Sermons on The Church (Page 2)
And Remain in Truth (The Postcard Epistle, Part 3)
Followers of Jesus must not condemn themselves by what we approve that is “anti” to the gospel. John’s instructions here in this passage seem harsh, but it actually comes from a deep desire for the people he loves to live and glorify Christ. If we are to walk in love, we cannot be indifferent to truth. KEVIN Download the discussion guide Reading plan through John’s writings
May You Walk in Love (The Postcard Epistle, Part 2)
Obedience is walking in truth and love. If you are truly a follower of Jesus, then your life should be marked by an obedience to the command [to] have a conscious and deep love for others based on the truth of the gospel. This is nothing that can be done in and of our own strength; but only once we have experienced the truth of who Jesus is are we then able to daily remind ourselves to love others, and…
To the Woman (The Postcard Epistle, Part 1)
The Elder is concerned first and foremost for the truth of the gospel—and then he is concerned for his people. … Would they be the elect, who embrace and enjoy the truth and love? And ultimately, will we? KEVIN Download the discussion guide Reading plan through John’s writings
Restored to Reveal
Restored to Reveal Part 3 of The Book of Jesus, Chapter 6—The Resurrected Jesus and His Kingdom Download the discussion guide
The Handoff
The Handoff Part 2 of The Book of Jesus, Chapter 6—The Resurrected Jesus and His Kingdom Download the discussion guide
Uncharted Territory, Part 9: The Church Crosses the Divide into Uncharted Territory
Uncharted Territory, Part 9: The Church Crosses the Divide into Uncharted Territory An ambassador is the greatest job in the world. To represent your country… This is the greatest job that we have, because we represent the King of kings and Lord of lords, the One and Only, there is no other. It is not to be shared in any way. We are ambassadors in that. And we are a unified Body — as a church, and you as an individual.…
Uncharted Territory, Part 8: The First-Century Church Transitions into the Uncharted World
What do we teach when we go out into uncharted territory? “There is no other God.” … What you teach out there in this world is a singular devotion. Don’t pair it up with anything else.
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…
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.
We are Family, Part 3: Seniors
We are Family, Part 3: Seniors This is a temporary residence. If I’m going to grow in maturity as an older person—not just growing with grace, but growing with pure gospel presence in my life—I will live as a stranger, not as a permanent resident. … How pathetically sad [to think], “I’m a permanent resident on this earth and a stranger in eternity,” when in reality, as a disciple of Christ, it’s the exact opposite: I’m a stranger on this…
We are Family, Part 2: The Body of Christ
Christ’s body is made up of believers of every race, tribe, nation and ethnicity—all in communion with the Holy Spirit. … On a cellular level, we have an individual purpose, and we’re called to do something in our specific time, and God is working through us where we are—but if we looked at the whole picture and stepped back out of time and space, we’d see how all these individual cells of human beings all combine into the body of Christ that is moving across time and space to seek and save the lost. And when we understand this perspective of what Paul is describing, of being different parts yet part of the same body, we understand there’s this much deeper connection between us, that may be right on the surface. As believers, there’s a deep connection between you and me, and it’s that we’re all individually a part of Jesus working to save those around us. And honestly, how can there be a deeper connection than that?
20/20 Vision for LifeWay
The world’s falling apart, but God’s Word has always been true in this: if you will rely on the strength of God through the moments that you feel the most down, this is the time when you strengthen your tent curtains. You widen them. You don’t hold back; you strengthen the cords. You lengthen the stakes. Because God will then use you to inhabit the desolate cities — the broken lives of the world around us — and we will not stop doing that.
I Resolve To…
The only way we can actually grow and succeed in our lives is to fully depend on God’s strength in us. We can only work hard and disciplined out of the Holy Spirit’s strength inside of us. It’s a strength he gives us. And as followers of Jesus, we are supposed to work hard and disciplined for the sake of the gospel. … January is a time for hard work — a time to restart in our daily devotionals, or…
The Outward Focused Church, Part 6: GIC Commitment Service
Billy Arnold is nothing. He’s just the holder of a key. But it’s an incredible key. It’s an unbelievable key that unlocks the truth of people’s lives, that allows the prisoners to be set free. [Jesus] says, “I’m going to give [the key] to the church.” And who’s the church? We are. … Jesus handed the message of himself over to the church body; and therefore, the church body, every one of us, learns how to say, “How does God…
The Outward Focused Church, Part 5: God and You
God designed you specifically to be a vital part of what His plan was in this world. God has uniquely fitted you for something that’s bigger — and it’s not something that you get to dream up; it’s something God originally designed, which becomes very much a part of who you really are. — Billy Arnold
The Outward Focused Church, Part 1: An Introduction
We don’t have a seating capacity problem; we have a sending capacity problem. … We have—in the church today, worldwide—9,000 times more manpower and 3,000 times more money than we need to fulfill the Great Commission TODAY. Where is it? We’re it! It’s sitting in chairs and pews in churches all over the world, waiting for somebody to mobilize it—waiting for somebody to come along and say, “Let’s turn our eyes off ourselves and put it on the harvest field!”…
LAUNCH, Part 5: The Challenges of the Church (Acts 5-7)
I have learned that every church that chooses to truly try to do the will of God is going to face serious challenges. If you want things to go well and “kumbayah” forever, then don’t get serious about the work of God. — Billy Arnold
LAUNCH, Part 4: The Boldness of the Church (Acts 3 & 4)
Boldness comes from connecting the dots. … We are the most forgetful people on the planet. We forget what happened last week! We get so busy with life and we fill our life with noise so much that we never stop and examine: what has God done? Boldness comes from walking on a journey with God and seeing what he does, highlighting that, and saying, “My life is built on this spot!” That’s exactly what Peter is doing in this…