Memory Verse:
'I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. '- John 15:5

Sermon Sentence: Paul’s guidance and encouragement to Titus as he led his church in ancient Greece is directly applicable to us today.

Read Romans 13:1-14

Our key text for the week was Titus 3:1-9.  Paul, writing to Titus, gives him specific instructions that he is to remind the church of.  In the devotions this week, we will work through some of these things and see what we need to learn as well.  So be sure to follow along by revisiting that text as well.

Paul told Titus to remind the church to be submissive to rulers and authorities in Titus 3:1.  I wonder if that doesn’t strike you as a strange thing for a church to be paying attention to?  When you consider it from the world they lived in, it may seem even more strange.  The government was not exactly their friend and it certainly did not represent their values and concerns.  Therefore, it may seem strange to tell people to be submissive to the very entity that seems to want to do as much as kill them.  In the book of Romans, Paul returns to this idea again. 

I think the value of the lesson is not in the ability to obey the government, but rather in the posture of being a person that knows how to humble themselves to a place of submission.  Oftentimes we teach that when a child becomes an adult, they will then be able to make their own decisions or guide their own life.  While the basic premise is true, the reality is that the moment we become unwilling or uninterested in placing ourselves under someone, is the moment that we find real danger.  All of the Christian life is one of submission.  Not forced submission, but certainly willing submission.  The bulk of the point is in the practice that we learn as we are doing it. 

There seems to be two halves to this chapter: one on ruling authorities and one on fulfilling the law in love.  How could these two ideas actually be tied together rather than two separate points?

Assume the government were to ask the reader of this passage to do something against the Bible, how does this passage still apply and how would you work through the wisdom of considering everything here?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read Ephesians 2:1-10

 Paul is making his appeal to Titus in Titus 3:1-9, for the church, by calling out the truth of their past.  For the church, that idea should be different from the view of their current lives.  They were not following Jesus; but now they are following Jesus.  There should be a difference there.  Paul does not spend a small amount of time in his ministry on this point.  Over and over again he keeps going back to that idea in most all of his letters to the churches.  

Is it something that really needs to be said?  Think about it.  If I have been changed from being a sinner to now living like a follower of Jesus, I can get hung up on the change that has made me a better person.  I can come out of this whole thing just thankful that I am not like I was, if I am convinced that how I was was not a good way to be.  But Paul is appealing to the next level here.  We were saved, changed and then called to good works.  Not to just be a good work.  Sure!  We should show off the good work in us and be thankful and let everyone know it was God working in us, but if it all stopped there, we would be missing the point.  For if God has worked a good work in us, then we are His workmanship and God’s workmanship is for the good works He is doing.  I am that work.  And therefore I am to look for the good works that I can be a part of because that is what God did in me.  

Why is it important to understand that is was God that saved us to fully understand the idea that we are to be looking for the good works He has saved us for?

What does it mean to be saved “by grace through faith?”


How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read Ephesians 4:17-32

In Titus 3:2, Paul challenges Titus to remind the people “to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward people.”  It seems like those would all be good practices for people that follow Jesus, but it also stands to reason that if we need to be told to do this, there is a breakdown somewhere! In the letter to Ephesus, Paul was right back at talking these same things over. The reason that is given to approach all people with these attitudes in place, is because we were once the type of people that would provoke a reaction that is opposite these things.  Again, as Pastor Pat taught about on Sunday, it was the grace of God that has changed us only.  For Paul, the formula seems to be obvious: lost, hurting people treat people out of lost, hurting ways.  Saved, changed people treat others out of that reality.  Maybe it is not that much different but it is like saying “I treat people like I do because of who I am.” Not “I treat people like I do because they are who they are.”  

Many times, the values of Ephesians 4:29-32 seem to be the things that are not really elevated as a higher way of living in the world today.  But for us to understand what it means to follow Jesus, in part takes a mind that also realizes how Jesus saw other people and ministered to them.  He was certainly careful in his speech and kind in His approach.  The arguments that we make against that truth feel more like us trying to justify what we want to do, rather than how we are supposed to be.  

Which thing called out in these verses could use some attention in your life this week?

Why does the gospel change the way you treat people that annoy, frustrate, or anger you?

How far should you take Ephesians 4:29 in what you are facing today?

How does this become your prayer today?

Read Titus 3:1-9

The Gospel message is vital for the local church. I don’t want you to take that statement lightly.  I want you to understand that I mean it in the fullest and most obvious way that it could be meant.  The very idea that God loved us so much that He sent our Savior, out of mercy, and for the purpose and goal of saving us from our sins, is the centerpiece of why we gather week after week.  If we do not have that, we lose the very reason to show up each week.  We lose the very reason to worship like we do.  We lose the very reason to go out and spread the message to the world.  How foolish would it be to present to the world a solution to its problems that we only kind of think could work?  This is the very argument that Paul is making to Titus.  He is encouraging this pastor to hang on to the very pieces of the Gospel and put them before the people all of the time.  Why?  Because it is excellent…or of high value.  It is excellent because it is profitable for all of the people.  The reason we proclaim it to all people is because all people need to hear it. 
Therefore, today, devote yourself to good works.  The “good” is those things of the Gospel.  There is no other thing that is considered good.  Some things have an appearance of good or even a flavor of a bit of good, but it is the Gospel that is good!  It is work because it is undoing something that needs undone.  It is bringing back to life that which has died.  It is reviving that which is not moving and therefore it is a work.  So find a good work to devote yourself to today, because a good work has been done in you!

What is a good work you should devote yourself to today?

What do you think Paul was specifically referring to in verse 9?


How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read Acts 4:23-31

The story that has happened before this section is where Peter and John found themselves in trouble with the law for preaching the Gospel of Jesus.  Well, it was the religious leaders that actually came after them, but they were interested in invoking the laws to punish them.  While in the trial, they preached the Gospel to the courts.  So they were arrested for preaching the Gospel, then they took the opportunity to preach the Gospel while they were on trial. It would be like being in court for a trial about stealing something from  a store and then while the trial is going on, sticking things in your pocket to steal! It was a pretty open and shut case, but they had trouble applying a punishment for the crime they made up and so they were sent away with a reprimand.  They did not take that too well either and left declaring they would be listening to God. 

This is where we picked up the story.  It is here that they make a decision about what just happened to them.  They could lay low and take it easy, let the fires burn out and then try a relaunch later.  But that is not what they decided.  It was taken to God in prayer and found in that moment that this declaring the Gospel was not just a small thing or a sometimes thing, but it was THE THING!  So they doubled down on their mission and calling and stepped out to get to work….the same work they had just been tried for.   

I really like that image for the work of the followers of Jesus.  May we do that.


How does this become your prayer today?

'Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. '

1 Timothy 6:12

The Master Plan of Evangelism
Final Chapter : Epilogue

**If you group meets on Sunday, your Day 1 is Monday, and Day 6 is Saturday, Sunday is an off day.  

*If your group meets on Monday, your Day 1 is Tuesday and Day 6 is Sunday, Monday is an off day

Memory Verse:

 'I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. '

John 10:9

Sermon Sentence: The disciples of Jesus share the heart and urgency of the work that Jesus did.

Read Matthew 9:35-38

Today’s devotion written by Pastor Len Scott.

Jesus Felt.
I write this while sitting at the airport. Airline can be wonderful or a nightmare, and I've experienced both. When Jesus saw the multitudes He noticed they were “weary”. That word means “to be tired from a long journey”. Many times I've thought to myself “I just want to be home” when a trip isn't going as planned.

When Jesus saw the crowds He was moved with compassion for them. He entered into their pain and He did something about it.

But there's another, underlying and unspoken emotion that Jesus expresses. It's a combination of anger, frustration, bewilderment, sadness, and so much more. With a broken heart Jesus says that the problem is not the size of the task. It's not that the hurts and pains are too great. The problem is that there are not enough workers.

A Christian song from decades ago lamented that “I'm so tired of being stirred but not being changed.” Make no mistake, feelings are right and good, but if they don't lead to change then they are worthless.

Get out of your comfort zone, go to the places where people are hurting. See what Jesus sees, feel what Jesus feels…..but don't stop there. Do something about the problems you see. Far too many Christians shed some tears and feel like they've done something. True followers of Jesus feel the emotions and do something. And when the emotions are gone, they still show up and do what Jesus would do. 

Lord, stir us and change us.

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read Matthew 9:35-38

Today’s devotion written by Pastor Len Scott.

Jesus Felt.
I write this while sitting at the airport. Airline can be wonderful or a nightmare, and I've experienced both. When Jesus saw the multitudes He noticed they were “weary”. That word means “to be tired from a long journey”. Many times I've thought to myself “I just want to be home” when a trip isn't going as planned.

When Jesus saw the crowds He was moved with compassion for them. He entered into their pain and He did something about it.

But there's another, underlying and unspoken emotion that Jesus expresses. It's a combination of anger, frustration, bewilderment, sadness, and so much more. With a broken heart Jesus says that the problem is not the size of the task. It's not that the hurts and pains are too great. The problem is that there are not enough workers.

A Christian song from decades ago lamented that “I'm so tired of being stirred but not being changed.” Make no mistake, feelings are right and good, but if they don't lead to change then they are worthless.

Get out of your comfort zone, go to the places where people are hurting. See what Jesus sees, feel what Jesus feels…..but don't stop there. Do something about the problems you see. Far too many Christians shed some tears and feel like they've done something. True followers of Jesus feel the emotions and do something. And when the emotions are gone, they still show up and do what Jesus would do. 

Lord, stir us and change us.

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read Matthew 9:35-38

Today’s devotion written by Michael Brittenham.

Jesus Spoke.
If you've ever been hurt by someone's words, you know how powerful words can be.  The children's rhyme about "sticks and stones" couldn't be more untrue.  Our words can do more harm and be more destructive than any physical blow.  One of the greatest examples is that Jesus is himself called "The Word" as one of His many names.  This seems unusual to us but John 1:14 says "The Word became flesh".  He is the same Word that created everything that was then called by God, "very good".  In Matthew 9 when Jesus sees the crowd we know He has the power to feed them, to heal them, and even raise the dead.  Instead, he invites His disciples into the moment and tells them to pray.  To use their words to access the very Power of God so that he would send laborers to the harvest.  We are familiar with prayer, and many of us have seen the power of prayer firsthand.  I think though, that we often underestimate the power that prayer commands and at the same time look for answers from the outside.  When Jesus told the disciples to prey, they probably didn't realize that many of them would also be the answer to that prayer.  There is a lesson here about the power of prayer to change lives, about having faith in the Lord of the harvest to hear us, but also about looking for answers in unexpected places.  

Have you had compassion like Jesus that drove you to your knees in prayer for others?

When you pray, what are you expecting to happen?

Are you prepared to be the answer to the prayer you pray?

How does this become your prayer today?

Read John 17:1-22

Jesus went.
While reading along with the D-Groups through the book of John, I was hung up for a little while on Jesus’ words in verse 6.  Clearly, Jesus is seen unanimously as a successful life.  I do not really think there would be too much argument there. If you did argue against a point such as that, you would probably not find yourself reading this devotion, therefore we can assume the room is on the same page.  Back at our point though, in the grand scheme of time and the world, Jesus did not really move around too much.  I am certain back then it seemed like it was quite a bit, but technology has added to the perspective.  The world feels really big and those feelings seem to be backed up by the fact that the world is really big.  There also seems to be a lot of people.  Which is why the Great Commission can feel like a daunting task to be given.  

John 17:6 gives me a perspective of Jesus’ success in light of these realizations.  He claims that he has manifested, or made known, God’s name to all of those that were entrusted to Him.  I am under the impression that Jesus came to save the world, and it seems like the same weight given to us in the Great Commission rests on that reality. That leaves a lot to do.  But Jesus' assessment at the end of His life was that He was successful in what He accomplished. He made God known to the ones that God placed on His specific plate and therefore He was successful in reaching out to the world with the Gospel as well.  I want that as a testimony when it is all said and done.  I want to be able to say that I was faithful with the very task that I was given to reach the world with the Gospel.  That is why my success will not be measured on how large the church is, how big my following on social media or anything like that, was, or how famous I got.  My success will be measured in the specific sphere that I was given to be faithful to the relationships by sharing the Gospel to those in front of me this moment.

How are you doing with making God known to those that He has entrusted you with?

What do you notice in Jesus' prayer about this very thing in our text?

How do you make today your best attempt at making God known to those around you?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read John 16:1-15

Jesus Worked.
In the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20, the promise that Jesus ends with is that He is with us to the end of the ages.  Then He leaves.  That is a tough way to say it, but it is also a true way to say it.  It does not represent all of the pieces that are going on here, but, once again, it is true.  As tough as it is for us to process this, we should also consider the perspective of the disciples as they were processing it. 

