November 2, 2022
Equipping Others To Follow Jesus Through A Resource
Elder Letter by Jeremy Bledsoe
If you haven’t read Pastor David’s elder letter from last week, you really should. In fact, here is the link for you to access his letter.
In his letter, David gives solid and practical advice for how to study the Bible. He also provided a model of the Inductive Bible Study Method that I plan to print out and keep in my Bible as a guide for studying the Bible. This is a great discipleship tool that you can use to help yourself and others to study the Bible, as you follow Jesus together.
In this week’s elder letter, I want to highlight another discipleship tool that we often refer to as a resource. Resources are books, journal articles, etc., that help explain the Biblical Doctrine found in Scripture. Resources are not the God-breathed Word, so they are not to be considered the same as Scripture. However, solid biblical resources can be used to help explain biblical doctrine and the implications that biblical truths have on our lives.
An example of such a resource is the 9Marks book, Conversion: How God Creates A People , by Michael Lawrence. I am currently reading this book with my daughter to help teach her what it means to follow Jesus, by living a life of faith and repentance. As a way to structure our study, we are using a TCBC Blueprint Guide to guide us through the study of God’s Word and the Conversion resource. The idea is that each week, Camille and I will read the assigned Scripture (found in the blueprint guide) that deals with faith and repentance, and we will read a chapter of Conversion . We will then discuss the questions & prompts provided in the blueprint guide and any other questions she may have concerning the assigned Scripture passages and chapter of the book. As one of your brother’s in Christ, I would greatly appreciate your prayers as I go through this study with my daughter.
The Conversion book is just one example of a resource that can be used to disciple others. For information on other good discipleship resources, check out our TCBC Blueprint page where you can find additional guides and the books they correspond with. You can also visit our Resource Center, located in the lower atrium.
Jeremy Bledsoe
Elder / Member Care Pastor
Jeremy and Aerial have been married since 2005 and have served at Tri-Cities since 2010. They have four children: Camille, Clayton, Chandler, and Carson.