Go and Make Disciples
Month 12: On Mission & Finishing Well · Memory Verse
Today's Scripture
Read together: Matthew 28:18-20
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Memory Verse
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.””— Matthew 28:19-20 (BSB)memorize this week
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: 2 Corinthians 5–9
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Around Day 332 of 365 — ambassadors for Christ, made new, urging the world to be reconciled to God.)The Heart of It
Today we slow down and let the Great Commission sink in, word by word, because we're going to carry it in our hearts all week. Listen for the four little action words hiding inside it. Go. Make disciples. Baptizing. Teaching. The one true command in the original sentence is "make disciples." The other three tell us how a disciple is made. We go. That means we move toward people instead of waiting for them to come to us. We point them to faith and baptize them "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." That is one God in three Persons. And we keep teaching them to obey, not just to know. A disciple isn't finished when he can recite facts about Jesus. A disciple is someone who is learning, day by day, to do what Jesus says.
That order matters for a family. Notice Jesus says to teach them "to observe all things that I have commanded," not just to hear them. Real discipleship aims at the heart and the hands. It aims at love that obeys. And again the verse ends with the warmest promise in all of Scripture. "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." When you tuck this verse into your memory this week, you're not just storing a command. You're storing a Companion. Every time your child whispers these words, he is rehearsing both his mission and the One who never leaves him on it.
Around the Table
Let's say our new verse together! "Go… make disciples… I am with you always." Big job, big Friend!
Let's do it: Do an action for each part. March in place for "go." Point to a friend for "make disciples." Hug yourself for "I am with you always."
The one big command is "make disciples." Going, baptizing, and teaching all tell us how. See if you can spot those four action words in the verse.
Let's talk: Of those four words, go, make disciples, baptize, and teach, which do you think is the hardest, and why?
"Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." One name, three Persons. This single verse quietly teaches us the Trinity.
Let's go deeper: How does it help your confidence to know the whole Trinity is behind this command, and behind you?
💬 Conversation Starter
If you had to teach a brand-new little kid just one thing Jesus said, what would you start with?
🛡️ Defending the Faith
Some people claim the Trinity was "invented" centuries later. But right here, from Jesus' own lips at the very end of Matthew, we baptize into one name that belongs to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The God who is three and yet one is not a late idea. He is woven right into Christ's parting words.
For Dad · Go Deeper
A memory-verse day is a gift to you, not just to the kids. Memorizing isn't busywork. David said, "Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You" (). When this command lives in your memory, it begins to reshape your instincts. You start to see the neighbor, the coworker, and the child at your own table as someone to disciple, not just manage. Don't aim for a flawless recitation tonight. Aim for a verse that is traveling from your kids' lips into their loves. And be honest with yourself. Can your children watch you go toward people with the gospel? Or do they only hear you talk about it? They will memorize your life faster than they memorize the words.
Draws on: Donald Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life.
Let's Pray Together
"Father, hide these words deep in our hearts. Help us do more than just remember them. Help us live them out, going and sharing and teaching others about You. Thank You that You are with us always. In Jesus' name, amen."
The command lives in the middle, but the promise wraps both ends. He is with us always.