To get the rest of the story, John 16 is a great place to rest our worries and concerns.  Jesus was sending the Helper, the Holy Spirit.  The work of the Holy Spirit would be the guarantee that we would not have to sort through it all on our own, but rather, in our call to study and learn this complicated and higher set of ideas, there would be someone walking right with us through the whole thing, teaching us to understand and giving us the words to teach.  Jesus’ life showed this pattern daily and so the promise coming from Him was surely a helpful and comforting thought.  

Do you feel that you understand the work of the Holy Spirit, or is this still something that you are figuring out in learning the Bible?

What else do you see as the work of the Holy Spirit in your life?

What is a time that you are certain the Holy Spirit was working in your life?

How does this become your prayer today?

1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

The Master Plan of Evangelism
Chapter 8: Reproduction

**If you group meets on Sunday, your Day 1 is Monday, and Day 6 is Saturday, Sunday is an off day.  

*If your group meets on Monday, your Day 1 is Tuesday and Day 6 is Sunday, Monday is an off day

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit”.

John 20:21-22

The Master Plan of Evangelism
Chapter 7: Supervision

**If you group meets on Sunday, your Day 1 is Monday, and Day 6 is Saturday, Sunday is an off day.  

*If your group meets on Monday, your Day 1 is Tuesday and Day 6 is Sunday, Monday is an off day

Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice.  You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.

John 16:20

The Master Plan of Evangelism
Chapter 6: Delegation

**If you group meets on Sunday, your Day 1 is Monday, and Day 6 is Saturday, Sunday is an off day.  

*If your group meets on Monday, your Day 1 is Tuesday and Day 6 is Sunday, Monday is an off day

Memory Verse: 'I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. '

John 10:9

Sermon Sentence:  The reason that accountability can work in the church is because we have all placed ourselves under the same Bible.

Read 1 Corinthians 5:1-13

The fact that verses are divided in our modern day versions of the Bible is so helpful.  It makes it so much easier to navigate the whole Bible and keep everyone on the same page.  I would say that it has to be one of the most beneficial and helpful inventions in Bible study.  With that being said, it has also created some problems in our modern, lazy approaches to the Bible.  We want to cut off thoughts with verses to make them easier to know or understand or even quicker to process.  That can be good.  But it can also create some real problems.  For instance, we want to talk about who should the follower of Jesus spend time with.  Therefore, we take verses from our section today and chop them out of the context and try to create a formula that works all the time.  But, formulas rarely work all the time.  

Matthew 9:10-17 tells the story of Jesus spending time with the tax collectors and sinners and getting flack for that from the religious leaders.  In our quick edits and carry over ideas, we might struggle with the contradictions that seem to exist in Paul telling us not to associate with such people in 1 Corinthians 5, while Jesus demonstrated spending time in meals with them.  This is the work that context brings as a fight against chopping out verses.  The context of 1 Corinthians 5 is vital for the thoughts at the end of the chapter.  I would even argue that the chapters around this section are vital as well.  Paul was not sporadic in his thoughts and commands, he was thoughtful and careful in his approach. I would encourage us to be the same with these delicate topics as we process through what the Bible is saying.  

Paul says in verse 6, “Your boating is not good.  Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?” What is the idea that Paul seems to be communicating here?

Explain verse 12 with an equivalent example, the way that you understand it.

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read Matthew 9:9-17
I was raised up in ministry through an era of time where the visitor was considered the most considered person for the work and movement of the church.  If you read that and are not understanding what I mean, but rather screaming back at this devotion “Well of course it should be!  We have to reach the lost!”  Then I would venture to bet that you have been steeped in the same poor teaching.  So therefore, I must be anti-reaching lost people and therefore there is a huge issue here, right? No.  I think there is another way to process through all of this that I would love to walk out.  I believe that we should preach the gospel and attempt to reach every person we can.  I think that would be a good practice for today, tomorrow, and all of the other days.  I think it should rise to the place of consideration of importance above most everything else.  I even think that we should consider all aspects of our service on Sunday to view it from the way the lost person may see it and they may be compelled to come follow Jesus. But I don’t think that is the only or even main purpose of the local church as it meets together for a Sunday morning worship.  I think that is one of the main purposes of the individual follower of Jesus.  

This passage helps to illustrate my point.  Jesus was willing to walk, talk, eat, and share in some aspects of life with the sinners and tax collectors.  But notice how He approached the tax collector called Matthew.  He approached him as a tax collector, but He also called him away from that.  He told him to follow Him.  And that is a story captured in a book by the name of “Matthew”, because the tax collector stopped being what he was and followed Jesus.  

I tried to make a point of highlighting a difference in approach.  I may not have done a good job here.  So what was I trying to communicate and what is the difference?

Do you agree or disagree with what I was saying?  Why?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read 2 Corinthians 6:14-18
The most famous use of 6:14 when I was growing up was for the Christian and why they should not date or marry a non-Christian.  And by “most famous” I mean the literal only time I ever heard it talked about was in that context.  I grew up thinking this verse was only about dating and marriage!  Imagine my surprise when I read it and discovered that the context has absolutely no mention or leaning toward dating or marriage. 
Now that you have read that much, you should challenge what I just said.  Does it have anything to do with that or not?  If you just took another look at the passage, I bet you are able to see the value in that approach. Well, I guess that depends on what lens you view relationships through.  This passage is about the idea of considering that if we live in the presence of God, because that is what our Theology leads us to believe, that God is everywhere and in us, then we have to consider every single aspect of our life from that perspective.  Now we ask things like “Should I bring that into the presence of God? Or does it belong in a place that is considered holy?”  

What are some other ways you see that this section of verses could be properly applied?

Why do you think this idea was important enough for Paul to write about, especially considering that it was to the church at Corinth?

How does this become your prayer today?

Read Matthew 18:15-20
I really wonder what it would have been like to hang out with Jesus in real life?  To watch His demeanor as He got frustrated and see how He actually interacted with those friends and family members that just did regular friend and family member stuff.  It is easy to imagine that Jesus was conflict free and easy going with everyone, but what was it like when things got really raw?  

This passage makes me realize that Jesus surely was not a pushover.  Even though most of the images and ideas that I hear presented of Him make me want to think that.  So many people want this to be a formula with the goal of figuring out how to get someone out of our lives.  It helps us answer the question of when is enough enough and how do we deal with the real bottom dwelling problems.  But I do not really think that was the point here.  I think Jesus is just acknowledging what we all deal with in relationships and certainly He did too: conflict. If someone sins against you, you don’t have to be walked all over.  You also shouldn’t retaliate.  Jesus has a much better way.  It is a way that digs at getting to the heart of the wrong done against you.  It is not comfortable and most of the time we want to avoid everything about it all and just harbor a grudge or shoot back with a temper, but neither of those ends of the spectrum are good or worth considering.

In the context of this teaching, explain what Jesus meant by saying “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them?”

When you are faced with being wronged by someone, do you tend to lash out in anger, or harbor the hurt and avoid confrontation?

Why is that response not the best according to what you learn here?


How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read Psalm 67
This Psalm is a blessing that was to be spoken over the listener in hopes that something good and gracious is spoken into their lives.  I enjoyed reading it last week with my family and encourage you to read it as well.  Spend time thinking about what it is saying and what it means.  I pray this over your family and your week!

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:6

The Master Plan of Evangelism
Chapter 5: Demonstration

**If you group meets on Sunday, your Day 1 is Monday, and Day 6 is Saturday, Sunday is an off day.  

*If your group meets on Monday, your Day 1 is Tuesday and Day 6 is Sunday, Monday is an off day

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand."

John 10:27-28

The Master Plan of Evangelism
Chapter 4: Impartation

Memory Verse: 'I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. '

John 10:9

Sermon Sentence: As followers of Jesus, we must be extremely careful with God’s word, using it to bring people to God, not hoping to push them away from Him.

Read 1 Corinthians 5:1-13

This chapter makes me think of a lot of the scandals that we have seen played out in the news.  Someone is caught in an affair of some sort and news articles all point out that everyone is shocked that this person was doing this.  Then we start to hear the rumors of how everyone in their circles knew it was all going on and just didn’t say anything.  From our place of disconnect, we wonder how in the world that could be something that is happening in real life and why people don’t seem to speak up too often.  This story reads like that news story to me.  

How could this be happening in a church?  Why would no one really even say anything at all?  Those are questions that we don’t get the answer to here, but there are certainly answers that could have been given.  This story is not told with those blanks filled in and so we can’t get lost in those details.  The details we are supposed to get lost in are the ones that we are given.  This story was not recorded in the collection of the Bible so that we are aware that it happened one day, a long time ago.  There is something to be learned here.  It is the job of the reader to meditate on that and try to work through the part that God intended for us to get here.  Make sure you study the principles: the Bible’s view of sin and the church’s response to that.  Make sure you see Paul’s adamant stance for the Holiness of God’s people in light of the culture that is opposite that.  Notice Paul’s strong line between the way the world is supposed to be and the way the church is supposed to be.  Because when we focus on those things, we can start to see the lessons that apply to those sins that we have given a lesser place to and are dealing with in our own lives. 

What does Paul mean by “a little leaven leavens the whole lump?”

What good does removing this situation from the church do for the church and the person that is at fault?

How can you know the line of how far you can apply this idea to all the other sins not listed here?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read Romans 1:18-32
The wrath of God is not something that is talked about much.  I wonder if it is something that you have given much thought to.  If God loves as intensely as we say, or as John 3:16 says, then He must also have a wrath of an opposite passion as well.  I don’t know how you process what it means that God has wrath, but notice what this section of scripture says.  The wrath of God is not flippantly or meaninglessly unloaded when He just feels like letting off some steam.  It is against the unrighteousness of man.  Against all ungodliness. Unrighteousness has to be the absence of righteousness.  So the complete emptiness of that which God contains and gives.  God is righteous and He makes us righteous in Him.  It is not that we are just not making the mark that He expects of us, but that we reject that very thing He gives us.  It is one thing to not be able to make it to the mark, it is another thing totally to just choose not to even take what is offered to us freely. There is no way then to be unrighteous than to reject and despise God.  Those things that can be known about God, are plain to us.

So the rest of this passage becomes an explanation of what ungodliness is like in practical terms.  The end of this section explains to us the ultimate wrath of God.  When God finally backs off and gives us exactly what it is that we wanted…ungodliness.  The problem with ungodliness is that God gives life and therefore the less godliness we have, the less life we experience.  

How would you explain the wrath of God to a person that is not familiar with the Bible?

Do you think that the idea of a loving God could exist without the idea of wrath?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read 1 Corinthians 6:9-20
I want to leave most of this passage for us to meditate on.  For me, the key is verse 11 for the follower of Jesus.  What is being described and explained here is not a part of the follower of Jesus life.  So many times I have heard of people reading verses like 9-10 and wondering how we could declare that God is loving, because what about the people that struggle with these things?  Verse 11 gives the answer to this puzzle.  To follow Jesus means to repent from sin.  So it doesn’t matter what the list is, the point is the same.  Does a liar go to Heaven?  Well no.  Because a liar is still a liar.  It is not the lie they told that day that would send them to Hell, it is their refusal to admit that they are liars and need to be followers of Jesus, people of truth.  Does that mean the saved liar will never lie again?  That is not what Paul is trying to argue here.   He is simply explaining that repentance and following Jesus means that we have left the old behind and are moving toward the new.

What is something that you learned from reading this passage carefully?

How would an understanding of this passage have helped you in the past?

What does it mean that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit within you?

How does this become your prayer today?

Read Genesis 19:1-22

If you are new to the Bible, you are probably pretty concerned about what you just read!  If you have been here before, you probably are STILL pretty concerned with what you just read!  What an awful story!  I hate it every time I read it and I think that is a really good response to it.  You may even be thinking that maybe some of those words you just read mean something else in the Bible language, and they do not.  This story is sick.  Lot, Abraham’s nephew, and his family, had found themselves in a really dark and terrible place.  The moral fabric of the society was about as disgusting and low as it could get, highlighted by this story.  God was done with them and was ready to bring judgement against them.  But in light of God’s promise to Abraham and how Lot had become wrapped up in that promise as well, God was going to save Lot and his family.  We will read the second half of the story tomorrow, but you should see this part of the story as an illustration of the sin’s final result.  It is not good.  It is destructive and spirals to an end.  God does not want or hope for life in this way, because it only spreads.  You may wonder where I get that part of the story from in this much, but we will see it tomorrow.  Lot was not living in a good spot and God’s compassion was to absolutely deal with the sin, but also absolutely offer compassion to His people that are caught in the middle of it.  That does not mean that Lot has no responsibility for where he has found himself.  A careful reading of the story before this proves that out.  But Lot’s poor choices are still overshadowed by God’s compassion for keeping His word while also being Good and Just.  

