends. [34:30]

“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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19–20a, ESV)

Reflection: When have you reduced faith to mere agreement instead of active apprenticeship? How could you invite someone into curiosity about Jesus this week?

Day 3: The Trinity’s Blueprint for Relational Discipleship

The Father, Son, and Spirit model interconnected discipleship. Just as the Trinity exists in mutual giving and receiving, following Jesus thrives in community, not isolation. Discipleship isn’t a solo performance but a symphony where we harmonize with God and others. The Spirit guides, the Son demonstrates, the Creator sustains—each role distinct yet united in forming Christ’s likeness. [41:34]

“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.” (John 15:26–27, ESV)

Reflection: How does your discipleship rhythm reflect the Trinity’s interdependence? Where might you need to lean into community rather than self-reliance?

Day 4: Practicing Forgiveness as a Lifelong Discipline

Following Jesus means daily rehearsing his hardest melodies—like forgiving seventy times seven. Discipleship isn’t a one-time recital but ongoing practice in grace. Just as organists repeat scales to master Bach, we exercise mercy until it becomes our spiritual muscle memory. These disciplines shape us into people who love as Christ loves, note by sustained note. [40:59]

“Then Peter came up and said to him, ‘Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.’” (Matthew 18:21–22, ESV)

Reflection: What unresolved hurt requires you to “practice forgiveness” this week? How might rehearsing mercy change your heart’s posture?

Day 5: Living the Difference Belief Makes

Faith isn’t abstract theology but a life that answers Verna Dozier’s challenge: “What difference does your belief make?” Like an organist’s performance proves their practice, discipleship is visible in how we spend money, navigate conflict, and prioritize time. Every choice either harmonizes with Christ’s score or clashes with it. True discipleship composes a life others want to follow. [44:56]

“So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (James 2:17, ESV)

Reflection: What mundane decision this week—from grocery shopping to responding to criticism—could most clearly “perform” your faith to others?

Sermon Summary

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

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV)
"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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Matthew 22:37-39 (ESV)
"And [Jesus] said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"

Observation Questions

In Matthew 28:19-20, what specific actions does Jesus command his disciples to prioritize, and how does this contrast with merely "making converts"?
How does the Trinity (Father, Son, Spirit) shape the relational nature of discipleship, according to the sermon? [41:12]
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]

Interpretation Questions

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?
The sermon states, "To be a disciple is to make disciples." How does this interdependence challenge individualistic approaches to faith? [32:59]
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]

Application Questions

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]
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?
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]
How has following Jesus already cost you convenience, time, or comfort? What "lesser loves" might still compete for your heart’s allegiance? [46:10]
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]
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?

Sermon Clips

59s

“Taking land, conquering other people for financial benefits, and then forcing them into Christianity is not what I think Jesus had in mind when he sent out those disciples. It does not say go therefore and make converts. It says go therefore and make disciples. Those are two very different things. Discipleship is a lifelong journey, and so is making disciples. It's not a program. It's often one on one or in small groups built in relationship, slow change, and transformation over a long time.”

48s

“Friends, show the world how much following Jesus means to you and what a difference it has made in your life by how you live your life, the decisions you make, how you approach relationships, your money, your job, your family, your friends, your time, all of it, modeled after the life and teachings of Jesus. Devote your entire life to the craft of following Jesus and inviting others to do the same, like a young student learning to play the organ.”

55s

“What would it look like to actually follow Jesus? Asks Anglican theologian, teacher, and layperson, Verna Dozier. We may come to church for many different reasons, a sense of peace in a chaotic world to feel grounded by music and prayers, for the strength of connection and community, for the traditions of our church. All of these things are good things, but the primary reason the church gathers is to learn and practice what it means to follow Jesus.”

55s

“At the heart of the Trinity is relationship between the father or creator, the son, and the holy spirit. At the heart of discipleship is also relationship. The trinity helps us to follow this. The spirit guides us. The creator holds us, and Jesus shows us by how he lived his life. The Trinity is the blueprint to making disciples. Discipleship is not about getting more people at our services on Sundays, and it's not about programming.”

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