Luke - as a guide for discipleship training

The lessons on this page will take you through the book of the bible called “Luke.”  This will be different than most bible studies, for we’re going to study together to understand how Jesus trained people.  

Luke Podcast Lessons

Regarding these lessons …

A disciple is really an apprentice.  In the first century, boys grew up in their father’s household and family business.  The father was ‘dad’ and also the boss. He was called “lord,” which is a master in the master/apprentice relationship.  

Jesus was many things, but one important function of Jesus’ life was that he was the best craftsman in God’s household/workshop in history.  He was the Michelangelo of God’s artistry - the Michael Jordan of God’s team.  

The men who became known as apostles began to follow Jesus as regular guys who had regular jobs.  They had no religious training except school at the local synagogue, and no special list of “good works” or anything like that.  They were just regular guys.  When they decided to “follow” Jesus, what they really did was become his apprentices; or as we usually call them, disciples.  They walked and talked with Jesus, and they shared in his work.  When Jesus first invited Peter to join him, Pete was a fisherman.  Jesus offered to teach him how to “fish for men.”  And after three years of apprenticing with Jesus, Peter preached a sermon that resulted in thousands of people repenting and being baptized and the church was born.  

This transformation was a process, not a single event.  They weren’t “converted” to Jesus and then “saved,” but rather they agreed to drop everything and enter Jesus’ “school.”  They went with him and worked with him, and after three years Jesus had fully trained them to establish Jesus’ work for all eternity.  If they had failed, there would be no Christianity at all.  

Luke

Luke was the only man to write in the bible who was not Jewish.  His audience was also not Jewish.  That means Luke is a simpler study for those of us who don’t know the bible really well. Also, Luke didn’t know Jesus, nor was he an eyewitness to Jesus life & teachings.  Luke did research to learn about the life and teachings of Jesus by interviewing those who knew Jesus. Then he tried to write things down in consecutive order.  

Since he wrote the story in sequence (and not thematically, like other gospels), we get a good insight into the sequence of events that showed the development of the disciples, from regular guys who were just starting out - until they were mature spiritually and able to change the whole world.  

This study

The lessons that are (will be) posted here are audio recordings of lessons taught in a small church class.  The intent is that these lessons will help you to have a clear picture in your mind of how you can grow spiritually.  If you will listen to these lessons, and also read the book of Luke and ask God to give you insight, He will do it.  But if you really want to grow, you’ll have to put these lessons into practice.  You’ll have to accept the teachings of Jesus, and then TRY to obey them.  If you do, you will be surprised by your growth.  

Your Personal Growth

Growth is not magic.  Plant a seed in good, deep soil, keep it at the right temp and moisture, and it grows.  If you eat, rest and exercise, your muscles will grow.  It’s the way God made the world to work.  If you want to grow spiritually, it’s the same thing.  

You’ll need to eat, to rest, and to exercise.  As you’ll see in these lessons, Jesus and his apprentices did all these things, and it’s how they grew.  These lessons are the “food” part of that.  If you want to grow stronger you’ll need to ‘consume’ this material, and even get to know it well enough to teach it yourself - to share it with others.  

But you’ll also have to get some exercise.  So as we go through this, offer yourself a challenge each time.  After each lesson, ask yourself: what can I DO in response to this lesson?  Only then will you develop strength and grow more patient, kind and wise.

“A blind man can’t guide a blind man, can he?

Won’t they both fall into a pit?

A pupil is not above his teacher;

but everyone,

(after he has been fully trained)

will be like his teacher.”

- Jesus

Note: these lessons may appear in reverse order … be sure to start with lesson one, and hear them in sequence

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If you have questions about Luke and/or discipleship, we have a blog for that.  Click this box to see others’ questions or to post your own questions.

Questions?  See our Luke Blog