The story is a great metaphor.  In it we see how God wants us out of the place of sin and brought to the place of real life.  And even when it is too late (spoiler alert for tomorrow!) God’s grace goes even further than our chances.  So don’t live in the place of sin.  Get out and flee from it.  God has not called you to that, He doesn’t want you there, and there is no life where you think you may be trying to make a life.

Why do you think Lot is living here?

Do you see God’s approach as compassionate as it is seen in this story alone?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read Genesis 19:23-38
After many years of ministry and sitting with people, there is rarely a thing that I hear that surprises me.  What I have learned over the years is that there is a story that is way more complicated than every headline seems to declare.  What I mean by that, is that when you spend time sitting with people in their chaos and lives they are struggling through, there is rarely a time that you can’t find a place to be at least somewhat empathetic with how they ended up where they are and why they are acting like they are.  

But this story I still struggle with.  Is there more to the story?  Surely…but I have enough too.  It is the Bible, so surely nothing is misrepresented! So the destruction comes.  And it stinks, but it makes some sense too.  The rest of the story has to be considered with those thoughts as well.  The thought in light of the destruction that God is bringing is: maybe if we get people that shouldn’t really be there out, then they will be saved.  So after the story of Lot leaving town is told, we see the hesitation from his wife, and then the tragedy. From here our minds can speculate that maybe she didn’t really want to leave.  When the dramatic music slows down and it feels like they are far enough out of town, the reader will begin to speculate that they made it out and are safe for the rest of the story.  But remember, the destruction was coming because of the perversion that was in the town.  So the chapter ends like a horror movie where we thought the villain had died and in the closing scene something dramatic unfolds to give the idea that there is more to the story.  Such is our story here.  The closing scene tells a disgusting story of incest that leaves the reader wondering what in the world just happened.  

I am sure you are disturbed.  I am sure you are confused.  The takeaways are not too difficult to unpack, but clearly there is a consideration of Lot’s wife that we are supposed to meditate on.  We can’t look back.  We can’t second guess if what we are being saved from is really worth giving up.  It is.  It was bad back there and it will always be. So don’t go back.  Don’t entertain the thoughts.  

But then, just know that the problem is in our hearts.  It was not the “town” or the “circumstances” or “those people.”  We were part of the problem.  We can be the problem here if we allow the sins or the logic that those people “over there” allowed to make the decisions they made.  And there is so much more in this story. 

How does this story apply to your life today?

What are the things that you are taking away as lessons in this story?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Memory Verse: 'The last enemy to be destroyed is death. '

1 Corinthians 15:26

Sermon Sentence: A Jesus-following leader will ask how they can be changed to lead those entrusted to them.

Read 1 Corinthians 4:1-21
When I was preparing everything for this week, it really hit me how many ideas and thoughts about what a pastor is or could be that are floating around out there.  There is a YouTuber that is currently releasing hours and hours of explanations of abuse in ministry leaders that are known as some of the most popular pastors out there.  I know that there are some people here at Keystone that are influenced by these leaders and I have wondered how much of what they are saying is good and how much is bad.  It is easy to spot a bad leader in the midst of failure, but it is not as easy to spot one while they are still successful.  That takes a skill and knowledge that is important. 

Think about it: if there are so many opinions and bad ideas out there, how do you know what is a good expectation for a pastor or ministry leader?  You may think it doesn’t matter because you just go with the flow until you see something bad, but that approach leaves holes as well.  Why is this important?  Because Keystone Church is a self governed church.  That means the church body makes the decisions for the church.  What happens when the day comes that it is time for a new pastor?  How do we find them?  Where would we look?  What should be that process and what should be expected?  Ask five people today and they will give you 5 different answers.  That is why I thought it an important journey this week to go through what a pastor should be like.  The Bible gives us plenty to look at.  Let’s look at some of it this week and see what we learn.

If you were to list Paul’s main points of what a minister should be, from this passage, what would that list be?

What do you think the main reason Paul went into this tirade was the way you have understood 1 Corinthians thus far?

Do you think it is a fair biblical interpretation practice, to take these things Paul talks about and apply them to all leadership?  Why or why not?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read 1 Timothy 2:1-15
We only get five days for these devotions, so we can’t really read all of the chapters in 1 Timothy.  It is a pretty relevant book for what we have been looking at in 1 Corinthians.  One reason is because at the end of the chapter we are focusing on this week, chapter 4, Paul mentions a Timothy that is a ministry partner with him, that he was sending out to the church at Corinth.  Paul wrote the letter of 1 Timothy to this young man.  So in this letter, Paul is talking to a young pastor he hopes to train and encourage in the ministry.  Our goal will be to read some of this letter and see what we can learn on our path to learn what a pastor or ministry leader should be like.  The application can be used in all areas of those following Jesus, but it is written specifically to a young pastor.

The first thing that we will look at here is Paul’s focus on prayer and basic decency in the church.  That is brought up in Acts when the deacons were selected and Peter and the other leaders mentioned they need to focus on teaching and prayer.  A good trait for someone that is leading others to Jesus is certainly a good, solid prayer life. The point has to be that they are clearly aware of their shortcomings and also clearly aware of the success and life that only comes from God, so therefore they pray more often and more fervently.  It is a tough thing to measure, obviously, but it is certainly something that should be considered.  

Why do you think prayer is important in ministry leadership?

Why does Paul specifically encourage Timothy to pray for the government here and why would that be important in our day as well?

What are the differences between “supplications, intercessions, and thanksgiving?”

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read 1 Timothy 3:1-16
We have looked at this passage before.  I want to encourage you to go through each thing that is listed in verses 2-7 and think about why each of these are important for the role of the pastor/overseer most of all:

• Above reproach
• Husband of one wife
• Sober-minded
• Self controlled
• Respectable
• Hospitable 
• Able to teach
• Not a drunkard
• Not violent
• Not quarrelsome
• Not a lover of money
• Manage his own house well
• Not a recent convert
• Well thought of by outsiders.

How does this become your prayer today?

Read 1 Timothy 4:1-16
When you get to this part of the letter, you should picture Paul really intensely looking into the eyes of Timothy (I know it's a letter, hang with me here!) and being very direct and serious in what he is saying.  I just feel this chapter could have started with “Look me in the eyes!”  This warning is important and Paul is telling the young man that he can get lost in all of the tasks and goals and everything else that happens and there will be a slow fade that happens when he is not expecting it.  

Think about that for a little bit.  Isn’t it a bit strange that this is the job of the young pastor?  I mean, tell the church to get it together, tell the people spreading the false doctrine to knock it off, whatever you go to do, but doesn’t the pastor have enough things to consider than to be on the watch for this slipping in unannounced?  Not according to the way that Paul sees it and the role of the pastor.  Remember in 1 Corinthians 4:1 Paul said that he was to be regarded as a steward of the mysteries of God.  A “steward” can be like a “manager.”  The best solution to bad doctrine is really good teaching.  The pastor was already called to be a good teacher in the previous chapter.  Paul seems to be playing the balance of bold teaching, direct conflict engagement, and humble approach in dealing with difficult things.  That is a tough line to walk when you are talking to people about the teachings of Jesus!

What do you think verse 10 means in the context of the rest of the chapter? Why did Paul feel the need to say that?

Why does Paul encourage Timothy to not be despised for his youth?  What would be the problem in being a young pastor?

Do you think it is too much pressure that young Timothy is commended to be the example before everyone with the way his life is?  Is he not allowed to make mistakes and how could that be handled if it did happen?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read 1 Timothy 5:1-25
You have to consider the constant references in this letter to the youth Timothy.  He is not a seasoned veteran. I remember starting out in ministry and trying to talk to people about wisdom and life in view of the Bible when many of them were going through experiences that I had never dealt with.  It is so intimidating to be the young man without kids talking to someone about the problems they are having with their kids, or some other variation of that problem.  

Now consider that reality in light of what Paul is addressing here!  He is telling Timothy how to create a culture and proper way that exists in the church for those that are more seasoned and advanced in life and experiences. Timothy would have learned a lot of this by falling on his face, but the instructions are priceless coming from a guy that could say “been there, done that!”  Paul seems to sway back and forth here between being strong and bold and being kind and gentle.  Which one is it?  That is the goal of experience and wisdom!  There is a skill in leading people without it feeling like you are the whipper snapper that is just telling them what to do!  

Why does Paul see these things listed in this chapter as landmines for Timothy’s ministry?

Which area would you struggle with the most from this chapter?

What can you learn about culture and the way that culture is going in light of this chapter?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Memory Verse: 'The last enemy to be destroyed is death. '

1 Corinthians 15:26

Sermon Sentence: In order to make the building last a really long time we have to build it with eternal things and aim at eternity.

Read 1 Corinthians 3:10-15
I love to watch what God does around me.  To hear a good story of change and salvation is one of those things that never seems to get old.  When you see a life that is broken beyond repair or beaten up in a way that it doesn’t look like it could recover, and then to see God orchestrate relationships and events in a way that defies the ordinary, all while He is writing a story that brings joy and happiness to so many people that even just hear of it, that is amazing!  

But the fact that I am personally invited into that whole process is even more amazing to imagine.  God has a lot of really important and grand work, but it is not so important and grand that He doesn’t care or have time for me. Rather, His perspective is that He doesn’t need me, but yet invites me in to be a part of it. He brings me to the work and gives me a role.  That is how I hear Paul starting out in this passage.  “According to the grace given to me…”  That is the ultimate way to realize where I am in this process.  I was “graced” into it all.  I didn’t earn a spot….deserve a spot….or qualify for a spot.  I was given grace.  Therefore, I can work like a “Master builder.”  You could read that and think that Paul is a bit full of himself…but he started where he started for clarity.  “I was given grace…therefore I operated like a master builder.”  It is that very position that determines what it is that you do.  Why would Paul do anything other than what he was invited to do?  How dare him to hijack the situation, plans, or efforts for a selfish and distorted motive?  He was there to lay the foundation.  It has to be built off of Jesus.  Anything else sets up failure for all of the efforts that come after it.

The idea of starting with a foundation of Jesus is important. Whether it is a family, a marriage, a relationship, or even building a church,  how do you start with Jesus as the foundation?

How is it harder to set Jesus as the foundation later as opposed to in the beginning?

What area of your life could this idea apply to right now?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read 1 Corinthians 3:16-23
This is why we don’t smoke cigarettes.  That is what I was always taught growing up.  The absolute best application of verse 16 is that cigarettes are morally bad and you need a verse, so therefore here it is.  That is not a good application, in the least bit, for this verse.  So should you smoke cigarettes? That is not what Paul is addressing here, so I recommend reading the warning on the back of the box rather than 1 Corinthians.  You won’t find a Bible verse about cigarettes.  

Verse 16 is about the church.  It is about the collection of people that have gathered together with the foundation of Jesus as the starting place.  The language is for you all. In English, we read “you” as referring to “me.”  Like Paul was writing to the individual person and wanted them to know that they are the temple of God.  There are places this argument could be made…well, a version of it, but this is not the place.  Paul is saying to the church that they are the place of God’s Spirit dwelling.  Yes, it still works individually, but that is not the point here.  Paul is worried about the ideas and wisdom of other places coming into the ears of the collection of people that make up the church and beginning to tear down what was built on Jesus. If anyone does that…if anyone tries to bring in a wisdom that is not Jesus, and it begins to tear down the church, let it be known, God will come at them in wrath and destroy them.  What does that mean?  I don’t want to find out!  

Why is it important to understand this verse the way it is written, as about the church as a collective people versus how it is traditionally presented?

When you think of the wisdoms and ideas that could come into the church and change the foundation as that of Jesus, what do you imagine could be closest for our modern day settings?

How do we fight against these things?


How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read Galatians 5:16-26
I wish I would have worked through these verses as a teenager.  I don’t really have a complete thought here, I just feel I could have best learned the practice of these verses at that stage of my life.  I can’t say that I understood it like I do now, but it would have been a good practice to meditate on then.  I was always taught “if you talk the talk, then walk the walk.”  For some reason, that is where my mind goes in thinking about these verses.  The difference between that popular saying and what the Bible says, is that in the popular saying, it seems that my words are guiding my steps.  I get that it is more about accountability, but in the verses here, the emphasis is on the Spirit. For the Jesus follower, this is the main source of difference in our walk, we have a Guide!

