actually. They have all assumed that God's design for corporate worship is not actually corporate, but rather segmented, or another phrase that we would use is age segregated. Dear friends, you would have to look long and hard And as a matter of fact, you'd actually have to use a different book to draw those conclusions, because you just simply will not find that in the Bible. You just won't. Instead, what you will find, especially in the New Testament worship of God corporately, is occurring as a family-oriented, Christ-centered event that is held in support of daily discipleship in the home and from home to home. In other words, the gathering of the church on the Lord's Day, what we're doing right now, to worship, is undeniably family-oriented throughout the New Testament, both historically and biblically. And it points to this view that for the last 19 centuries, with the exception, rather, of the latter part of the 20th century until the present, that these things were so. And unfortunately, I think we can all agree that there's not much at the last 100 years, specifically of American Christianity, that has been produced positively significant practices. Quite the opposite is all reality. Today, the vast majority of churches have opted to adopt principles and practices that are pragmatic as instead of rather biblical. So church choosing today is driven by a consumer mentality. What does this church have to offer me? That's what it's about, right? What does this church have to offer me rather than Is this church functioning in a way that is consistent with what the Bible teaches and what the church has historically practiced? And I would say that the second qualification is much, it's important, it's relevant, but it's less important than what the Bible teaches. And last week we studied and were reminded that there is a great responsibility and privilege placed specifically on fathers to be disciples in their families. This does not mean that mothers cannot or should not disciple their children. They in fact should, and in so many ways they do. But fathers have an especially key role in discipleship. Even older siblings can play an encouraging role in the process of discipleship to their younger siblings. C.H. Spurgeon was one who was discipled largely in his youth by his teenage aunt. I studied a lot about Spurgeon's life, and he actually lived for years with his grandparents. His father was a pastor, his grandfather was a pastor, but for reasons personal reasons, there was a time that he lived with his grandparents, and his father's younger sister was there, and she did. She discipled Spurgeon, and we can accredit his theological foundation and convictions largely to this aunt. So again, this is not to say that fathers are the only ones who can or do disciple children, but they definitely need to be involved in this specifically. So, a couple things before we get to our text for today. Here's a few principles that we learn from scripture as we consider how to carry out the high calling of discipleship. Number one, the worship of the gathered church, what we're doing right now, should serve to edify and equip the family in discipleship, not replace it. Let me say that again. The worship of the gathered church should serve to edify and equip families in discipleship, not replace them. You have your Bible's turn. I just want to read a portion of Ephesians chapter 4 Ephesians chapter 4 verses 1 through 16 And and just so you know that I'm not just coming, you know pulling these ideas out of thin air This is not this is not Jason Mitchell's idea of what biblical discipleship is. This is this is what the Bible teaches us so Ephesians chapter 4 and verses 1 through 16 listen what the Apostle Paul writes here in He says, I therefore a prisoner for the Lord urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, there is one body, one spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all who is over all and through all and in all. Just pause for a moment there. You hear the unity, the emphasis of the unity of the body in Paul's writing here, verse seven, but grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, when he ascended on high, he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men. In saying he ascended, what does it mean but that he also descended into the lower regions of the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers. Verse 12 tells us to what end? "...to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the sons of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. So back in verse 12, verse 12, to equip, he gave these apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ. Again, the primary concern, the primary emphasis of our worship is to glorify God. And in doing that, as we study God's word, as we apply God's word, preach and teach it, we are building up the body of Christ. We're edifying it. That's the word edify. But we're also equipping. And here's a question for you. Most of us spend about two hours in a week meeting here, right? Roughly two hours in one week we spend in this corporate worship together, the majority. There's seven days in a week, 24 hours in a day. I believe that equates to 168 hours. Does that sound about right? And you spend two of them here. Now, here's a reasonable question. Is this equipping the saints for the work of the ministry to be carried out in those two hours in a week? Or is this talking about the other 166 hours that you're not here? And I would simply say it's focused more on that than it is here. In other words, this place is the place where we come to be equipped to go and to do the work, right? The work of the ministry. Now, if you're a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, that