For your small group community to be healthy, you all need to take time to talk about expectations and goals for the coming year. As we start a brand-new year of meeting together regularly, we want to make sure that we establish clear expectations for group members. This is a time for you to...
Continue ReadingToday we are talking about prayer, a critical part of growing in our relationship with God, yet something that we do not talk nearly enough about. Simply put, prayer is communicating with God. It is the way we talk to God and share with Him what is on our minds. It is also how we listen to Him...
Continue ReadingWe just finished celebrating Christmas over the weekend. This is always a busy time of year. Amidst all of the planning, shopping, cooking, baking, and preparing, it can be easy to forget to take time to celebrate the greatest gift we have ever been given: Jesus. This week, as we recover from...
Continue ReadingJesus made it clear throughout His ministry that He came to rescue everyone, Jews and Gentiles. The Jewish believers, however, had to unlearn a lot of bias and untrue opinions of Gentiles. Many believed that Gentiles were unclean and that the Holy Spirit did not indwell the lives of Gentiles...
Continue ReadingThere is a reason why Jesus called His first disciples with the command, “follow me.” His invitation is, indeed, an invitation to follow. It is an invitation to walk so closely that we listen to His direction and follow wherever He leads. Scripture is full of stories about people who...
Continue ReadingWe read in the book of Acts that people took notice as the church began to grow. However, not everyone was pleased by what God was doing through the church. Many people, especially religious and political leaders, were unhappy that the name of Jesus was being preached and proclaimed. While some...
Continue ReadingWe pick up our study of the church and how early church members lived extraordinary lives in Acts chapter 6. In this chapter, the early church learned a valuable lesson firsthand: they all needed each other. There were needs beyond what the apostles could meet, so they, too, needed to begin...
Continue ReadingThe early church was marked by both generosity and integrity. These two traits go hand-in-hand. You see, generosity without integrity is not genuine. When someone gives generously because they want to look good in front of others, their hearts are not in the right place. The early church learned...
Continue ReadingJesus knew that He was sending us into an extraordinary life. Luke 12:11-12 records a promise from Him that says, “And when you are brought to trial in the synagogues and before rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how to defend yourself or what to say, for the Holy Spirit will...
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