If we are following our hearts, it will be really easy to have missteps and slips.  But if we are following the Spirit that is always guiding us, then there is a different dynamic in our lives that will be obvious.  In other words, you can’t have faith in God without it changing your life. Paul’s words here are very direct and seem to worry so many people.  He says very bluntly that you can’t inherit the kingdom of God and do the list of things he lays out here.  So many people are bothered by that and want to create categories of those going to Heaven and those not going to Heaven.  But Paul’s point is way more simple than that!  He is simply saying you can’t follow God and do these things.  If you are truly following God, then you are not doing these things…not that these things are keeping you out of Heaven.  The Spirit leads to life and good, if you are following something or someone to death and bad, then it must not be that you are following God.  That is as simple as the old saying “You must walk the walk if you are going to talk the talk.”

How could Paul be so bold to say that these are the people that will not inherit the kingdom of God?

One of my all-time favorite verses is Galatians 5:25.  How does this verse help you in your life today?

How does this become your prayer today?

Read Matthew 25:14-30
I love to read the parables that Jesus told.  Parables are a tricky teaching to work out.  They are meant to display a teaching in a story, but the story has a hidden meaning in it that you have to meditate and roll around to get the point.  The problem becomes the more that you spend time rolling it around the more the details start to hang you up.  Like this one: Jesus is telling them about the Kingdom of God and what it is like.  That is what he has been doing for a few stories now, and by the time we arrive at this one, the point is the same.  So by that understanding, the servants are all “followers” of the master.  They are all given a version of responsibility and we don’t know why they were given the quantities that they were given.  Which makes that a fun point to get hung up on and speculate on, but the story is not meant to reveal that.  The master entrusts them with his own property while he is away.  We do get that the master is representing God in this story and therefore it seems, that the entrusting is given in the span of a life.  The far off country is the Kingdom of God and the idea that the master is returning is understood from the very beginning.  The behavior of the servants is assumed to be expected to reflect that reality.  

Now the unpacking starts to happen in your mind!  Clearly we are being taught that we have been given responsibilities and the expectation is that our lives will reflect that we have been given responsibilities.  The outcome of whatever the end of this story looks like, needs to reflect the reality that one day we will answer for what we have been doing with what we have been given.  That is a different way of living than spending my whole life trying to get stuff for me and live for me.  One day, I will have to answer for how and what I built while I was here.  The outcome of what my life means will be determined by who or what I have to answer for in the end.  I believe that is the God of the Bible.  Therefore, I have been given “talents” and there are obvious “expectations” for what life should consist of. 

How is this perspective different from how the world lives?

If it is true that all of the servants were given something, why do we struggle with not having as much or enough or thinking we can’t accomplish much because of how much we have been given?

Does the Bible answer any of these thoughts in other places?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read Romans 14:7-23
Remember the other day when we were talking about cigarettes and whether they were good or bad?  Let’s return to that idea.  Once again, not that this passage or the one we have been studying in 1 Corinthians 3 is anything about cigarettes, because it's not.  But the Bible does teach us principles that can be applied to things like holy days, food offered to idols, cigarettes and all of those other things.  Let me start out by saying that cigarettes can’t be bad morally.  So have you just stumbled upon a pro-cigarette devotion that is funded by Big Tobacco and now Keystone ads will be featuring the long ago cancelled Joe Camel?  Nah.  I am just simply saying that things can’t be inherently good or bad if they are not meant to have a moral standing.  The good and the bad comes in how and why they are used.  
So let’s go a step further and remember the old days, when you would walk into a restaurant and they would ask you if you wanted the smoking side or the non-smoking side.  If cigarettes are not inherently bad, then would it be ok for you to light up a cigarette during service next week and smoke it?  This dumb analogy that is totally meant as a joke and is just funny more than anything, hides a point that is being made in this text that recalls the point in 1 Corinthians 3.  It would be improper because I have asthma.  And others don’t want to smell smoke.  And it is not considerate of those things.  So don’t smoke in the church.  Why?  Because your “body is a temple” and that is messing up the health of the temple?  No.  Because your decisions can and should be considered from more than just a perspective of your selfishness and what you think or feel or experience.  Because WE are the temple.  Not just you and your body, but us as a collection.  Therefore my life actions are considered from the perspective of the body of believers that I am a part of and my decisions are not just my own. That should open the doors for a lot of discussion and meditation on life!

Paul was talking about the issues of his day, what are the issues of our day this principle could be applied to?

What is Paul’s motivating factor that he states in this text for considering other people this much?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Memory Verse: 'The last enemy to be destroyed is death. '

1 Corinthians 15:26

Sermon Sentence: To discover what you are called to do in following Jesus, you should consider the local church and its work around you.  

Read 1 Corinthians 3:1-9
When you read this passage, you can get offended at what Paul is trying to say.  It all depends on how you hear it.  No one likes to be called immature.  This could easily become a situation of an outsider that is writing something offensive to a group of people that do not have any room for what is being said.  Paul is relying on his reputation with the church at Corinth to give him room to make his point.  

Paul’s point is that actions tend to illustrate where someone is really at in life.  If you want to know what is really going on inside a person, you have only to watch how they live.  Therefore, Paul’s point is not just to call out the church and call them immature for no reason, but he states that their immaturity is showing through in that they are acting jealous and are full of strife.  Paul is stating this to explain why he can’t spend too much time digging deep into the philosophical wisdom unfoldings because they need to be told to just knock it off.  Why go deeper when you have not received the part that you were presented in the first place?  

I wonder how much we tend to miss the easy parts because we are expecting the more deep and difficult teachings?  As we function in ways that are clearly not what reflects the gospel’s heart, it shows that we are needing to think through the basics of the Gospel.  For me personally, I often find myself wanting to unpack the deepest and “new” thing in God’s word, and tend to skip over and ignore the basic easy part.  Most of the time as I am skipping over it, the truth is I am avoiding what I have been convicted about for quite a while.

How do you see versions of jealousy and strife in your life?

What is it about  the gospel of Jesus that gives an answer to those struggles?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read 2 Corinthians 5
As a group of us were studying through 1 Corinthians and talking about the ideas for this particular sermon.  Someone pointed out 2 Corinthians 5 and the fact that it talks about God’s building just like 1 Corinthians 3 does.  The same dude that wrote that letter wrote 2 Corinthians, I know you that you know that.   Also it was written, obviously, to the same people at a later time.  So I think it is safe to connect the ideas together here.  

The Gospel of John starts by declaring that God’s word has come to “tabernacle” among us.  I heard an author recently talk about how you could change one word of the sequence of John 1 and you would have the thesis statement that could easily apply to Exodus.  The whole point of Exodus is that God is telling his people how to live life in community with Him, to “tabernacle” or dwell with them.  The point of John’s opening is that Jesus was the fulfillment of those rules that made that possible.  So Jesus was the “Law” in flesh.  Jesus was God “tabernacling” among us.  Now Paul has this analogy going a bit further as he explains that the church is the “tabernacling” of God’s people among themselves with God.  This is why the plural of “you” is to be considered important in the passages that we are looking at.  That is why the destruction of this “tent” which is the word Paul uses to talk about the human body, we are not “homeless” at the moment we are absent from our “tents” because even in that moment we are swallowed up in “life.” That is a lot of really deep stuff worth thinking about!

How do you connect the ideas of the building of God as it refers to the church in 1 Corinthians 3:9 and here as it refers to the individual here?

What does Paul mean when he says that the “mortal will be swallowed up in life?”


How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read 2 Corinthians 6
I love to read what Paul thinks about what he is doing in ministry throughout his letters.  Part of me reads it in the context of the Bible and thinks it is really cool to see how bold and direct he was in what he was saying.  The other part of me wants to know what it would be like to be around someone like this in real life that talked this way!  Could you imagine?!  Could you listen to a guy that was this bold and particular in what he was saying about what he was doing?  It surely would feel like it came across as arrogant if you did not know him that well.  When I was reading this chapter, that is what hit me.  Paul starts out talking about how his work is a work with the Lord.  I know that in our sermon from Sunday we talked about how we are God’s fellow workers, so after dealing with the initial recoil at the idea of how bold that is, I know I need to consider that, but how many times have we heard someone use God as a cloak for a selfish or nefarious ending?  That makes me feel the need to hit that pause button on Paul as he is talking like this.

But that is not always the case.  That is not the only thing that happens.  If God is doing what He says He is doing so many times in his Word, and we are invited into that work, then surely we can be this level of bold on some things we are saying?  When I start to process and think through that truth, that is when I am invited into the picture in this passage.  We are being built into a temple of God, a dwelling place of His.  How incredible is that?!  We….as individuals, but then also as a collection of believers together.  This is a different way of thinking about who I am and who you are and how we relate to each other and what our work in the world is!

What parts of this chapter surprise you?

How would you explain the ideas and teachings to someone that is new to following God?

What do you need to learn from this chapter today?

How does this become your prayer today?

Read 1 Peter 2:1-12

In order to build a building, you need a lot of different types of materials.  The materials that are used and where they are used all depend on the plans for the building, and even on the functions for that part of the building.  We all know this and get it, but the point of bringing it up in light of our text in 1 Corinthians 3 is to illustrate the point Paul wanted to make.  God is building a building.  Don’t forget that the specific language in 1 Corinthians 3:9 is about the plural, or better to be read “all of you.”  Individually, I think the analogy works that we are being built as a God-building…but better in the context here is the idea that all of us are being made into a God-building.  This is very much local church language.  The church, the people of God, are to be considered the building of God that is being built up.  The construction work is for the purpose of function and worship.  

Peter picks up this idea in this passage also.  He says, “You all are the living stones that are being used to build the spiritual house.”  That is why the idea of a follower of Jesus without other people doesn’t seem to make much sense.  We, the church, are being built up to be churches among each other, but also with each other.  The goal and purpose of the church is to worship God and offer sacrifices and that is done through living the life that we are called to live through and by Jesus Christ, the first cornerstone of the building that everything else should be built off.  

How does this analogy of what God is doing differ from the way you have traditionally, or maybe even the culture around you has traditionally, seen the work of the church?

Based on what you have seen here, what is the reason that you need a local church that you do more than just attend on Sunday worship?

What does this text reveal to you in and about your life today?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read Genesis 2:4-25

I would recommend a really long walk and a deep dive into learning from these verses.  There are a lot of things to understand about how life works, why we are here, and so much more, in this one section.  I am not saying it is laid out in question answer format, but there is something incredibly beautiful in the picture that it paints.  To get there, you can’t just read it and expect to see a movie that shows everything and there is no need to meditate on it and think about it.  It is way more full than that!  

For instance, notice the order of things.  There was no growth of any plants or anything. So am I supposed to be picturing a desert?  Sure.  But the point is that there was no life, no flourishing, nothing moving towards life.  Why was there nothing?  The text says because God had not started His work and there were no humans to do their work.  The text starts with an emptiness that is for the purpose of housing the work of God and humans.  God starts by planting a Garden.  Then he places humans in that Garden to work it and keep it.  There was no Garden until God planted it.  After the Garden was planted, God brought the human into the Garden and tasked them with the work.  God started it, and then humans were given the responsibility to continue what God started.  That is a valuable and important perspective to have on life.  Without the work of God, there is nothingness and barrenness.  When God starts working, there is flourishing and life.  It is from there that we are invited into what God is already doing to manage and maintain the work that God gets the glory from.  What a great way to process life!

How is this thought process different than the one culture presents?

What parts of this order are important to consider in light of what it teaches?

What happens when you get this order and process out of order?  Describe why it matters for it  to be in this order.

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Memory Verse: 'The last enemy to be destroyed is death. '

1 Corinthians 15:26

Sermon Sentence: The resurrection is not something that can be right for some people and wrong for others.

Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-34

A good point in a discussion needs to have some weight behind it.  In this chapter, Paul’s approach takes on some weight to it.  He moves away from his traditional way of just teaching a point and then expecting them to just learn from it, to a way of discussing something that looks like he is on the defensive and shutting down some sort of argument against the idea.  We understand that Paul has been questioned about the validity of the resurrection.  So his goal here is to defend that teaching, but then show how it is a core teaching that can’t be compromised.  There is way too much at stake for that!