includes you to some degree or another, right? There's a portion, there's a way in which this directly impacts your life that you are going from this place equipped to do the work of the ministry. So primarily a pastor teacher's objective is to equip you to carry out the work of the ministry. Does that make sense? I hope it does because it's pretty clear here in our scripture. So that's the first thing, the first principle that I want you to see. Secondly, There are four spheres, as best as I can think or reason, there's four spheres of discipleship that we can identify in the Bible. Uh, the first is, uh, that of personal discipleship. Uh, this would include both your personal and private devotion to the Lord, but also it would include, uh, like a one-to-one relationship of discipleship. Think of Paul and Timothy, right? Paul discipled the apostle or Paul discipled young Timothy, in the ministry of the Word. And many of you probably had somebody or do have someone who disciples you, and if not, man, what an opportunity that you have right now to get involved in that kind of a setting. We just read last night in our family worship that as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another, and that's the idea there. So we have personal discipleship. Secondly, there's marital discipleship between a husband and a wife, and we're going to get to that in Ephesians here in a moment. The third different realm or sphere of discipleship is that of family discipleship. And then the last is corporate discipleship, which would include our weekly gatherings to worship and other things such as Bible studies, vacation Bible school for children, Sunday schools, et cetera. You understand. And if you're not married or you do not have children, those areas are obviously going to look much different for you. And again for our purposes today, I want to focus on those two specifically marriage and family life but you know again, they're applicable to every area and The reason that I want to focus primarily on those two is because I believe that they're they're the two most neglected and the two most challenging It's easy for you to show up here and be discipled. It's easy to go home. I should say it's easy, but it's easier to go home and be discipled personally. If you can find a way to sneak away and have some quiet time, that's simpler than trying to gather a family together or a husband and wife together for the purpose of discipleship. So then thirdly, discipleship in marriage and family is to occur primarily in our homes. Okay? In our homes. And here's the question. What does that look like? And we have a few key texts that we're going to look at. We're going to start with Deuteronomy chapter number six. So you've been sitting for a little while. Turn to Deuteronomy six. I'm going to have you stand up and stretch those legs. We'll read Deuteronomy six verses four through eight. And then we'll thank you. And then we'll... That was a long introduction, was it not? Wow. Deuteronomy 6, beginning to read in verse 4, the Word of God says, Here, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise, you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Let's pray. Father, I pray, Lord, that you would just help us now as we study your word that God you would give us. Strength and encouragement, instruction, God, for your glory and for our good, and we pray this in Jesus' name, amen and amen. Thank you for standing, you may be seated. There's two other key texts that go right hand and foot, or hand and step, however you want to say that, with Deuteronomy chapter number six, and that will be found in Ephesians chapter number five and six. You can turn back there. But before we go there, I just want to make this comment. depending upon the theological system of thought that you have been taught in, they would say, well, you can't use a text like Deuteronomy 6. We are a New Testament. We're in a New Covenant atmosphere here today, the present age. Well, the truth of the matter is that's just simply bad. That's bad theology, one, but I also want you to notice that directly before chapter 6 of Deuteronomy, you're not there anymore, but Deuteronomy 5, You'll find it's one of two places in the Bible where the Ten Commandments are laid out in an orderly fashion, Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, and following the giving of that law, those statutes, those commands, God gives this instruction. Now, we see this same principle applied in Ephesians. therefore connecting the testament, connecting the theology, connecting the practices and the procedures that the Lord himself uses. So first of all, Ephesians chapter five, and let's start with our marriage portion of this. In chapter five, verse 25, it says, Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. Chapter six, verse one. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother. This is the first commandment with a promise, that it may go well with you, that you may live long in the land. Fathers do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. You see the connection there in chapter six. What does Paul do? He points to the fifth commandment, honor your father and mother, and then he applies the commandment. Or in other words, he calls us to obedience to that command through what? Through fathers bringing up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. It's the law followed by our instruction of that law. And so, again, we have this family dynamic, both marriages and family, that we are to function in a discipleship manner within our homes. Now, from those texts, because there's so much overlap between Deuteronomy 6 and Ephesians 5 and 6, the last part of Ephesians 5 and the first