The Disciple - Part 1 (Become the Disciple)

Let's take a five week journey with Bubba D as he becomes and lives his life as a disciple for Christ. In this first week, Bubba becomes a disciple. (Taken from my 5 week Lenten Sermon series entitled "The Disciple".)

Bubba D. was a good man long before he ever got saved. He would help anyone who needed help. And as a volunteer fireman, he got several chances to do just that.

As a matter of fact, he always thought himself a Christian. You see, he went to Sunday school as a kid and learned the Bible stories that all Christians are supposed to know.

He also went to church until the day he left his parents’ house. He had too. His parents made him. They would say “as long as you’re living under our roof you’re going to go to church.” And so he went. And he endured what he considered to be boring services that really had no meaning or purpose for him.

That’s what made him decide that he didn’t have to go to church to be a Christian. Like he would say, he could worship God anywhere.

But the truth of the matter was that he rarely thought about God…that is except when he needed something.

Now Bubba loved the night life in the city he moved to after college. He worked hard all week now that he was a paid fire fighter for the city fire department. And he enjoyed going out on the weekends. There were times when he might overdo it a little, but that was ok. He wasn’t hurting anyone else with his club hopping or his social agenda with the ladies.

But this got old after a while. He realized that he didn’t seem to be getting anywhere with his life. He wondered if he would one day wake up and realize that he had grown old without anyone there for him. And the realization set in that he was truly all alone without any real purpose. That was…until the day he met a kind older man named Parson at the local Starbucks.

They sat and talked so long that before Bubba realized it, the store was closing. Parson spoke of things like freedom and love and acceptance (things that Bubba was searching for). But they were mentioned in the same breath with Jesus and God and even church. This was not the church stuff that Bubba remembered from his youth.

And so it was that night after the coffee shop that Parson and Bubba wound up in the parking lot of Parson’s church that he pastored. It was there that Bubba broke down and tearfully accepted Jesus into his life.

He had thought himself a Christian because of all the good things he did. He was a good man who showed kindness to others. And he was a very zealous young man when it came to right and wrong. He didn’t let people get away with wronging others.

But that night he realized that being a good person wasn’t good enough. And it also wasn’t ever going to bring him a life filled with meaning and purpose. It was going to take something else. It was going to take Jesus.

That night in the parking lot of Parson's church Bubba D got saved. He received Christ into his heart by confessing him Lord and believing in him with his whole being. He realized that Jesus died for him to not only bring about forgiveness, but also purpose and meaning. Bubba became a Disciple.

Parson invited Bubba to come to church the next day and Bubba accepted. He couldn't believe that he was actually going to attend church again. But the experience was like nothing he remembered. He's welcomed with open arms by the members into a much more relaxed atmosphere of worship. And the sermon...well lets just say that he didn't come away thinking God was out to get him because he was a sinner. Parson didn't avoid telling his people like it was...but he also let it be known that God's grace was greater than all their sins put together.

Bubba went away feeling like a new man. And the next Sunday he got baptized and joined the church. It was then that he confessed Jesus as Lord openly and publicly.

At this point Bubba got excited. He wanted to tell everyone he saw about this experience of his. He does this at church and at work and even at the coffee house. And he starts spending more time helping out at church and less time out at the clubs.

Bubba becomes a disciple.

(Next week we'll see how Bubba is tempted to take the easy way out in "Temptation of the Disciple".)