He starts with explaining to them that this is the gospel.  It is not part of the gospel…this IS the gospel.  If you take this part of the teaching away, you lose too much!  He reminds them that this is the very thing he preached to them.  After he preached it, they received it.  They agreed with him in this way of teaching.  Notice that he does not allow room for them to be a part of this whole church thing without this piece. Maybe it is easier said this way: there is no following Jesus with the resurrection.  He also tells them the resurrection determines where they stand currently.  If you have been saved, then you are saved right now.  But you have to accept the resurrection part for right now.  The last thing he states is that the resurrection is what will be saving them in the future.  To sum it all up, Paul makes the argument that if you are saved, are being saved, and will be saved in the future, you have to believe in the resurrection.

Why do you think this is a core part of the teaching of the Gospel?

Based on what you are seeing here, how would life be more difficult without the belief that the dead can rise?

How do these verses comfort you today?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read 1 Corinthians 15:35-58

As spring approaches, you should really try growing something this year.  It doesn’t have to have a purpose or a point to it, just do it for the joy of life.  There are few things better than just starting each day caring for and searching for new life.  I think it is so fulfilling just to bury a seed and wait and watch for it to poke through the soil and start to turn into some sort of plant.  As you are waiting to see that first sprout, your mind wonders what in the world is happening under the soil.  It is something that is worth the time and effort it takes as you meditate on the incredible way that God has designed life.

That is the analogy that Paul filters everything about life and death through here.  He talks about the death of a seed as it is buried in the ground and the miracle of what we don’t understand begins to happen in a way that we could not explain.  The reason that I think that you should do this as a practice for yourself is because of the incredible chance to spend time meditating on this truth and discovering what it means about you and your life.  There is certainly a mystery that we fear called death and the fear is rooted in the fact that we do not understand or know what we feel we should know and understand.  The thought goes like this: the resurrection would be easier to believe in if we just understood how it works. Give me the blueprint so that I know what to expect.  This is the beginnings of the struggle of faith.  Faith is the belief in something that you have can’t fully know with facts, but you trust with all of your weight.  Think about that for a while, all of this good living and right doing really matters nothing if this is all that there is in life.  Sure, it is good for humanity, but if humanity is temporary and you are temporary, then who really cares?  Get what you deserve and gather all you can!  But that is not the promise of the life that we live.  We have faith in something far greater than this life and what happens right now. 

How do you think that you would live differently if you believed this world was all that there was?

Imagine someone asked you the question that Paul seems to be answering in this passage: How would you explain the life after death thing to them?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read Ezekiel 37:1-14

If you have reached a time for a midlife crisis, then you will probably remember when Blockbuster went out of business.  There was a day that we had to drive to the video store and there would be this large wall of newly released movies, which is why we were there most of the time.  We wanted to catch a copy of the new movie being released.  The wall always had movie covers so that you could see the graphics and descriptions of the movies, and then back behind these were the clear, plastic, blank cases that would contain a copy available to be rented.  If there was no copy behind the original case, that meant the movie was not available to rent.  Sometimes you could get lucky and ask if anyone had dropped off a rented copy at the front desk and they just had not had time to set it out.  

When Blockbuster went out, I remember wondering how in the world we would be able to see movies now.  It seemed that the era of movies was over and gone.  Looking back on that now, it seems pretty silly to imagine that as an idea that we needed, in light of how many different ways there are to watch a movie now, but then also how that was even a viable idea considering all things from today’s perspective.  

Ezekiel is seeing a lot of dead, dry bones in this passage.  Although he may have known some of the people that had passed on, that is not what he seems to be struggling with in this passage.  Ezekiel is struggling with the death of the whole “house of Israel’ or an entire people group.  It didn’t seem there was a way something like that could end, and then when it did, it didn’t seem there was any hope at all.  But God had a plan and an idea…therefore giving a hope.  It was the word of God that was going to go forward and bring back life.  Death and defeat could not stop the words of God.  There was a proclaimer left and his name was Ezekiel.  And since death had not and could not end what God was about to say, then Ezekiel delivering the message of God was going to work a pretty crazy miracle!

Many popular Christians songs have referenced this story in the last five years.  Does this story apply to you and if so, how?

In verse 14, the Hebrew word for “Spirit” is “ruah”.  It is the same word we saw in Genesis 1 when God breathed on the formed human and he became animated.  As you understand the work of the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 2 from last week, how does this idea carry over to what we experience now with the Holy Spirit?

How does this become your prayer today?

Read Daniel 12

We know about the passages in the New Testament that point to the resurrection of Jesus.  This gives way to some teachings that then use that truth to tell us of our own resurrection from the dead through the work of Jesus.  But many people are not aware of the references in the Old Testament that Jesus points to in Matthew, Mark, and other places.  Also, John uses a few references from the Old Testament in Revelation as well. The passage you just read can be found in Revelation 12:4 and other places in the book as well.  When you think about it, it makes sense that references are made to the Messiah raising from the dead, even though we probably could not call those from memory.  But like this passage in Daniel, the Old Testament followers of God would have also had a belief in the idea of resurrection of the followers of God.  It may not have been as obvious, but think about the incredible faith it would take to believe in this and not have the testimony of Jesus own death, burial and resurrection like we do now.  

What do you think the original readers would have thought about what Daniel was saying when they did not have anything to expound on this teaching other than this text?

Do you think it would have been harder to believe in a resurrection of the believers in Daniel’s day, without Jesus' example?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read John 11:1-45

This is a great story.  I could spend a lot of time writing about this story and the application of it.  But I encourage you to sit and spend some time with these truths.  Easter is over.  That was last week.  And it would be foolish to leave it as “last week" and think about things that we associate with mattering today at the expense of moving past the idea of the resurrection.  Here is my suggestion:

After reading this passage, go to Youtube and look up the song “Come Out Lazarus” by Steven McWhirter. Maybe listen to it a few times.  Then spend some time in prayer.

https://youtu.be/hw5T2NvbSnI?si=k0nHTE7dkGfsknOO

How does this become your prayer today?

Memory Verse:  ' Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. '

Psalm 51:10

Sermon Sentence: One of the most incredible truths about God is that He desires to reveal everything to us and does not long to keep anything from us.

Read 1 Corinthians 1:10-31
The people in Corinth had been trained a certain way by the culture they lived in.  There is no way to really get around this, there is only hope to minimize it as much as possible.  The problems that it creates looks different in each of the places that you see it.  For Paul and the church at Corinth, it looked somewhat similar to hero worship.  Everyone had a favorite teacher or preacher.  Apollos was known for his ability to meticulously and intelligently lay out the lesson in front of a crowd.  He shows up for the first time in Acts 18:24 and it mentions his intelligence and gift with the word of God.  That is a really fantastic gift to have in a church.

The problem is not the gift, it is what people turned it into.  Paul did not see himself in that way or with that gift.  He was pretty clear about what he thought his mission in ministry should be.  The problem is that Paul is respected as Paul and Apollos is respected as Apollos, until people start to discuss their preferences. For Paul (and we don’t get Apollos’ view on this), the goal was simple, preaching and teaching the gospel.  For the people at Corinth, they had turned it into a version of entertainment making it about themselves more than about the gospel.  When preferences take the place of goals, there will always be the result of divisions.  Don’t be fooled into thinking it is as easy to navigate as that formula lays out.  Because there will always be flowery language that will be good at hiding the true intentions.  The argument in Corinth was not Paul or Apollos, it was way more complicated than that, but when it was boiled down to its root, that’s all that was at the heart of it.  

How do you see other versions of this show up in the church in America?  (preferences over goal)

What exactly do you see Paul as thinking his role in the church is?

How can you know specifically what your call in the body of Christ is?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read Ephesians 1
I know that Paul makes the argument against his ability to wow a crowd with words in 1 Corinthians, but this chapter is pretty amazing when you spend some time thinking about it!  Again in this letter, he starts out with declaring his calling and his confidence in that.  I appreciate that Paul was a guy that knew who he was.  When he arrived at that idea, it was not a generic, cookie-cutter answer that the rest of culture would give, he was very clear about his specific call and purpose.  From my perspective, again, I would say that I struggle understanding what Paul is saying as a good way to minister to people, but I certainly do think that he has an overwhelming amount of proof on his side!

Notice how he shifts from his purpose and call to, starting in verse 15, declaring that this is why he wants the church at Corinth to know and understand their purpose and call.  Paul is using his assurance and gifts to lead others to seeing their value and place in the body of Christ.  Did you notice what the greatest part of that revelation is to Paul?  It’s the gift of the Spirit to be able to understand that call and your place in the body of Christ.  

How have you seen the gift of the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in your life over the last year?

What do you think it looks like to have the “eyes of your heart enlightened?”

What is Paul talking about when he mentions the “riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints?”

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read 1 Corinthians 2:1-16
I was watching a video on Youtube the other day about something that I was interested in.  I have always been interested in this topic and I have spent a bit of time researching and learning the topic.  This video featured two people.  One was a tour guide that had the job of taking someone through the prepared ideas that were learned in their training.  The other person was an engineer that was involved in building the place that was being toured.  The tour guide was helpful and had a great presentation, but the engineer knew a lot more and was way more interested, invested, and passionate about what was being presented.  Have you ever spent time with an expert and tried to learn from them? 

That is what this passage makes me think about.  I watched another video of a Universalist Unitarian that “pastored” a church of that certain belief.  If you don’t know, they basically believe that everyone gets to a heaven or a place that is like that through all the religions.  So they basically take all of the good parts of the different ideas and spend time talking about that in their “worship” service.  That sounds dumb.  That sounds shallow.  There has to be more of an answer than just “Everyone is right!”  Paul describes a wisdom that can reveal to us the mind of God!  And you and I have access to this understanding.  This wisdom has access to God’s thoughts and desires to share those thoughts with us.  Paul is describing the work of the Holy Spirit, who reveals to us the mind of God.  Can you process that!? God doesn’t want to hide His thoughts, will, and plans from you…but wants them to be known.  So much so that He gave us access to His thoughts in the work of the Holy Spirit.  

Why do you think that churches do not talk about this work of the Holy Spirit very much?

How have you experienced being shown the mind of God recently?

What does it look like to share this wisdom with other people in your life according to verse 13?

How does this become your prayer today?

Read Philippians 2:1-11
This week we are talking about our access to the mind of God through the work of the Holy Spirit.  That’s a really incredible thought.  I hope you have enjoyed spending time even thinking about that.  But when it comes to real life application, that thought needs another step.  Most of us are not wrestling with what the Creator of the world is thinking about, but rather how in the world we can deal with the situation right in front of us.  It would be really nice if we had some access to how to live out the very thing facing us in this moment.  

If we go back to our expert idea for yesterday, I have another example to think through this.  Recently, I was doing a side job.  This side job had some dangerous aspects to it and I had learned by watching a video and reading a document explaining the job.  It was great information and certainly helpful with all of the videos and pictures that were provided to go along with the words.  It was even helpful to know that these instructions were written by someone that was considered an expert in the field.  But I was still a bit concerned about safety issues when it came to me actually gambling my life on the line.  So I called an expert of my own and asked him to meet me at a site and walk me through the dangerous parts, showing me in person what was actually dangerous and what wasn’t.  It was way more reassuring and comforting to experience that with someone than just reading something or watching someone.  

That’s a great example of what it means to follow Jesus.  God does not just write us how to do it, or even tell us a story about someone else that did it, but rather Jesus lived like we did, tempted in all ways as we are, and yet without sin.  He is the expert with all of the knowledge, understanding, and best of all, example.

How does it help you to know that Jesus had this mind and lived the example of what it looks like to have this mind?

When you explain this upside down way of approaching life, it doesn’t appear to make since in the world’s logic.  How do you argue against that logic to share the real benefit in living like this?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read Psalm 139

One of the points from the sermon on Sunday was “that the Spirit searches everything.”  Included in the “everything” idea is the inclusion of everyone.  I don’t necessarily need to continue the math formula as if you don’t already get it, but included in everyone is me.  One of the works of the Spirit is a searching of the innermost being of my thoughts and intents.  That is a scary thought for some people.  But I think it does better as a comforting thought.  

Have you ever heard an opinion of someone that you didn’t really agree with?  What I mean is that someone that doesn’t really know a person shares a thought about that person, but you happen to know them better and you are aware that what is being told to you in that moment is not entirely accurate.  That person is misunderstood or the situation is more nuanced than it was just presented.  This is the part that I glean from the idea of the Spirit being able to search the very thoughts and intents of my heart.  I know that many times those thoughts and intents go astray and get out of focus, but there is a layer in there somewhere that is at least needing to be considered in the context of everything.  

This is a helpful truth.  God knows you.  Not just kind of knows you and not just sometimes gets you, I mean He truly and more fully than anyone else, knows you.  He searches the very depths and intricate parts of who you are and understands you.  This means He won’t get it wrong, as if anything has surprised Him or changed His understanding of you.  God, through the work of the Spirit in you, truly KNOWS you.

