Ordinary Disciples Podcast with Keith Atkinson

Is Discipleship Optional?

Keith looks at the reality that discipleship seems optional in the modern church, whereas in New Testament times it was assumed. He does it through the lens of the church of Antioch, which was planted by persecuted, homeless refugees fleeing persecution in Jerusalem. The church in Antioch is the first church to reach Gentiles on a large scale, and it will become the "mother church of the entire Christian movement. Link to exercises: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qCvvw49K-oRk_u1-rwJJNwNLc1reVbiddjGetU8rVnQ/edit?usp=sharing Keith's email==keith@ordinarydisciples.org website:ordinarydisciples.org Keith Spiritual Director Bio: https://www.paxcenter.org/one-on-one-spiritual-direction-1

Episode 4: The Hidden Years of Jesus--Jesus as a Young Man

Luke describes 18 years of Jesus' life in two verses, but in those two verses, we see Jesus living in a sense the life of every human in his family, work, and faith community. It is in an ordinary life that He grows, and we grow as well. Jesus's incarnation means that God has lived among us and understands us. We live our lives in the shadow of the incarnation and cooperate with God now, working out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Link to questions and resources for this episode: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1X0feTkP6_AAoOkp1VlwiXDFb5ZqhJRhSq96RuXOkAAQ/edit?usp=drive_link To contact Keith--email: keith@ordinarydisciples.org Keith's bio. as a spiritual director: https://www.paxcenter.org/one-on-one-spiritual-direction-1 To learn about spiritual direction or the Ordinary Disciples ministry: ordinarydisciples.org

Episode 3 : The Hidden Years of Jesus—Part 2: Jesus in the Temple

We see elements of Jesus’ ministry already taking shape when the Messiah appears in the temple in Jerusalem at the age of twelve. He amazes the teachers of the law by the way he listens and the questions he asks. Mary and Joseph are bewildered as they get a preview of the incarnation. Surprisingly, Jesus returns to Nazareth, where he will be subject to his parents and work as a tradesman. Keith contends that these thirty years in Nazareth are essential and the actual foundation for Jesus’ three-year ministry, which changed the world. Keith encourages us all to embrace the life we have as a gift from God, growing in grace as Jesus did, believing that God has a purpose for it all and nothing is wasted. Questions and thoughts from the episode: https://docs.google.com/document/d/149Lf1w0qeKKmN2PfUOY3Rr7pDEH69qjmgxZ0HVCSFek/edit?usp=sharing Contact Info: keith@ordinarydisciples.org Website: Ordinarydisciples.org To Donate: https://ordinarydisciples.org/donate/

The Hidden Years of Jesus--Part 1--Jesus as a Child

In this episode, we look at Jesus' childhood and how Jesus never leaves the childlike dependence He has toward His Father. Keith explores the implications for "Ordinary Disciples." Contact Keith at: keith@ordinarydisciples.org Link for questions and small groups: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dBzCodROD6xicmq8Z7hpoTIDox__MZm7/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=115720524422094710280&rtpof=true&sd=true

The Most Important Invitation

In this episode, Keith teaches how the invitation to believe in Jesus is also an invitation to be His disciple and why this is the most important and wonderful invitation we will ever receive. Keith shares his own testimony of how this came about in his own life and then invites all of us to accept the invitation to be Jesus' apprentice in our ordinary lives. website: ordinarydisciples.org Link to resources for episodes: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1w1MtcHJyT2vuzKSKjRkSTbhMYNqjWpdq?usp=sharing To contact Keith, email: keith@ordinarydisciples.org Sited: Calhoun, Adele Ahlberg.: Invitations from God: Accepting God's Offer to Rest, Weep, Forgive, Wait, Remember and More Hudson, Trevor. Seeking God: Finding Another Kind of Life with St. Ignatius and Dallas Willard (pp. 99-100). (Function). Kindle Edition.