Tag: discipleship
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A Thought about Commitment
In today’s world we lament a lack of commitment. We applaud and show excitement when people last long in their job or position. Why? We applaud because we don’t see it very often! We lament that people just can’t stay committed. We complain. Yet, when talking about encouraging commitment to God’s church we get shy…
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Start Today
How does a person become a great pianist? How do people become great ball players? How do people get good at a foreign language or pottery? Yes, all take work. Yes, all take a measure of skill to start with. However, regardless of skill or natural giftedness, all require that a person begins. It may…
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Fan or Disciple?
Let me tell you a story of two children… Young Bobby wants to be a great soccer player. He watches soccer. He has posters of soccer players on his walls. All of his video games are soccer video games. He even sleeps with a stuffed soccer ball. Young Sarah also wants to be a great…
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At Calvary – Episode 163 – Sanctification… How Will We Use Our Freedom
Have you ever heard of recidivism? It is when a person who has served their jail sentence commits another crime and finds themselves back in jail. We may not feel like prisoners, but we face a similar struggle when it comes to living in grace and living in freedom. The question we face is this: What will…
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Ready to Jump?
I think of myself, even to this day, frozen on that diving board. I was taking swimming lessons, and it was my turn to jump. I had seen others jump. I had heard how to jump. I had even practiced on the side of the pool. Yet, there was something about going from theory to…
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At Calvary – Episode 162 – Sanctification… Our Two-Front War
Are you a student of history? Germany, for example, in WWII might have won the war except that it faced enemies on 3 fronts. There was the Western and Eastern fronts. Then there was the third front – American airplanes.This “third front” changed everything. Two and “three” front wars are very difficult to win. In living out…
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Discipling into the Kingdom
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Have you heard that question before? This funny saying seeks to shine a light on how often it is difficult to figure out the true cause of a particular problem or event. Today, I want us to think about which came first – evangelism or discipleship. Last…
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At Calvary – Episode 161 – Discipling Others Can Hurt
What is it like to be a mentor and watch your young charge throw away your experience? That is what the Galatian church was doing when they left living by simple faith in Christ and chased rules that couldn’t truly make them righteous. How did that feel for Paul? What exactly were they losing? Let’s…
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Don’t Make it Complicated
Sometimes we make things difficult that are actually straight forward. Have you ever put together a tent? I have seen people spend what seemed like hours in a jumbled up mess. Then, suddenly, they looked at the directions in a different way and poof their tent was up in ten minutes. (no, I won’t admit…
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Following Jesus in Mediocrity?
Mediocrity. When you hear that word, what do you think about? When I think about mediocrity I think about not trying. I think about settling for less because it is easier. When I think about my relationships, especially my relationship with God, I don’t want to be mediocre. Paul says, Therefore if you have been…
Pastor John D Jakes 