Why do you think this idea frightens some people?

How would you tell someone who feared this idea how it could be encouraging?

Look at verse 5 and spend some time meditating/thinking about what this means.

How does this become your prayer today?

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 8:12 

The Master Plan of Evangelism
Chapter 3: Consecration

In what ways did God speak you this week?

Was there anything in these chapters that stood out to you or you struggled with?

What did you take away from Chapter 3 of The Master Plan of Evangelism? 

But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

 John 4:14 

The Master Plan of Evangelism
Chapter 2: Association

In what way did God speak to you this week?

What stood out to you in these chapters of John?

What are a few things that you took away from Chapter 2 of The Master Plan of Evangelism?

A struggle that I personally have, that keeps a distance between God and I is… 

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

The Master Plan of Evangelism
Chapter 1: Selection

In what way did God speak to you this week?

 What stood out to you in these chapters of John?

What are a few things that you took away from Chapter 1 of The Master Plan of Evangelism?

What are you personally trying to accomplish through this group?

Memory Verse:  ' Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. '

Psalm 51:10

Sermon Sentence: You have a calling on your life and you are equipped for that calling by God.

Pastor Nate:  For me personally, when I started being a part of D-Groups, it frustrated me that they were so successful and that the people attending them were raving so much about how they had helped them.  When I asked Brandon Miller, the coordinator of D-Groups, why they seemed so much more impactful than our regular groups that I had just spent years trying to get people to attend, he had a theory.  He said, “In Groups, we come to the table and hope to get something.  In D-Groups, we are preparing all week and show up at that table with something to give also.”  I think that statement is the key to taking Keystone Church to where it needs to be to make disciples effectively for generations to come.

One of the keys to the differences in D-Groups is how we read the Bible.  Brandon’s system of assigned reading has us reading only 3 chapters a week.  Each chapter is read three times in one day. So Monday would be chapter 1, but three times, Tuesday would be chapter 2, but three times, and Wednesday would be chapter 3, but three times.  Then on Thursday through Saturday, we would read chapters 1, 2, and 3 once.   I have heard many people talk about the benefit that this brings to being able to understand a passage.  For me, the first time gets my mind to wake up to what I am reading and I don’t get much out of the first pass.  The second time, I slow down and process it a bit better.  Then the third time, I seem to find things I didn’t see any of the other times I read it.  

I want to show you how beneficial this system of reading is as we kick off this sermon series in 1 Corinthians.  So this week, we will be reading the first 3 chapters of 1 Corinthians in this method.  We will return to the format we usually use next week, but this is a way I can introduce you to what it is like to be a part of D-Groups.  This is just one of the reasons these groups have helped so many people recently!

Read 1 Corinthians 1 three times.

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read 1 Corinthians 2 three times.

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read 1 Corinthians 3 three times.

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read 1 Corinthians 1-3 one time.

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read 1 Corinthians 1-3 one time.

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Memory Verse:  ' Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. '

Psalm 51:10

Sermon Sentence: The local church is God’s plan A for His disciples and there is no plan B.

Read 1 Corinthians 1:1-17

Paul had an interesting role with churches that he was a part of.  He had a respect that commanded attention and a friendship that allowed many different types of approaches to be accepted.  I am sure he had many friends in the churches, and you can reach that conclusion by reading the letters that he wrote to the churches.  In 1 Corinthians, Paul is addressing a specific problem, the church.  Not just some of the church, he doesn’t seem pleased with a lot of the church.  He calls out certain people and does not seem to shy away from giving praise where it is due and criticism where it is needed.  

This week, I want to open our new series of sermons up with a journey through the idea of how Paul addressed churches.  We will do this by reading the opening chapter of 5 different letters that he wrote.  Some of them were letters meant to be good and encouraging in their approach.  Galatians and 1 Corinthians do not seem to be easy letters of pleasantries, but rather strong direct rebukes of very important things.  

Try to pretend that you are there that Sunday that your pastor opens up the letter that Paul has sent to the church.  Try to imagine what it was like to respect this man and his teachings, but then also know that this could go either really good or really bad.  Try to imagine that you are there hearing this read out loud to the congregation.  See if you can tell where he is going by the way that he starts the letter.

If the church at Corinth had so many bad problems, why do you think Paul starts the letter out like this?

How would you have approached a dysfunctional church if you were tasked with calling them out for the debauchery and disunity?

What do you think the backstory is about Chloe and her people?

What do you take away for your life personally in this opening?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read Galatians 1:1-24
 Corinth was wrought with problems of people that were sexually distorted in life and way off base with the actions of unity in the church, setting up a hierarchy of preference for more well off people.  The problems seem to stink to high heavens!  Galatia was a different animal altogether.  It was a seemingly well-behaved orderly church, but they were messing up some key things in their teachings.  They were accused of changing the gospel. 

If I were to read verse 6 without the reference of where it came from, I would bet you anything it was written to the church at Corinth to answer their problems.  But it wasn’t.  It was written to Galatia to handle its issues.  The strong language makes you realize that Paul is pretty serious about doctrine and the specifics of the gospel.  That doesn’t mean he is light on behavior…but that misbehavior needs a different approach than bad doctrine.  

Notice that Paul starts with getting right to the problem at hand and then he explains to them his authority to be able to address such a thing.  In 1 Corinthians, it was the opposite: He addressed the authority he had to speak to what they needed to hear, then he addressed the issues after encouraging them in who they are.  This letter seems to be more direct and angry in its first approach.

Why do you think Paul was adamantly harping on his testimony and call to these churches in Galatia?  Do you think they were questioning his place there, that he felt they didn’t know, or some other reason?

In the other to the church at Corinth, it seems like they would have an idea of what was coming.  Do you think this letter surprised people more than the one to Corinth, when it was read out loud?

How do you see the dangers Paul addressed here around you?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read Ephesians 1:1-23
Now you surely get the many different tones that Paul can take, right?  He comes in so lovingly and soft in this letter, encouraging the readers with an over abundance of teaching and explaining the Gospel.  Maybe they were not as established as the other churches, or maybe they just didn’t have as many problems sitting out in the open that needed to be addressed.  Either way, this is certainly a different tone and feeling to start this letter.  

How does this become your prayer today?

Read 2 Corinthians 1:1-24

The next time that Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, it felt a lot different.  It almost feels like he is checking in with them.  Reading verse 8 makes me think that there were a few things that started to get around and people were hearing that Paul had found himself going through some difficult persecutions and legal troubles.  So he was writing them to let them know why he had not shown up like he said he would before and what has been going on.  

That is an interesting thing to consider: he wanted to visit them.  After the first letter (as you will see in studying it further in this series) it doesn’t seem like it would be the type of place that Paul would want to visit, let alone feel overly welcome in a visit!  Maybe the word has gotten back to Paul that things were looking better and some changes had happened, maybe Paul was too distracted by what he had going on to be too tough on them?  

You will also notice that his writing partner from 1 Corinthians, Sosethenes, is not there this time.  He uses plural group words to talk about himself and those with him, but in the introduction, we do not get much about who these people are.  As I am reading this introduction, I notice that if Paul is going through a tough time and has experienced persecution and great trouble, he does not use it as a chance to merit himself some sympathy, but rather as leverage to share the gospel again, and to encourage the readers using himself as an example.

When you go through difficult times, do you tend to use it as a moment to talk about what you have going on, or as a chance to encourage and lift others up?

What would this sort of thing look like in your life right now?

What are some relationships that you could encourage the other person through your circumstances?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read Philippians 1:1-30
Paul and Timothy team up to write this letter to the church at Philippi.  If you don’t know, Timothy was a seemingly younger pastor that Paul was training in ministry and in many different places.  We have a couple of letters that would later be written by Paul to Timothy that we get to read as well.  In this letter, Paul starts out thanking the people of Philippi for being partners in ministry with him.  Paul seemed to have a specific view of those that had become established in the churches that he worked with as being partners on the same mission as himself.  He invited them into the family that would be needed to make all of this stuff work.  

Here again, Paul is writing to do what looks like an update about the stories that were starting to circulate about the difficult circumstances that he was finding himself in.  The ministry was going well in all of the places that he had gone, but he was also going to address the fact that they had probably heard about some pretty difficult situations that he was in.  As for all of that, they were to just realize that those struggles are for the purpose of advancing the gospel.  

That really is an interesting take, is it not?  Paul had been arrested in quite a few situations that merited a false judgement and although hindsight leaves us with the 30,000 ft. view, it was probably pretty hard, in real time, to distinguish what was the good flowing out of Paul’s work. Paul was constantly reminding his readers of the reality that his struggles and hard times were not what had set back and derailed what he was called to do, but rather, much like Jesus' crucifixion, were being used to God’s advantage and not the way they looked in real time. 

If you were writing a letter to the church at Philippi, and wanted to give a similar report about how God is using your struggles to advance the gospel, what would you say?

Why do we spend more time complaining about what has happened to us rather than how God has used what has happened to us to further the gospel?

How do you make the change to Paul’s perspective in life?

How does this become your prayer today?

Memory Verse:  Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, 2 Corinthians 6:17

Sermon Sentence: Spiritual benefits flow from a Christ increased mindset.

Living From Your Resurrection Identity

Scripture: Colossians 3:1–2a
“Since then you have been raised with Christ… set your minds on things that are above…”

Paul begins with a powerful word: since. He does not say try to be raised with Christ, but you have been raised. The Christian life starts not with striving, but with identity.

Many believers still live as if their past defines them — past failures, regrets, wounds, or labels placed on them by others. But Paul teaches that when Christ increases in your thinking, your identity shifts from what happened to you to what Christ has done for you.

A mind settled on Christ stabilizes the heart. When your identity comes from resurrection truth, your emotions no longer swing with circumstances or opinions. You live from who you already are in Him.

Christ-Increased Living means:
You don’t fight for identity — you live from it.

Reflection Questions

What do I most often use to define myself — my past, my performance, or Christ?

Where do I feel spiritually unstable right now? Could it be tied to identity confusion?

What would change this week if I truly believed I was raised with Christ?

Prayer Focus:
Lord, settle my mind on who I am in You, not on what I’ve been through.

Freedom From Earthly Control

Scripture: Colossians 3:2b
“…not on things that are on earth.”

Paul is not saying earthly life is irrelevant. He’s saying earthly things must not rule your heart.

Earthly control shows up in subtle ways:

Living for approval

Measuring worth by productivity

Seeking security in money or success

Letting hardship dictate your peace

When Christ increases in your focus, these forces lose their grip. You still work, plan, and live responsibly — but they no longer define your emotional state.

Christ-centered thinking loosens the chains of pressure. What once felt ultimate becomes temporary. What once felt threatening becomes manageable.

Christ-Increased Living means: Earthly realities inform you — they don’t rule you.

Reflection Questions

What earthly pressure most affects my peace right now?

Do I react more strongly to people’s opinions or Christ’s truth?

What would emotional freedom look like in this season?

Prayer Focus:
Jesus, help me live on earth without letting earth live inside my heart.

Hidden but Secure

Scripture: Colossians 3:3
“For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

This is one of the deepest security statements in Scripture.

Your life is:

Hidden — protected from ultimate harm

With Christ — inseparable from Him

In God — secured in the highest authority

This means your true life cannot be stolen by failure, criticism, illness, loss, or obscurity.

When Christ increases in your mind:

Anxiety loosens

Performance pressure fades

Fear of outcomes weakens

Security doesn’t come from controlling life — it comes from trusting where your life is kept.

Christ-Increased Living means: You stop trying to secure what God already holds.

Reflection Questions

Where do I feel most insecure right now?

Am I trying to control something God is asking me to trust Him with?

What would change if I truly believed my life is hidden in Christ?

Prayer Focus:
Father, remind me today that my life is safe in You.

Purpose That Shapes Daily Decisions

Scripture: Colossians 3:1
“Seek the things that are above, where Christ is…”

When your mind is fixed on Christ, purpose becomes clearer.

Instead of asking: 

“What do I feel like doing?” “What benefits me most?” 

You begin asking:

“What reflects Christ’s reign?” “What aligns with eternity?”

This transforms ordinary life:

Conversations become opportunities for grace, work becomes service to Christ. Choices become worship

Purpose stops being something you chase and becomes something you live.

Christ-Increased Living means: You don’t just make decisions — you reflect a King.

Reflection Questions

What decision in my life right now needs Christ-centered clarity?

Do my daily priorities reflect eternal values or temporary urgency?

How would today look different if I consciously lived under Christ’s reign?

Prayer Focus:
Lord, guide my decisions so my life reflects Your rule.

