Uncharted Territory, Part 7: From Gospel to Growth
Uncharted Territory, Part 7: From Gospel to Growth This process of sanctification is a life-long process. It’s a life-long journey forward, and at no point in the Christian life can we be stagnant in our faith. And remember that oftentimes with growth, there are growing pains. As Paul said, “It is good that some of us might suffer for the Kingdom.” … So may we all go out from here to preach the gospel, to allow for a response, and…
Uncharted Territory, Part 6: Guided by the Holy Spirit
Uncharted Territory, Part 6: Guided by the Holy Spirit This is what Spirit-empowered disciples do: they share the good news. They witness to the work of Jesus. And this is what Spirit-led churches do: they send out these Spirit-empowered disciples. The question for us today is, are we that kind of a church? Are we those kinds of disciples? … The Holy Spirit guides all of this. Without the Holy Spirit, we are just a gathering of mostly nice people who…
Uncharted Territory, Part 5: From Imprisonment to Freedom
Uncharted Territory, Part 5: From Imprisonment to Freedom What does it mean to us that God is sovereign? It says that if God is sovereign — and I do believe that He is — then it is right for you and me to surrender ourselves to Him. We surrender ourselves to God and we allow Him to do whatever He wishes with us. James surrendered his life to God. Peter surrendered his life. It is no use fighting against a sovereign…
Uncharted Territory, Part 4: From 1st Generation to 2nd Generation
Uncharted Territory, Part 5: From 1st Generation to 2nd Generation My dream for LifeWay is that we become a next-generation church, just like Antioch. … [a church that] says, “I am not afraid to live on the frontier lines of anything as a church, to face the issues of what may come our way. And the only way I’m going to do that is [to be] an authentic follower of Jesus.” Download the PDF above to follow along with notes.
Uncharted Territory, Part 3: From Jew to Gentile
Uncharted Territory, Part 3: From Jew to Gentile God was using the children and the voice of Abraham to bring a message to the children of anyone else who could come by faith: you don’t have to be born physically into this. … We’re called to be pioneers to train people and teach people about the sovereignty of God — teach people about the lineage that can be found in Christ and Christ alone. And the only identity that I…
Uncharted Territory, Part 2: Persecutor to Propagator Through Conversion
Uncharted Territory, Part 2: Persecutor to Propagator Through Conversion God is a sovereign God. God has a plan. And God is going to fulfill that plan, with or without you—or me. God’s plan is to integrate and move into the hearts and lives of people in His sovereign will. Ananias was used by God to be part of God’s sovereign plan, to use Saul—Paul—to open the door for the gentile world to come to faith. … The persecutor [Paul], all…
Uncharted Territory, Part 1: From a Safe Community to the Frontier
Uncharted Territory, Part 1: From a Safe Community to the Frontier I have said that [Philip] was the very first Acts 1:8 man, so I don’t disagree that he was a pioneer. But I don’t think that Philip was trying to be a pioneer. I don’t think that he was trying to say, “Here I am! I’m the first one to try to evangelize past Samaria!” I think he was just trying to be a Christian. … My encouragement in…
Uncharted Territory: Introduction
Uncharted Territory: Introduction — Overview of the Bible We have to learn to live out the book of Acts. Whenever you study the Bible, it’s not just a book of history and story lines. You have to literally insert yourself into it. You have to personally live it. We don’t just see it as past history; we see it as current life. It’s not just stories of missionary journeys of Paul…and others. It is the story line of us. Download the…
He Is, Part 4: He is Worshiped
He Is, Part 4: He is Worshiped There are plenty of things that are going to change in your life. There are surroundings and circumstances that are going to change. There are lands and homes and jobs that will shift from time to time. But learning to live a singularly focused life, and saying, “God, above all else, You are the King of kings and Lord of lords and there will be no other, and I will focus on You” —…
He Is, Part 3: He is Recognized
He Is, Part 3: He is Recognized What do you do when you receive an account of a credible witness, any witness? You listen. And you consider. And you respond. The Advent revealed what’s really going on in the hearts of men, and it continues to reveal what’s really going on inside the hearts of men 2000 years later, today. What about you? What is your response? Download the PDF above to follow along with notes.
