Discipleship

When I came across this question, my first thought was not how to answer it, but: “Why the question?” For those living in Singapore, snake-handling may be far removed from any association with the Christian faith. This, however, is not the case in the Appalachian region of the United States. Snake-handling has been a practice […]

  Winnie with her DISCIPLE group from Wesley MC in Dec 2018 The DISCIPLE Bible Study Programme was developed by a team of pastors and lay persons in the United Methodist Church, and is intended to help Christians engage with the Bible in small groups. It pioneered the use of video in Bible study, which […]

The point of the well-known African proverb, “it takes a village to raise a child”, is that to raise a child well, many more people than a child’s parents play a part. Perhaps the same is true for a disciple. It takes a church to raise a disciple, and a church comprises many more people […]

Jesus commanded us to “make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:19). To do so, we must first become disciples ourselves. After all, Jesus did not call us believers, nor did He call us Christians—instead, He called us disciples. “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.” (John 8:31) The mission of Disciple […]

‘Discipleship’ may seem to be a well-worn topic, but it is the most important and fundamental condition for the continued growth, vigour and vitality of the church. The church disregards discipleship at its own peril. The gradual demise of churches in the West is testament to this. We are reminded and cautioned whenever we visit the […]

The practice of discipleship is well-known among Christians. There are books describing it and materials to help us. But a key question is this: Is our practice of discipleship just technique or does it really help us become disciples? The Greek for “disciple” means “learner”, persons who discipline their life to learn from a master […]

Building the Body – through spiritual training “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things,” noted the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:25. The sportspersons among us can attest to this – regular training, proper nourishment, and good technique are mainstays of any athletic training programme, allowing them to build the right muscles and skill sets […]

“Our theme for the day is ‘covenant’. What is our human condition? Let’s read together …” “What are some distinguishing symbols by which people will know that we are part of the faith body of Christ?” “These are familiar sentences I used when I taught two DISCIPLE classes while pastoring. I recall those 34 weeks […]

For the longest time, many of us have functioned with a two-tier understanding of the Christian faith. We have been told that there were two types of Christians. If you accepted Christ as your Saviour, you were saved. You had Christ in your life. You would go to heaven when you die. You received all […]

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.” Deuteronomy 6:5-6 The Great Commandment is based on Deuteronomy 6 in the context of the family. God uses the home to establish His […]

Chinese Tea ceremony is performed during a Chinese wedding or Chinese New Year.   “Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” Romans 12:13 Practicing hospitality is an act of kindness. In Romans 12:13, Paul says: “Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” How far is our hospitality […]

METHODIST MESSAGE (MM) IS HONOURED TO HAVE THE REV DR DAVID LOWES WATSON, OUR SPEAKER AT THIS YEAR’S ALDERSGATE SG 2014 CONVENTION, GIVE US A PREVIEW ON “SALVATION AND DISCIPLESHIP”, THE SECOND OF HIS THREE LECTURES THIS COMING MAY. A PREVIEW OF HIS FIRST LECTURE, “BORN OF THE SPIRIT”, WAS PUBLISHED IN THE MARCH 2014 […]