Unchained Discipleship

by Lisa Coleman

Researching for this week’s lesson was interesting. There are so many accounts of sharing faith from children to octogenarians. Some share by service and others through step-by-step gospel tracks. People learn of Christ through traumatic times such as grave injury, death, and even prison. We can experience less fiery trials such as job loss and divorce, yet they are often as devastating.  There are times of seeming abundance and friendship that can be riddled with loneliness and despair. Short term (or long) homelessness. Abuse and addiction. Food insecurities. Natural disasters. Disciples of Christ serve sometimes in great sacrifice of their own safety and other times through the mundane of everyday life. Service opens doors, creates relationship, and allows for conversations.

I read about a man who finds showers for children living in the slums of India. We’ve heard of believers sharing their stories of salvation to coworkers alongside stories of others who risk prison to smuggle Bibles into a forbidden village. The stories of how people come to faith in Christ are endless and the pathways through which they arrived are amazing.

We can connect and engage in so many ways. Cook meals, clean up disasters, provide shelter, provide friendship, find solutions, connect to resources and networks, be a listening ear, volunteer to send cards, calls, or help with childcare. The abundance of ‘menu options’ for reaching others is endless.

My favorite story of overcoming obstacles was from February of 2020. CNN reported about an 8-year-old who was inspired by NFL cornerback Richard Sherman who recently donated over $27,000 to help pay off student lunch debts in Santa Clara. This little boy, Keoni Ching, wanted to erase student lunch debts at his school too. He sold handmade keychain bracelets for $5 each and raised over $4,000. It was enough to pay for the lunch debts at his school, and six other area schools. He didn’t let the chains of age stop him. He didn’t allow the fact that no one else his age was doing this keep him from being the lone ranger in his school. And he also didn’t dwell on just how many $5 bracelets it would take to reach goal. He just kept running his race. He ignored the potential chains.

I recently read that our culture no longer hears our words. They do, however, hear our hearts through acts of service.

Tell, show, share, care, love, or any other way one might find to frame it up. Just live it so others can receive it. We can’t focus on the ‘why nots’ because of all the obstacles life places in our pathways. We have Resources to break our chains that prevent us from our mission. We are InPowered to instead focus on the One who will outlast the worst of our times and Paul knew this to be true. Join us as we continue our study where imprisoned Paul witnesses to the power people of his day.

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You can download the Bible study materials for this session for your personal use and watch the Zoom video of the in-class session by following the links below: 

PowerPoint Slides
PDF File
Video 

Follow this link to find other studies in the INpowered Discipleship series.