Anchored in Future Glory

Scripture: Colossians 3:4
“When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”

Paul lifts our eyes to the finish line.

Your present life may feel: Hidden, ordinary, hard, or unnoticed

But this is not the final chapter.

Christ will appear.
Your glory is certain.
Your hidden life will be revealed.

Hope rooted in Christ produces:

Endurance in suffering

Faithfulness in obscurity

Courage in hardship

A Christ-centered mind remembers: God is writing a bigger story than I can see today.

Christ-Increased Living means:
You live today strengthened by tomorrow’s certainty.

Reflection Questions

Where do I feel tempted to lose heart?

How would remembering Christ’s return change my perspective on this trial?

What does it mean practically that Christ is my life, not just part of it?

Prayer Focus:
Jesus, anchor my heart in the certainty of Your coming glory.

Memory Verse: 'Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, '

2 Corinthians 6:17

Sermon Sentence: God is drawing you closer to Him and the best decision you can make today is moving towards Him.

Read Genesis 35:1-15

Jacob lived at home and it was there that he destroyed all of the relationships and opportunities in his family.  When he left there, it seemed that there was disarray of all sorts.  His parents were surely not on good terms.  His brother Esau was certainly not on good terms with his parents.  So he moved to where Laban lived, his father-in-law.  He gets married…more than once, and therefore there seems to be disarray that is left there as well.  He struggles with his father-in-law and their family for years and leaves it in disarray.  Now he has changed.  Remember that.  

When God meets up with him in this current situation, Jacob is in a different place.  I think it is safe to say a much better place. So God says he is to go to Bethel.  Move there.  Get in the U-Haul and move everything and everyone there.  Bethel means the house of God and it is the place that God has already met with Jacob once and as you will see in a later devotion, where God has met with Abraham as well.  The point is in the image, so don’t pass it by quickly.  Jacob needed to move to the place of God.  Jacob and his whole family needed to not just go visit Bethel, but set up their lives there.  It would be one thing to just go visit Bethel and another thing to have a vacation home in Bethel, but what Jacob needed was to move to the place of God and make that the very depth of everything he did. I think that is an image worth spending some time looking at.  

Do you think there is an image that you should see as a metaphor in this text and how would you express what is being said?

How does this apply to your life and what is the takeaway in your life right now?

How does this thought process affect those around you that may not have had the same revelation from God’s word as you?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read  Genesis 35:1-4; Genesis 12:1-8; Joshua 24:19-27

This may seem like a strange mix of reading, but I really do hope that you caught the connection that links these stories together.  You need to have a little bit of knowledge of how the events of the Old Testament happened to follow along, but let me offer some insight here. It all started with Abraham, who was called to leave his home and go where God would show him.  This was the beginning of the faith that trusted God and was used to explain what salvation was.  We see this covenant happening between God and Abraham, under a certain tree that is mentioned and therefore marked as significant in this story.  

By the time we come to the story of Jacob and the change that happened in his life, we get this retelling or revisiting the story in chapter 35 and it is told from the setting that Abraham also started from, that same tree.  Here Jacob buries the household gods that have polluted his home and marks his new life in God by taking his family to a place called Bethel and setting up an altar there, near the tree.  

Eventually, Joshua is entering into that promised land and therefore is taking the people gathered there that day back through the covenant that they need to remember from old.  Wouldn’t you know that the place that happens seems to be an old altar, an old monument, a type of a building that is there and it is known by the Old Oak or Terebinth tree that is right outside of it.  It is the same place that Abraham and Jacob had decided to follow God.  The language of the two moments are strikingly similar.  

(Judges 9 also seems to mention this tree and tell a story, but it is a bit more complicated than the time allotted for this devotion.)

Is there a place that is special for your relationship with God that is solidified in your memory?

What are the pieces of these stories that seem to show up in all three connections that you noticed?

Think back on your legacy of faith in your family, do you see a pattern in the faiths that have followed Jesus lie in these stories?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read Ephesians 5:1-21

Walking wisely is a good thing to think about.  It is not an exact thing, or a formulaic type of thing, but it is found in the meditations and mulling over of the teachings in the Bible.  Unwise walking leads to foolish actions.  That seems to be the perspective that Paul is laying out here in this section.  He uses a lot of the Bible’s chosen imagery in this text: fruit, light, wise walking, etc.  You work through this text and see what you find.

What does Paul mean when he encourages us to not be deceived by “empty words” in verse 6?

How is Paul’s definition of “walking in love” different from our culture’s definition of the same idea?

What are five things that you are thankful for today that you have not thanked God for recently?

How does this become your prayer today?

Read 2 Peter 1:1-15

We are talking about making a lasting and total change in our lives this week.  That is what Jacob did and it is what Peter seems to be explaining in this text here.  This is one of the hundreds of places that we could point to and show that the follower of Jesus lives and thinks differently.  The goal is to bring our hearts and our minds in full accord with our calling and decision to follow Jesus.  

Peter goes through some practical ideas and says that anyone that lacks these qualities, is actually near sighted and missing the whole picture.  Maybe you have experienced vision problems and the adjustments that you make in life when you can not see clearly enough.  Soon, after getting glasses or some sort of other corrective work for your vision, the things that you see become much, much more clear.  You actually don’t fully get the idea of what you have been missing because you have accommodated the handicap in your vision in so many ways.  When it is finally seen, it changes the context of so many things.  That is the idea that Peter seems to be playing off of here.  

How would you explain “spiritual near sightedness” and its effects on a life to someone else?

How have you experienced this and had to course correct this week?

What are the parts of these verses that stand out to you the most?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read Genesis 34:1-31

Danger!  There is not really a moral compass looking to give you direction in this story.  In other words, if you are looking for someone to be like in this story, I am afraid you will be disappointed.  I think everyone seems to be presented in a poor light.  Dinah, the daughter of the one that felt unloved, after meeting the long lost uncle Esau that notoriously ran out to find women that his parents knew were bad news, seems to be on a sort of Rumspringa.  Am I saying this was her fault?  Nice try, but I am only sorting through the logic of the story in front of me!  Hamor was clearly not a good character to hang our moral compass from.  The brothers that step in and do this crazy reaction, although they are heroes from being brothers that stand up for their sister, also leave a lot of innocent deaths in their wake.  That doesn’t seem good.  Then you have Jacob, who does not seem to act as the father that needed to protect his daughter.  The bottom line is that this is a weird story.  It is just here and no one knows what to do with it really.  The closing question does not even get answered and we really don’t know what else happens.  

That tracks with how life seems to go sometimes.  Not everything makes sense and is a picture perfect story that ties up all the loose ends and delivers to us the ever after ending we hoped for.  Sometimes we are left with messes upon messes and no one comes away looking good or wholesome.  Here is my conclusion on the matter: This story is for the rest of the Bible.  It is a piece of context clue that you will need later on when you are reading about the Hivittes and the Canaanites and wondering why in the world there was all of this bad blood and poor relationships.  The goal is not to tell you who’s fault it is, but to remind you of how we get to where we are going.  

What are the reactions that you see in this story from each of the characters that you want to call out?  Why are they right or wrong?

What do you think the point of this story is?  What is the teaching?


How does this become your prayer today?

Memory Verse: 'Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, '

2 Corinthians 6:17

Sermon Sentence: Jacob’s acceptance that he had enough, led him to give away what he was trying to get his whole life.  

Read Genesis 33:1-20

When we first met Jacob, the way the story was told in Genesis, he was clamoring for more from birth.  That narrative is important to build up to this point of the story.  Some would argue that Jacob was a guy that just wanted his fair share.  Some would argue that Jacob was seemingly always out to take all he could from everyone he could.  There does not seem to be a character that Jacob comes across that he did not want to take something from them for himself.  

This Jacob looks remarkably different and sounds incredibly contrary to his old self.  “I have enough.” (verse 11)  Do you wonder what it takes to get to that point in life?!  We all dream of it, especially here in America.  We are geared to always be working in hopes of stockpiling enough for the needs that are maybe coming.  The repeated problem seems to be that we spend so much time stockpiling that we wear out and never get to use what we intended for “one day.”  But to live in a way that we don’t pay attention to the future seems careless in its own rights as well!  We have all of the best intentions for life and helping others, but we see little execution on those ideas.  If we could just know where the line of “enough” is.  Jacob didn’t measure “enough” by an amount, it was a change of heart that happened to him.

What do you see as enough?

How do you get enough?

Why do we struggle daily with if there will be enough for us?

How do we balance God’s teachings on this?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read 1 Timothy 6:1-10

The argument that Paul is making here has the tendency to move around quite a bit.  In the sermon, we lifted verses 6-8 to discuss contentment with godliness.  The context of the verse is greater than that, although it is not thought that those verses alone don’t do well to make a point by themselves.  So let’s consider the context.  Paul is writing about the behavior of those who follow Jesus.  His argument is always that this changes every part of life, not just church life.  So in this section, he is talking about a follower of Jesus that works for another follower of Jesus.  In verse 2, he makes the argument that the fact that you are both followers of Jesus means that you serve that boss in a way that is even more considerate of your relationship with Jesus.  There is more responsibility to live above bar with those that believe like you do. 

Then he begins to tell the story of a type of person that uses their godliness as a means to gain from other people.  Have you met anyone like this?  They do it in manipulation and arguments of small language changes and so on.  The result is a life that is lived nothing like it seems that Jesus was calling us to.  Usually this is covered up with the assumption that there is an obligation not to oust a person for these things because it would do great damage to the cause of Christ.  Paul is telling us this is foolish.  Godliness with contentment is a great gain.  Those that try to make godly things a way to manipulate people and gain things in life, are to be avoided.  This is a devotion, so I will stop this reflection here, because we could certainly go for a long time on this!

How have you seen someone struggling with a version of what Paul is describing here?

How do you handle a situation like this in a church or in the Christian life in general?

Where have you struggled with this in your life?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read James 4:1-10

I feel this part of James could have been pretty helpful to Jacob at some point in his life.  Maybe James could have met up with him right after he ran away from home to escape his brother Esau, and had a cup of coffee with him to explain this to him.  Or maybe it would have been a good conversation to have after the birth of a few kids when his wives were vying for position and attention.  Or maybe when the relationship with Laban finally fell apart, there would have been enough background to fully paint the picture of the fact that everywhere he went, there seemed to be conflict compounding in all directions.  Have you ever met someone like that?  It just feels like every relationship in their life is marked by conflict and struggle, but they don’t seem to see the common thread.

Seeing our hidden motives deep down inside our good intentions is really a tough thing to do, because it takes the most amount of humility to get there first.  There are people that read their Bibles and go to church, but they never seem to get it.  It is not because they can’t understand it or are too stupid, please don’t fall into that way of seeing them. It is because there is no way to truly reflect without being incredibly vulnerable, and that is uncomfortable and we will approach it kicking and screaming until we are ready to be broken by what God reveals.  True repentance happens when we finally see what is actually happening when the lies we have believed are set aside and the truth shines the real light on our hearts.  

Where do you see this passage speaking to you today?

How do you want to respond to what God is revealing and how do you choose to respond?

What are ways you have asked God for something but deep down the intention was to spend it on yourself?

How does this become your prayer today?

Read Romans 14:1-10

'For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. '

Again, when we brought this up in the sermon, we lifted it from its context.  So the goal here will be to take it back to its context so that we can better and more fully understand what is being said.  In the sermon, we looked at it as a reminder that our lives are not something we can selfishly keep as for ourselves and about only ourselves.  There is no way to follow Jesus and live like that.  Jesus did not live like that for Himself, but rather lived his life as a sacrifice for other people.  His intention was not preservation above all else, but rather it was to bring about salvation for everyone who would come to Him.  In this section, Paul is making that point as you continue to read.  His reason for pointing this out is more about enduring the struggles of the weaker, more immature followers of Jesus.  He is not excusing blatant and rampant sin, but he is allowing room for a person that is still learning and working through what the teachings of Jesus are.  He encourages people to endure the struggle of having different beliefs such as what day should be holy and what foods should be eaten in a religious argument.  The way you approach this is by not engaging in the argument, not stepping into the traps that could land the relationship into nothing more than a constant battle over words and ideas, but rather to live in a way that you serve each other, even with the disagreements.  

In many other places in the Bible, we are encouraged to correct false teaching and to rebuke false teachers.  This section, therefore, sets up a tough text to interpret and work through that should be reflected on.  The teaching that we are to live in service to everyone because of the gospel, is a very strong and sure teaching that Paul offers up.  The question of the details of what other people believe that is different from us, that becomes a difficult thing to navigate that should not be taken lightly.  The overall teaching is that the motivation for the way we treat others is found in the example of Jesus.  
How does this become part of your prayer today?

