Discipleship Pathway
01. The Easy Burden of Following Jesus
April 24, 2017
Jesus explicitly calls his followers to take up their cross and follow him. But just one chapter later, in Matthew's recording of the events, he tells his disciples that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. How can these both be true? How can the radical call of Christ be an easy joy? It's only when we have ordered our loves the way God designed them to be ordered that these two disparate statements can begin to make any sense. Application Questions 1. In what ways are your loves disordered? What do you tend to cherish more than Christ? 2. In what ways do you find the radical call to follow Christ a heavy burden? What loves make that burden heavy? 3. What's one time in your life when you found the yoke of Christ light and easy? 4. How can you practically rest in Christ this week in a way that will lighten your burden?
37. Walking the Discipleship Pathway
June 10, 2018
As we finish a long series on the Discipleship Pathway, we want to make sure we don't leave it behind. The length of the series reflects how useful it can be to understand the basic Christian life and to help you live it. Reflecting on Paul's encouragement to the Colossian church to walk in Jesus Christ, this sermon explores how to use the Discipleship Pathway to help you do just that. What's more, it points you to the person that is more important than any pathway: Jesus Christ our Lord. When we use the pathway well, it points us to Him and His glory. Application Questions 1. Are there ways that you“lose the plot” in your daily life? How do you handle it? 2. Are there ways that the Discipleship Pathway can be useful in the day to day moments of your life to help you recapture the plot? 3. How can the pathway point you towards the person of Jesus, his gospel, and his glory?
01. Discipleship Pathway: Following Jesus
August 21, 2017
It's easy to be overwhelmed by the different ways to live out the Christian faith. Many people lose the forest for the trees and end up frustrated or discouraged when they can't wrap their arms around everything at once. Jesus brings us help: the greatest commandment, which helps us see all the commands of Scripture as trees in the forests of loving God and loving others. As we look closer, we find a way to see the Christian life as a journey of loving God and loving others, all because of the gospel, and all leading us to become more like Christ. Application Questions 1. How do you handle all the different things you're told to do in sermons, Bible reading, and more? How can Jesus'words in the greatest commandment and the discipleship pathway help? 2.Which categories on the discipleship pathway (Bible, prayer, heart work, community, mission, and calling) do you tend to emphasize in your life? Which do you tend to neglect? 3.Are you motivated more by your acceptance in Jesus or by your desire to be a good person on your own? How have you seen that affect your life? 4. What are your goals for your life as a Christian? How do those goals relate to becoming more like Christ?
02. Bible: The God Who Speaks
August 28, 2017
Part of the Christian life fits into the category of“Bible” : listening to and learning from God's Word. We start this section of our series by looking at how God's Word is involved in the story of our world and our relationship with God. What we find is deeper and richer than we might think: God's Word is central to who He is, what He does, and what it means to know Him. Ultimately, we see God's Word embodied in the living Word, Jesus Christ, who reveals God fully to us and also points us back to the written word as a guide to our life. Application Questions 1. What stands out to you about the story of God's Word in the Bible? 2. How would you treat your Bible differently if you understood it as the word of God? 3. What is powerful about the idea of Jesus being the perfect word of God? How does that help you understand who God is and how much he loves you? 4. How can you listen to and learn from God in the Bible this week?
03. Bible: The Authority of God’s Word
September 4, 2017
As humans we struggle with authority. Authority, in its nature, implies a submission of one will to the other, which challenges us. Not only this, but we have seen people in our world abuse their authority, and so we are skeptical. But God's authority is not determined by our feelings or thoughts, His authority is universal, and because the Bible is the very Word of God, from the mouth of God Himself, then it too has universal authority over us in our lives, and God commands us to submit to Him and His Word. Application Questions 1. In what ways are you skeptical and hesitant about authority?How does this influence the way that you view and engage with God? 2. In what ways are you living with a“spiritual buffet” mentality about your walk with God, particularly with your approach to the Bible? 3. How should this understanding of the Bible's authority change how you read, interact, and apply the Bible to your life?
04. Bible: The Sufficiency of God’s Word
September 11, 2017
We all look to various different voices and authorities to help us live what would consider the“abundant life.” While we know that we need God's Word to learn about how we might be forgiven, redeemed, and saved, we also usually assume that we need something else to help us truly live. This“Bible-plus” mentality waters down our journey as disciples and routinely crowds out the transformational truth that truly is all we need. We need to be reminded again and again, that God's Word truly is sufficient for all we need. Application Questions 1. What sources of information, other than Scripture, do you turn to in pursuit ofan abundant life? 2. In what ways is the Word of God sufficient for your various callings? 3. In what ways are you tempted to doubt the sufficiency of the Word of God? 4. Do you tend to treat the Word of God as an end in itself, or as a way to get to know and relate to God? 5. How might you need to grow in hearing from God in his Word?
05. Bible: The Depth of God’s Word
September 18, 2017
As we look at the depth of God's Word, we can take one of two approaches. One approach is to look at the Bible in all of its complexities and stand in awe of it. It contains 66 different books, written by 40 different authors, in 3 different languages, spanning 3 different continents, with genres ranging from poetry and wisdom literature, to historical narrative and epistles, and having it all coming together to produce this unified book. The other approach has to do not with how deep the Bible is from an origins standpoint, but how deep the Bible gets to the core of who we are as humans. It reveals our sins, our motivations, and leaves us vulnerable before God, leaving space for Jesus to come and be our Savior. How often we forego our joy in Christ by choosing the first over the second. Application Questions 1. If God is after the depths of who we are, why do we often run from the depths of who we are? 2. When exposed, how has the reality of Jesus being your High Priest brought you to a place of security and peace? 3. In what ways practically are you“holding fast your confession” in Jesus?