part of Ephesians 6, I want to point out three things here. First, there's more than three, but anyway. Source. Setting and frequency the source the setting and the frequency of discipleship in our home Well, the source should be obvious in Deuteronomy chapter 6 it refers to the word right or I'm sorry rather that that is in Ephesians Ephesians 5 26 that Christ we love our wives as Christ of the church and Gave himself for that. He might sanctify her having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word Husbands, listen carefully. You have been given a God-ordained command to love your wife this way, and it doesn't just include sacrificing yourself for her, but it also includes the ministry of the word. Right away, there's objections from men, all the time. Well, my wife is more spiritual than I am, or my wife knows the Bible better than I do. I don't see that exemption listed here, right? And we're gonna get to the practicalities of these things in a minute, but, uh, enemies detect, not spy, elf, ex, I don't know if they do that, to be honest, but, so, there's these, and then why, a little bit easier happens, is, you ha, you see, that is, we also look for these opportunities, and specifically, we're gonna, implicit opponents, focus on, of the month, read script, here's the, You have got to be intentional and take this responsibility seriously. But consistency is extremely important for two reasons. Consistency is important, one, because consistency is going to establish your honor, okay? If you are consistent, fathers and mothers that consistently prioritize formal and informal discipleship will establish a testimony and a reputation with their family, which says this is extremely important, right? Listen, your kids know what's important to you. They do because you spend the most time with them. Amen. I'm just being honest. Our kids know what we prioritize. And if this is one of the things we prioritize, it is going to strengthen their faith in God because they see how committed you are to it. So consistency will establish honor. Number two, consistency will help you to establish a routine that becomes familiar and expected. After you do things for long enough, it just becomes part of your life, right? And so stick to the course, be consistent. Now here's a warning. Okay. Warning. This is a challenging part of discipleship and discipline and discipleship. There are an incredible number of variables that will compete with what you're trying to accomplish. Examples. These are things that I chuckled as I was writing them down. Phones will ring. Amazon delivery trucks will show up at your house. Visitors unannounced will come. You will have children with ants in their pants. You will deal with snide remarks, bathroom visits, et cetera. Everything and anything that could possibly come up to hinder this time, it's probably going to happen. And so be prepared for it. Anything and everything can interfere. And at some point inevitably does. Accept it and prepare for it, but don't lose your composure, don't lose your focus. Take each challenge in stride and be patient. As quickly and loving as you possibly can, get back on track. Now, also have reasonable expectations. Be sure to gauge your expectations based upon the age and maturity of your children. In other words, don't expect your two-year-old to be able to sit perfectly still and listen without interruption. because it just doesn't happen. But you're in a training time, right? You're training them. The sooner you begin this training process to sit, to listen, the sooner they will in fact do so. It is like clockwork. When the child finally gets it in their mind that mom and dad are not giving up on this, they will give in and they will expect it, okay? This is where consistency will shine. Eventually, if you haven't given up, they will give in. They'll learn that you're committed, and they may distract a little bit, disrupt, but stick with it. The majority of the time, they'll reach a point of cooperation. And then finally, flexibility. There's one thing that's going to help you stay the course and run this race with consistency. You must be flexible. Not every day is the same and not everyone's family dynamic is the same. Again, that's why I'm telling you, I'm not saying that what we do is the exact same thing that you must do, but concerning a formal time of discipleship or worship, choose a time that fits your daily grind. However, I must emphasize that you must be intentional. Although there are many casual opportunities to disciple your family, the formal type requires you to be intentional. Choose days and times when you know that your family is all going to be at the same place. at the same time, or at the very least, as many people as you can get together in the same place at the same time. And for most of us, that's going to be around the supper table. Fathers, you can shepherd and lead your family from the supper table. You should be taking the responsibility to call for order and lead either in praying before the meal or delegating that responsibility to someone else around the table. As members of your family finish their meals, forbid them from leaving except to clear it in order to begin your time of worship and discipleship. Now, again, keep it simple. Keep it short and keep it structured. Know what you're going to do, the order that you're going to do it, and be extra patient, especially, again, if this is new, to your family. Whatever pattern you choose, be willing to tweak it in order to make your time together most profitable for everyone. Listen, you want to change the way that something functions in your family, moms and dads, husbands and wives, whatever your family dynamic looks like.