Do you have an example of when you wrestled with a belief that was different from yours and how to approach the person that believed that?

Many, many times, when we are interpreting something like this, we will air on the side of what we declare is loving.  But please remember, there are many things in the culture that we live in that are argued as not really clear in the Bible because of “interpretation” but really are very clear when you actually read it.  Can you think of some examples of this?

The Bible says that if we ask for wisdom, God has plenty to go around. It is strongly encouraged that you actually search the Bible and not just listen to YouTubers or popular heads that share their opinions.  Search the Bible yourself and actually read what is written there.  Take the time to wrestle with the tough things in the Bible.  Sit with people you really respect as Bible teachers and readers and listen to them, rather than trusting a document or a video because it is popular.  

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read Psalm  34

Let me work myself out of a bit of criticism about something meaningless.  I struggle with appreciating the Christian music world for a few reasons.  Uh-oh…but before you struggle with me, let me explain.  There is a lot of music out there.  Especially in this modern time, there seems to be an over abundant amount of ability and mediums for making music and putting it out in the world.  But there seems to be a lack of originality in that hurried and crowded process.  The way I see it, there is a phrase or an idea that someone will put in the lyrics of a song, and within a year or two there are 5-6 more songs recycling that same idea over and over again.  Another way to say it is that I struggle with the lack of depth in the lyrics today.  

Now that I have said that, let me explain what that says about me.  I struggle with my lack of creativity in expressing praise to God as well.  I feel that I get caught in one dimensional thoughts that are repetitive and not truly worked through or dwelled on.  When I go to the Psalms and read, I get this conviction about the depth that David (who wrote most of these Psalms) clearly had when he meditated on the attributes of God.  I feel my time with Youtube videos and busyness so much that I never let my mind dwell on the expanding goodness of God and who He is.  Worship is built in the heart through the true thankfulness that is drawn out of dwelling on who God is and what He has done.  Stop for a little bit and really get detailed about why God is good.

In this Psalm, what stands out to you in your current situation?

Name some ways that God has been good.

Work out some attributes of God that are hardly ever talked about that you notice from this last week.  

How does this become your prayer today?

Memory Verse:  'Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” '
Joshua 1:9

Sermon Sentence: You can see the face of God.

Read Genesis 33:1-20

Here is the trap that I find myself in often. I want the conclusion of the story.  Are you the type of person that reads the pages near the end, so that you can get a glimpse of where this book is going?  I have been guilty of that.  The problem becomes that when I do that, I lose interest in the journey and give up on the book.  It annoys me to know what I desire so much, to know the ending!  Now that is totally messed up, I get it.  But at the end of this story, the Jacob story, I really hope you don’t just check out.  This is how it ends, but please keep wrestling with it.  There is SO much value in this 33rd chapter that we will be here for a couple of weeks.  You will read it many times in the devotions. If you are at the Manner on Wednesday night (as a man), you will hear it again.  The reason for that is because I hope you draw something more than just the first pass from it.  

When Jacob wrestled with Jesus, he had his name changed.  That meant something very important and that moment was a big moment.  But that moment was not only about that moment.  That was not the ride off into the sunset moment.  There was still more story to be told.  Now that Jacob has been changed, what will that change look like when he faces his demons from the past and the conflicts he has always run from?  How will Israel live differently with Esau than Jacob did?  Jacob could claim to be Israel for as long as he wanted to, but what really mattered was how he showed the rest of the world how he was Israel now.

What do you think that Jacob means in verse 10 when he says that seeing Esau’s face is like seeing the face of God?

How do you think that Matthew 5:8 also speaks to this idea?

How have you seen the face of God in this metaphorical sense?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read Luke 15:11-32
Jesus is the best teacher of the Old Testament I have ever read about.  I love to listen to and unpack teachings from the Bible and spend most of my days doing that in the privilege that I have in being a pastor.  I think I would probably even say that when it comes to creative consideration, I enjoy the Old Testaments story telling, metaphor hidden, approach to truth rather than the New Testaments approach of just saying the thing.  That is nothing more than a statement about how I prefer to be taught and how I learn.  I study both.  I read both…and daily.  Therefore, I am aware that Jesus is in the New Testament. So there is no need to correct what I said in the first line here.  Jesus was in the New Testament and he also was fully aware of what we call the Old Testament.  He was a Masterful teacher of the Old Testament and you will find yourself aiming at an endless goal if you were to try and pin down all of the many places that Jesus tries to teach us something in the Old Testament.  

This story contains a hidden gem of that variety.  There is really no denying that He is drawing from our story in Genesis 33 when He tells this story.  His is a story about a sibling rivalry.  His is a story about a brother that leaves in a very dishonorable way.  His is a story of that same brother scared to return to what he left behind.  His is a story of the brother returning to see the face of his father, who clearly plays the part of God.  This has all of the same flavors and elements of the Jacob story.  Then you have to unpack the exact phrase that Jesus used when both parties returning home, “Runs, falls on their neck, and kisses..” the other party.  This language is on purpose.  It is a story about returning to a broken relationship.  That is compared to a story about returning to the father.  Love God…love other people.  This is what Jesus said sums up the whole Bible.  

Why do you think it is valuable to compare these two stories?  Or why not?

Do you see the connection the Bible makes between being reconciled with those we have wronged and our relationship with God?  

What is the point of Jesus adding the part about the disgruntled brother that was always home in His story?

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read 2 Corinthians 5:11-21
One of the most appealing arguments for living out the truths of God is the one made over and over again that goes like this:

1. Do this thing.
2. Jesus did this greater thing.
3. Therefore you should live like this.

That is the formula of attack in this passage here.  Paul is writing to the church at Corinth and calling for their lives to be a certain way.  He is calling for their relationships to be a certain way.  Basically, he is saying, bring people close.  Paul seems to feel the reader flinch at those words, so he pivots by telling them about the time that we were hostile to God and as He brought us closer, we were won over by His love and compassion when it was not deserved.  He then uses that to launch into an explanation of our lives that includes a call to be ministers of reconciliation.  Or sharers of the ministry of reconciliation.  To reconcile means to bring back together.  The gospel is about hostile people that are brought into love to experience a reconciliation.  In order to be that, you have to become new.  That is what happened to Jacob.  It is what happened to us. And since it happened to us, we are now ambassadors of that idea.  

What does verse 21 mean in the way you would explain it to a person new to the Bible?

How do you see yourself as a carrier of the ministry of reconciliation?

What does it mean to be “a new creation” according to what Paul is teaching here?

How does this become your prayer today?

Read Exodus 33:12-23

Moses just needed to get away from everyone.  He had that place just outside of the camp that he would escape to and meet with God.  It was on the outskirts and it was away from everything.  The mountain was crazy.  The town was chaotic.  The tent of meeting was still.  Besides, he had just spent some time raging through the streets of the people rebuking and angry at their complete stupidity and carelessness.  He wanted to be done with them, but he also was willing to save them.  It had to be a strange feeling for sure!  But for now…things were just still and calm in his time with God.  That is when God rejected Moses' offer to die for the people.  That is not how God is going to go forward in this.  So now what?  What WAS God going to do in this situation?  Moses was surely reluctant to poke the situation anymore in that tense moment.  

God’s response finally came after a few moments of worship and prayer.  “It is time for the people to pick up camp and leave.”  That is exactly what Moses was afraid of!  What exactly did God mean?  Why exactly did God say this?  Was there no way back from this sin for the people?  God did not accept Moses’ sacrifice of his own life for the people, so God must be done with them!  Is His back finally turned?  “Lord, if we go…you HAVE to go with us!  I don’t want to go without you….we can’t go without you!”  God’s response was humbling: “I am going with you.”  What kind of a God was this?! Moses wanted to see His face…to see what kind of an expression there was.  But he was only offered to see His glory.  And that…that was the most incredible thing Moses had ever seen!

What do you think Moses saw and felt in that moment?  What actually happened here the way you are reading it?

What is the “glory” of God?  

How would your life change if you got to see a new part of God’s glory today?  

How does this become part of your prayer today?

Read Revelation 22:1-5

There is a promise of seeing the face of God right now.  That is what we have been working through and trying to understand.  God has this way of communicating in His word that we should try to get our hearts around, because it is a constant theme.  The kingdom of God IS here!  The Kingdom of God is coming soon.  Both of these statements are true.  As a follower of Jesus, you are declared righteous right now (Romans 8:1)!   As a follower of Jesus, you are becoming righteous through sanctification.  These dichotomies feels like they can’t both be true, but they are presented as truth. 

You can see the face of God now!  You will one day see the face of God.  The Bible ends on the highest note possible, the reconciliation in complete and total fullness of the very sense of all of the words, of God and His people.  There is not happier ending than the one that is promised, sealed, and guaranteed to us as believers in Jesus!  One day, we WILL FULLY see God face to face, and by all indications and shadows revealed in His word, He will be running toward us with arms wide open!

How does this passage encourage your day today?

Who are two people that need to hear about this message from you this week?  How will you share it with them?

How does this become your prayer today?

Memory Verse:  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

Sermon Sentence: When Christ increases in us, we do not become less—we become who we were always meant to be.

Read: John 3:30; Colossians 1:18


John the Baptist’s statement begins with clarity: “He must increase.” This is not a personal preference but a recognition of divine order. Christ’s increase is not dependent on our success or failure—it is woven into God’s redemptive plan. John understood that history bends toward Jesus being preeminent in all things.

When we resist this order, we often feel anxious, competitive, or threatened. When we embrace it, we find rest. Life becomes less about preserving our influence and more about aligning with God’s purposes.

Ask yourself today: Where am I trying to increase myself instead of allowing Christ to increase in me?

What is a step that can be taken to move toward deeper commitment to put Him first?

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You are worthy of first place in all things. Help me with the help of the Holy Spirit and the truth of Your word to reorder my heart where my desires compete with Your glory. Let my life align with Your divine design. Amen.

Read: John 3:26–29; Proverbs 27:2


John’s disciples were troubled by Jesus’ growing popularity, but John was not. Why? Because his identity was secure. He knew he was a voice, not the Word. Comparison did not unsettle him because calling anchored him.

Insecurity always needs affirmation; security can celebrate replacement. John rejoiced when his role diminished because he trusted God’s plan more than his position.

Today, consider where comparison steals your joy. Contentment grows when we trust that God assigns roles—and changes them—perfectly.

Think about the most recent time you witnessed someone receiving a blessing you believe you deserved? What were your thoughts? How did you respond?


Prayer:
Father, free me from the trap of comparison. Anchor my identity in You, not in visibility or affirmation. Teach me to rejoice when others are elevated for Your glory. Amen.

Read: John 3:29; Philippians 2:17


John says something surprising: “This joy of mine is now complete.” Joy came not from prominence, but from fulfillment. His joy was rooted in obedience, not outcome.

Biblical joy does not depend on staying center stage. It flows from knowing we have faithfully completed what God entrusted to us. Decrease, when embraced in obedience, becomes worship.

Do I equate joy with recognition, or with faithfulness?

Why is faithfulness important?

What might be some reasons recognition feels important?


Prayer:
God, redefine joy in my heart. Help me find contentment not in being seen, but in being faithful. Let obedience, not applause, complete my joy. Amen.

Read: Matthew 6:1–4; Psalm 75:6–7

Decrease often looks like obscurity. John’s ministry did not end—it simply moved out of the spotlight. God frequently deepens us in unseen places, where faith is purified and motives are revealed.

We live in a culture that equates value with visibility. Scripture teaches the opposite: God exalts in His time, and often after seasons of hiddenness.

Today, embrace whatever quiet obedience God has placed before you. He sees it all.


Look for ways to develop contentment without being in the spotlight.

Prayer:
Lord, help me trust You in hidden seasons. When no one notices my faithfulness, remind me that You do. Shape my character in obscurity and teach me patience. Amen.

Read: Galatians 2:20; John 15:4

True decrease is not self-erasure—it is Christ focus. When Christ lives in us, striving lessens and peace grows. Decrease becomes a natural fruit of abiding, not a forced discipline.

As Christ increases within, our need for control, recognition, and self-protection diminishes. We do not become less—we become more aligned with who God designed us to be.

End this week asking not, “How can I decrease?” but “How can I abide more deeply in Christ?”

Take note of the changes you begin to notice in yourself when this is practiced in your daily life.

Prayer:
Jesus, live Your life through me. Let my striving fade as Your presence grows. Increase in my thoughts, my reactions, and my desires. May others see You more clearly because of my life. Amen.