Women Embracing Their Eternal Influence
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EMBRACING THE CALL
Y O U A N D T I T U S 2 N E W S L E T T E R
June 2021
Vol. 6
until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
EPHESIANS 4:13 NIV
Recently, in Vacation Bible School, I used an illustration to help the children consider the importance of God's Truth in their lives. I asked for a volunteer and let the children guess how tall he was in inches. After I recorded their various responses, I pulled out a tape measure to determine his exact height. I repeated the process with many of the students. I explained that the tape measure was the specific tool that could give me a trustworthy answer rather than depending on their guesses. I then compared it to the Bible our trustworthy tool for daily life. God did not want us to live lives of guessing what is accurate and good for us. The interesting outcome was a completely different illustration God used in my own heart that day. It was amazing how far off the mark the students were in their original guesses. They ranged anywhere from 20 to 100 inches. However, I noticed that the guesses began to get closer and closer to the accurate height. First a few of the children were getting closer, and then, all of them were guessing within a few inches of the accurate height. The more they saw the ruler in action the closer their answers aligned with it. As a disciple maker of younger women, we have the opportunity to show them the Truth of God’s Word in action in our own lives and testimonies. As they see its impact in our life, they will become more confident in its accurate authority in their own lives. The more they come to know and depend on it the more they will love it and appreciate its beauty in their own lives. Guessing about how you should live leads to frustration and anxiety. Help another women learn to appreciate the Bible as she sees it in action and responds to it in obedience.
Learning about The Importance
of the church family
Ephesians 4:11-16 ESV
11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 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. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 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.
Your church is important to you and the other members of your church family for many reasons. It was designed by God to be a blessing to the individual believer, the corporate body of believers, and as a light to a lost world. A foundational aspect of His design is clearly explained in Ephesians 4. When a church honors God with respect for the authority of His Word, it must be intentional in its efforts to equip its body through discipleship (Eph. 4:12). According to Ephesians 4, we must be equipped so that we might mature, “to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph 4:13). When the church begins to accomplish this task in the lives of its members, they will begin to look more like the body it is made to be, the beautiful Bride of Christ (Eph. 5:25, Rev. 19:7). Jesus desired disciples (Matthew 28:18-20) which by definition means “followers of Christ.” Your church has the opportunity to make disciples in obedience to God’s Word so that the individual believers “grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (Eph 4:15).
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
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What benefits can you identify in Ephesians 4:12-16? Try to find at least seven different blessings of a discipled church membership.
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What are various things that can cause immature believers to be “tossed to and fro” (Ephesians 4:14)? Be as specific as possible in your answers. How do you think a church full of these undiscipled believers could impact its health?
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Paul understood various winds of doctrine, human cunning, and deceitful schemes would come against believers (Eph 4:14). The Truth found in God’s Word is a firm foundation for the church. Discipleship starts with acknowledging Truth can be found in God’s Word, the Bible (2 Tim 3:16). How will a church’s view of Scripture impact discipleship?
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Read Titus 2:1-5. Titus was to teach what accords with sound doctrine because that is where a healthy church must begin. How were the older women supposed to come along side Titus in this important task of disciple making? Why was this important to the testimony of a healthy church family (Titus 2:5b)?
