Commissioning of the 12

In one paragraph

Pastor Mark walked through Matthew 10:1-42 alongside the parallel accounts in Mark and Luke, tracing Jesus commissioning the twelve disciples and sending them out in pairs. The sermon sat inside an ongoing Harmony of the Gospels study and covered everything from the practical instructions Jesus gave for the journey to the harder prophetic words about persecution, family division, and what it costs...

Read together

1. Psalm 62 opened the service, 'my soul finds rest in God, and my hope comes from him'
2. Ephesians 2:10 we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works prepared beforehand
3. Proverbs 3:5-6 trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not lean on your own understanding, acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight
4. Psalm 34:3 let us tell of the Lord's greatness, exalt His name together, sung during offering
5. Matthew 10:1-42 primary passage, the commissioning and instruction of the twelve
6. Mark 6:7-11 parallel account of the commissioning, Jesus sending the twelve out in pairs
7. Luke 9 parallel account, Luke the physician differentiates power over demons from power to heal diseases
8. Mark 3 early appointment of the twelve, so they would be with Him and He could send them out to preach
9. Galatians 5:22-23 fruit of the Spirit listed as closing exhortation on what should be evident in believers

Talk about it

1. Pastor Aaron pointed to Ephesians 2:10 and said we are God's workmanship, his masterpiece, a love poem to the world. What does it look like in your daily life to actually live as something God crafted on purpose for a specific work?
2. Jesus told the twelve to take almost nothing with them and to trust that provision would come as they went. Where in your own life do you find it hardest to step out without having everything figured out first, and what holds you back?
3. Pastor Aaron said that when people reject the message you carry, they are rejecting the message, not you, and that shaking the dust off your sandals and moving on is sometimes the right call. Have you ever struggled to let go of a rejection like that, and what made it hard to release?
4. Pastor Aaron wrestled openly with Jesus saying he came to bring a sword rather than peace, and connected it to the deconstruction he sees happening today. How do you hold together genuine love for family members or friends who have walked away from faith with faithfulness to Christ?
5. At the close of the passage, Matthew notes that after sending the twelve out, Jesus himself went ahead to teach and preach in their cities. Pastor Aaron said that image blessed his socks off. What does it mean to you that Jesus goes ahead into the very places and relationships you feel you are leaving behind?