And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying,"All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all thingsthat I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
All authority, make disciples of all nations, all things. An ALL laden paragraph which can be broken into two sections. The first is the Lord Jesus Christ's statement that He is the recipient of all authority. Not some, all. He directs, in the second part, that we, His disciples, are being sent out to make disciples. The process is very specific, we are to baptizein the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Then we are to teachthem to observe all things that we have been taught to observe, IE make disciples of them. No say the Sinner's Prayer and I'll see you at the Pearly Gates, but to teach, to make disciples who are willing to live obedient lives. Another way to put this is that we, and those we teach, are instructed to live lives of acknowledgment of the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Readings
Morning Psalm 59, Noon Psalm 119:105-112, Evening Psalm 11