He Is, Part 2: He is Here
He Is, Part 2: He is Here During this holiday season, it’s easy to get distracted, or to allow ourselves to be distracted—by the events that we have, by the programs we have to do, by the presents we have to buy and the parties we have to attend. It’s easy to let that get in the way of finding our true peace. But after the Christmas lights turn out and the fireplace is settled and the hot chocolate has…
He Is, Part 1: He is Foretold
He Is, Part 1: He is Foretold God came in the form of man. He was born in a manger. He grew up as a full adult, as you and me. The Bible says that he went to the cross. He died and was buried, and he was resurrected three days later. … We don’t really understand all of it, but this much we understand: it was a wonderful, wonderful thing God did for you and me—because our sins were…
BOTH/AND, Part 5: Staying/Going
BOTH/AND, Part 5: Staying/Going A purposeful life, for every one of us, is based on fulfilling God’s order to stay and go with purpose, recognizing that this home is not your home, this place is not your final stop; that God is using you for an indefinite period of time — you and this church you choose to be a part of — and let God make the decision about where you land. Download the PDF above to follow along with…
BOTH/AND, Part 4: The Great Divide Between Sent and Tell
BOTH/AND, Part 4: The Great Divide Between Sent and Tell You have been sent so that you can tell, so that others will hear, so they can believe, so that they’ll call on Jesus. … [but] if we are not telling, there’s a problem with our understanding of who sent us – it’s disbelief – or it’s just disobedience. … Our role is to tell. There’s components of telling the good news: a sending, there’s an audience, and there’s a message.…
BOTH/AND, Part 3: Local/Global
BOTH/AND, Part 3: Local/Global Both/and. Do we go here, or there? The answer is yes. We have to discover our [global] responsibilities. That’s what our GIC — and what this church — is all about. Download the PDF above to follow along with notes.
BOTH/AND, Part 2: Serving/Proclaiming
BOTH/AND, Part 2: Serving/Proclaiming It’s that tension that develops between serving and proclaiming: do I do something good for someone, or do I just tell them about Jesus and move on? Download the PDF above to follow along with notes.
BOTH/AND, Part 1: Being/Doing
BOTH/AND, Part 1: Being/Doing Living in the tension of doing for God and being with God looks like a branch connected to a vine. We are drawing life from Christ as he leads us, and that is what produces the fruit. Being with God should lead us to doing for God. … If we want to be a people committed to the mission of God — to living out that Great Commission that we find in scripture, to helping others find…
Refresh, Part 6: Real Relationships
Refresh, Part 6: Real Relationships The church family should not be a place for ‘polished’ believers to come and compare how good we look; rather, the church family should be a place for imperfect people to point each other to Jesus. We should be a place where the broken and the hurting can come together and be transformed by relationship with Jesus. Real relationships mean that we will be upfront and open and honest about where we are, and who…
Refresh, Part 5: Real Engagement
Refresh, Part 5: Real Engagement Real engagement is deeply engaging in the complexity of God’s Word, and bringing it to the complexity of life around us. … The Bible has real-life answers to the complexities this world offers us. Download the PDF above to follow along with notes.
Refresh, Part 4: Real Ownership
Refresh, Part 4: Real Ownership You play a critical part of the body [of Christ] because this is a family. It’s a body. It’s not just a family in the human sense of the word; it is literally the working of God in this world. … The body of Christ will recognize that everybody has to take ownership of their part. Download the PDF above to follow along with notes.
Refresh, Part 3: Real Life
Refresh, Part 3: Real Life Our everyday lives demonstrate our belief and our experiences of the gospel. … [Moses says in Deuteronomy 6,] use everyday life to pass on the truths about God. Love God with every part of your being, and use every part of your life to live out your relationship with him. That’s the core value of real life. …Instead of just looking for rituals or practices that are disconnected from the rest of our lives, God has…
Refresh, Part 2: Real Priorities
Refresh, Part 2: Real Priorities These stories that Jesus is telling [of the lost coin, the lost sheep, and the Prodigal Son] are meant to clue us in to God’s heart. He’s cluing us in to God’s priorities. God is willing to do the unthinkable to save the broken … [and] He wants us to be a part of that plan. Download the PDF above to follow along with notes.
Refresh, Part 1: The Mission of LifeWay Church
Refresh, Part 1: The Mission of LifeWay Church ‘Church’ in the New Testament is a Greek word: ecclesia. That term literally means ‘the assembly of called-out people.’ … You’re called out of this world, you’re assembling together in order to accomplish something that has a very different eternal consequence. It is not a marketing term in any way, shape or form. It is a reality of who we are as church. Download the PDF above to follow along with notes.
Let’s Talk, Part 8: Seek First God’s Kingdom
Let’s Talk, Part 8: Seek First God’s Kingdom Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness — and all these things will be added to you, or given to you, as well. I’m not the owner. You’re not the owner. You’re the manager. Don’t try to control life as the owner of everything. My prayer is that we all live as a people who know how to prioritize the steps of life. Download the PDF above to follow along with notes.
Let’s Talk, Part 7: Lord, Teach Us to Pray
Let’s Talk, Part 7: Lord, Teach Us to Pray What I’m about to teach you today is as practical as it can be, because it comes out of Matthew chapter 6. It’s literally Jesus’ extremely practical way of saying: You want to really change your life? You’ve heard it said, “Go to church!” But I’m going to tell you—you need to sit there and spend some real time with the almighty God of the universe. And you can do that…