Even If i Walk Alone

Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus

Matthew

Building the Church

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fiscal responsibility,church buildings,building campaign,unity,church budget

I’ve heard many preachers talk about building the church. It sounds like such a noble thing to say, but it depends on the context. I’ve seen far more churches concerned with building the structure that houses the Church, rather than building up the people who actually comprise the church. Most of the time, I hear the need for a larger building justified by saying that it is required to reach more people for Christ. Really? Jesus told us to go out into all the nations to tell others about Him (Matthew 28:19-20). He never said to build a large facility so that the people of the world would come to us.

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Using Your Talents

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talents,skills,god's will for your life,why am I here,life purpose,spiritual gifts

Most of us are familiar with the parable of the talents found in Matthew 25:14-30. In the story, the master gives his servants a varying number of talents before he goes away on a long trip. To one he gives five, to another two, and to the other one. When the master returns, he calls in his servants to see what they have done with what he gave them to use. The first two servants doubled what they received, but the other one simply offered back exactly what he had been given. The servants who multiplied what they had were praised, while the one who had done nothing received harsh judgment from his master; he was stripped of what he had and thrown out of his master’s presence.

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What Do You Value Most?

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Jesus first,discipleship,dave ramsey,total money makeover,financial peace,living for Jesus,values clrification,values

Are you living by the values of society or the values of God? It’s easy for the line to get blurred. Sometimes it can be difficult to discern whether something is God’s blessing or simply the result of selfish ambition. Especially for those of us in the West, the temptation to conform to what our culture considers to be normal can be overwhelming. We try to keep up with the Jones’s instead of humbly serving and loving them. Our focus tends to be on our personal enjoyment or on the size of our retirement nest egg. Satan is having a field day with our values, and too often Christians are excusing it in the name of God’s favor.

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A Small Group Primer

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intentional community,shane claiborne,the simple way,discipleship,small groups,life groups

Perhaps no single idea has been so universally embraced by the church over the past 30 years as that of the small group. It is the strategic backbone of larger and smaller congregations alike. Too often these groups become nothing more than just another clique or a social club. Friendships develop, and there is a passing attempt at working through a Bible study booklet, but rarely do you find these groups engaged in the mission of Christ. There are exceptions; perhaps you belong to one of these. I do know of groups building intentional communities with tremendous outreach; they exemplify the early church. However,  if you belong to one of the more common implementations of a small group – one not engaging your culture – then it’s time to ask some hard questions.

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No Fear

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Jesus first,making disciples,the great comission,francis chan,david platt,multiply movement,multiply,radical,crazy love

Having just participated in the ‘Multiply Movement’ webcast put on by Francis Chan and David Platt, I have come away both convicted and encouraged. The event centered on the command of Jesus to go out and make disciples. As the last command given by Jesus before He ascended to Heaven, disciple-making is one of our primary objectives. We are not only to live as disciples ourselves, but we are to multiply that by making other disciples who will make other disciples who will make other disciples. This is how the message of Christ will expand and change our world! The love of Jesus is not something we can keep to ourselves. To be real, love must be shared.

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