Best of All – God Is with Us
One night after teaching, a guy approached me wanting to talk. We sat down, and he told me how each night Jesus comes to visit him in a spaceship. He insisted that Jesus is a white guy with palm trees protruding from his scalp. I of course told him that Jesus is Jewish and that […]
Gospel and Holiness
Before the apostle Paul challenged believers in Romans 6:12 to “not let sin reign in their bodies,” he reminded them of the gospel and connected the imperative of personal holiness to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Paul’s point was, “Your sin was crucified and buried with Christ. Why would you want to live […]
Our Part in Transformation
“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (II Corinthians 3:18 NIV). The apostle Paul takes us back to the scene where the Lord gave Moses the new stone tablets. During that encounter, God […]
Motivation for Service
The gospel is not only the foundation for our service; it also radically purifies our motivation for service. In fact, serving others for reasons other than the gospel actually doesn’t make a lot of sense because of the philosophical contradictions beneath the surface. Take, for example, the predominant worldview of Western culture today—the worldview of […]
Check Your Mark
Deuteronomy 15:12, 16-17 reads: If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, sells himself to you and serves you six years, in the seventh year you must let him go free. But if your servant says to you, “I do not want to leave you,” because he loves you and your family and is […]
Gospel and Others
In the research behind Transformational Discipleship we discovered that people are more likely to grow when godly leaders apply the truth of the gospel to their hearts. Instead of only teaching the commands found in Scripture, leaders who view discipleship through the lens of the gospel bring people to God’s grace as the foundation for […]
Volunteers and (not or) Discipleship
Each week church leaders feel the weight of responsibility for two important facets of their ministry roles. First, they desire to disciple people in the church, to develop people the Lord has called them to serve. Second, they have the responsibility of “pulling off church” this week. The kid’s ministry, student program, weekend services, and […]
Unveiled Faces
Second Corinthians 3:18 says, “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (NIV). Paul is taking the readers back to Moses. Moses would walk up to this mountain called Mount Sinai. There he would […]
Gospel and the Poor
The apostle Paul reminded the Corinthian Christians of their status when Christ called them to Himself. Brothers, consider your calling: Not many are wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth. Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what […]
Manage God’s Grace
In the Jewish culture, the master would entrust specific responsibilities to his servant. The servant may be responsible for managing some aspect of the master’s business or administering a portion of the family land. The servant would be honored to manage the resources or possessions of the master. Serving is management of God’s grace. The […]