In the Church world we use the word “discipleship” a lot but we do not always do a good job of defining it. It’s root word, ‘disciple’ means “student or follower.” So discipleship is the practice of following or being a student of Jesus.
We talk about faith as a thing we do. A compartment of our lives like our jobs, our families, our friend groups, our hobbies. It is a part of who we are; one aspect of the whole. But we have it wrong.
Now is a time to not continue the arguments to win the debate. We must come together as a community to reach out to those who are hurting. We need to show up & serve.
Living faith in the 168 hours of the week has its ups and downs. There are hours where you kind of go, “Huh?” And other hours where you go “God, that was incredible!” Faith is not picture perfect 100% of the time. It gets a little crazy from time to time.
esus came to save Israel and the whole world through His life, death & resurrection. His saving is not from political powers. It is a saving that restores the perfect union humanity had in the Garden of Eden with God before Adam & Eve rebelled. It is by Him we are saved.
There is a red thread running through your life placed there by God. Stitch by stitch God’s Plan is being shown to you.
See we cannot save ourselves. Nothing we do will repair the relationship. No matter how hard we work it won’t be ‘enough’. We need a Savior. We need Jesus.
Sometimes fear tries to place itself in the driver’s seat telling us where to go. God plants the seeds of boldness & courage inside of each of us. You have bold courage in you right now.
Storms in life arise unexpectedly. Loss of job. Family/friendship difficulties. Illness diagnosis. Financial problems. Loss of a dream.
It feels as though peace has packed its bags to go on a long vacation far away from where we are. The feeling of being overwhelmed has taken up residence in its place. What can one do in that case?
Being a follower of Jesus Christ has its joys & has its lows. Through the joyous days & the difficult ones we remain resolved in our faiths. We remember that we are not alone.
Some events in life seem out of ordinary. It doesn’t seem to make sense what is going on. God has a plan connecting it all together with a thread.
What exactly does it mean to have a resolved faith? We look at how Paul lived out his faith in Acts 24.
Paul did not let fear stop him from sharing his faith. He was a courageous storyteller.
We all have a story to share. What is your story about Jesus you can share?
Culture does change when individuals make small decisions day in & day out. You can change culture.
As followers of Jesus Christ we share the Gospel with our whole lives.
It is key for each follower to remember that our job is to share the Gospel authentically.
We learn in Acts 18 the importance of learning from more mature followers of Jesus. They can teach us from their own experiences how to live The 168 Life for Jesus.
Just because we don’t get what we want after praying doesn’t mean we didn’t receive what we needed. God always provides us with what we need whether we realize it or not.
We see the importance of reading Scriptures in our own lives so that we can hear directly from God. We cannot solely rely on someone else studying the Bible and then teach us what they learned. We learn from teachers of the faith. We also learn from our own time in the Bible hearing from God directly.
In life today we have many creature comforts that can falsely lull us into believing that we can do everything on our own. We do not need God because we have everything that we need. We can take care of ourselves. But that is not true.
Differences. They divide relationships. They keep people apart when individuals land on either side of the difference. But differences do not need to divide.
Sharing stories is one way that we connect with one another. We get to know someone in ways that only stories tell us.
A key learning from this week’s chapter for us today is the importance to persevere in the face of opposition.
Hear this: You are not alone. As a follower of Jesus Christ you belong to the family of God.
What does a Christian look like in today’s world? Do we have to walk away from our careers to move to a foreign country?
God teaches us the importance of accepting others. As we live The 168 Life we learn to love as God loves.
Have you ever thought you needed to change first before you could serve God? You are perfect to serve just as you are.
Today we follow Philip on his journey of sharing the Gospel.
In Acts 6 we met Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, chosen by God to serve the people. And now we receive a history lesson from Stephen.
Each disciple is chosen by God to serve in the world as an example of The 168 Life.
Being authentic in one’s faith journey is difficult at times. Peter & the Apostles show us how to keep being authentic in our faith journeys.
We learn from Peter & John how to be courageous. They were regular fishermen who lived with Jesus for 3 years watching and learning directly from Him. They went now simply shared their stories of being with Jesus.
Receiving healing in the name of Jesus is offered to everyone. And it is not limited to physical healing only.
In Acts 2 the disciples receive the Holy Spirit to be witnesses in the world of Jesus Christ. We learn from them how everyone receives God’s grace. How are you sharing your story with others?
Today we begin a new series in Acts. We are learning from the men & women in Acts how we can share the Gospel in our lives. Each week we read a chapter hearing how God is with us as we share the Good News of Jesus.
The #168Life is living out one’s faith every day all day. Faith shapes who we are in every area of life. It is who we are, not what we do.
Becoming a follower of Jesus involves connecting with other followers of Jesus. We come together in worship, prayer & fellowship to grow closer to God and thereby to one another.
What pain are you holding onto from your past? Where are you searching for peace from the brokenness of this world?
The interesting thing about faith is how it can become extinct with each generation. Unless people share why they love Jesus then faith is not passed on to the next person and slowly disappears.
There is a misperception out there that once a person becomes a Christian life becomes easy. Somehow by following God all problems melt away, heartache is not a part of one’s life. This is a lie. Read on to hear the hope found in Jesus.
Fellow disciple of Jesus, hear the call the passion God has for you. The Christian life is integrated into our whole lives. God gives each of us abilities to serve Him and share with others.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as you sit on the verge of growing deeper in your faith do not think you must first learn more or be able to do more before God can use you.
These are uneasy times. Lots of unknowns. There are more questions than answers. Each day…
If someone is to be follower one needs to know how to follow. How does one follow when you can’t see God?
Spiritual disciplines are the practices we do as followers of Jesus so that we learn and remain close to God.
Prayer is our conversation with God, growing closer to Him, learning from Him. It is the essence of our relationship with Him.
Being a follower of Jesus is like a run whereby the disciple goes in the steps of Jesus. The follower learns how to love as God loves; to serve as God leads us to serve.
Nobody’s perfect. Everyone has faults Everyone makes mistakes.
