January 8th, 2023
by Jon Welch
by Jon Welch
Ministry Foundations- Building a strong root system
The Father spent the first thirty years of Jesus’ life preparing Him to be the model leader and the shepherd of His people. Thirty years of living as a human being– tempted, suffering, experiencing the life growing up in a dry land that was under occupation by a strong Roman force. Jesus was prepared by the Father to emerge as the leader of leaders. There has never been, nor will there ever be a leader who is more wise, compassionate and loving as Jesus. He is our model of how to lead and shepherd the flock of God, because he is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11) and the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4). IF you need a model for your leadership, there is none better than Jesus.
Jesus begins His earthly ministry when He is about 30 years old (Luke 3:23). We call this phase “Ministry Foundations”. It lasts about a year and a half. During this time, Jesus will issue two calls. To unbelievers, he says “Come and See” . To believers, he says “Follow Me”. Jesus calls the masses to come and discover who He is. When they came, He spent time with them, telling them that He is the way to heaven (John 3:1-16). He teaches them from Moses, The Psalms and the prophets, He taught them in parables and by example.
As these believers began to follow Jesus, He continued to explain more of who He was and what was in His heart. He began to model for them the disciple making process, which he later commanded them to duplicate (Matthew 28:18-20). Jesus begins to teach them that He is not only the way to heaven, but He is also the truth- the standard for life.
We will look at Ten major events in this phase recorded in the four gospels. As you will see, the majority of information about this phase is found in the book of John. In each of those ten events, Jesus is establishing a root system for these new believers. Try to identify the roots as you make your way through. During this time in the movement, Jesus is evangelizing the unbeliever and growing the believer. It is important to understand that What Jesus begins to do in this phase, he will continue to do throughout His life. Even while hanging on the cross, He was still evangelizing the unbeliever that hung next to Him and growing the believers who stood watching.
Below is a link to a fantastic resource called the Harmony Bible Map. This is a page I would bookmark on your device. Sometimes it's nice to be able to see WHERE certain events happened. For the next 10 days we’ll be in “Section 2” of the Harmony Bible Map.
Jesus begins His earthly ministry when He is about 30 years old (Luke 3:23). We call this phase “Ministry Foundations”. It lasts about a year and a half. During this time, Jesus will issue two calls. To unbelievers, he says “Come and See” . To believers, he says “Follow Me”. Jesus calls the masses to come and discover who He is. When they came, He spent time with them, telling them that He is the way to heaven (John 3:1-16). He teaches them from Moses, The Psalms and the prophets, He taught them in parables and by example.
As these believers began to follow Jesus, He continued to explain more of who He was and what was in His heart. He began to model for them the disciple making process, which he later commanded them to duplicate (Matthew 28:18-20). Jesus begins to teach them that He is not only the way to heaven, but He is also the truth- the standard for life.
We will look at Ten major events in this phase recorded in the four gospels. As you will see, the majority of information about this phase is found in the book of John. In each of those ten events, Jesus is establishing a root system for these new believers. Try to identify the roots as you make your way through. During this time in the movement, Jesus is evangelizing the unbeliever and growing the believer. It is important to understand that What Jesus begins to do in this phase, he will continue to do throughout His life. Even while hanging on the cross, He was still evangelizing the unbeliever that hung next to Him and growing the believers who stood watching.
Below is a link to a fantastic resource called the Harmony Bible Map. This is a page I would bookmark on your device. Sometimes it's nice to be able to see WHERE certain events happened. For the next 10 days we’ll be in “Section 2” of the Harmony Bible Map.
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