06. Bible: The Relationality of God’s Word
September 25, 2017
The Bible isn't meant to be studied from afar. It's built to be listened to up close. God's Word is God's communication to us, which means the Bible is the place we find God expressing himself and inviting us into a deeper relationship with him. When we understand that the Bible is God speaking, and that our role is to be good listeners, we'll find ourselves knowing God personally by listening to His Word. Application Questions 1. Describe your relationship with the Bible. How might that relationship change if you understood it as God speaking, inviting you into a personal relationship? 2. Spend some time thinking about what makes someone a good listener. What would it look like to apply those same listening skills to reading the Bible? How could you put those into practice this week? 3. How does the gospel relate to reading your Bible? How does God's grace towards you in Jesus change your perspective about reading Scripture?
07. Prayer: The God Who Listens
October 2, 2017
The Bible is the story of a God who speaks strong, powerful, comforting, life-giving Words. But this same God is also a God who listens . We were created to live in communion with God, hearing from Him and speaking with Him, but our sin has created a distance between us and God. The story of the Bible is the story of God reconciling His people to Himself so that He can hear us. Application Questions 1. How would your prayer life change by seeing God as a God who wants to listen to you? How would it change by knowing that God is listening even before you speak? 2. Do you feel distant from God? Is your distance relational or physical? 3. How does the cross and the indwelling Holy Spirit give hope and truth to your feeling of distance?
08. Prayer: Praying to a God Who is Holy
October 9, 2017
As we begin to work through the Lord's Prayer, the first thing confronting us is the holiness of God. When we understand that God is holy and full of glory, we find his significance displacing the other priorities in our lives. Prayer to a God who is holy is full of reverent intimacy as we ask him to re-orient our lives around his importance. Application Questions 1. What are some ways you underestimate God's size and perfection? 2. How can God's holiness help us see his love for us in a new light? 3. How can remembering God's holiness change your prayer life for the better?
09. Prayer: Praying to a God Who is King
October 16, 2017
The God we pray to is the Sovereign King of the universe. While this gives us a great deal of confidence knowing that he is all powerful and can always bring about his will, it also can seem to demotivate our praying at times. We wrestle with questions like,“If God already knows what I'm going to pray, and has the ability to bring about his own will, then what's the purpose of prayer?” In our passage this week we will see two of the main reasons for praying to a God who is King highlighted: We pray for his glory and we pray for our good. Application Questions 1. Do you more often pray for God's will to be done or for your own will to be done? 2. In what ways do questions about God's sovereignty tend to demotivate your prayers? 3. How might a fresh appreciation for God's glory motivate you to seek him in prayer? 4. How might an appreciation for how praying transforms you motivate you to seek God in prayer?
10. Prayer: Praying to a God Who Gives
October 23, 2017
The greatest lie from the beginning is that God is a withholding God. But the Bible makes it clear that God in His nature is agracious and giving God. If this is true, we should come to Him boldly, confidently, and daily in prayer, making our requests known to Him. Application Questions 1. How does your view of God's generosity or withholding affect your prayer life? 2. How have you seen God answer your prayers with“yes” ,“wait” , or“no” ? 3. What is the difference between earthly maturity and Christian maturity? 4. What are the places in your life that need to change in order to live more dependently on God?
11. Prayer: Praying to a God Who Forgives
October 30, 2017
A vibrant prayer life will not happen if we don't confess our sins and ask for forgiveness. Looking at Psalm 51, we learn how we need forgiveness from God for our sins, and how he has provided for that forgiveness in Jesus. We also learn how having forgiveness in Jesus leads us to talk more about our sins with God, not less. Application Questions 1. Is confession and repentance a part of your prayer life? 2. Do you see a connection between God's forgiveness of you and your forgiveness of others? How does that play out in your life? 3. How does God's ultimate forgiveness in Christ lead you to more, not less, confession in your prayer life?
12. Prayer: The Relationality of Prayer
November 6, 2017
Prayer is meant to be the expression of a relationship with God. So how do we put that into practice? David helps us in Psalm 63, showing us what it means to desire God's presence and satisfy that desire through Biblical meditation and prayer. Application Questions 1. Do you feel like you are actually relating to God when you pray? Or does it feel more like“running lines” for a play? 2. Where do you see spiritual hunger in your life? What“junk food” do you typically use to try and satisfy it? What would it look like to cultivate a hunger for God instead? 3. Do you meditate on God through His Word as you pray? What are some ways you think it would help? 4. Would you say you pour out your heart in prayer? What holds you back from doing that?
13. Heart Work: The God Who Transforms
November 13, 2017
God is a God whose nature it is to transform. Just as it is in God's nature to speak to us and listen to us, it is also a part of who he is to transform us into his image. Every relationship leaves its imprint on our lives. To be in close relationship with someone is to be changed by them. This is all the more true in our relationship with God. To be close to him, and love him, naturally results in being transformed by him. As his children, we ought to expect this transformation and pursue it through diligent heart work. Application Questions 1. How have you seen God's transformation in your life in the past? 2. What are the things you want to change in your life? Whose glory are they for? Where do you look for help to change? 3. Do you expect transformation in the next six-months? Why or why not?