Category Archives: Teaching

Teaching

Spiritual Discipline

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Imagine looking in the mirror one year from now and seeing someone familiar — yet different. Someone wiser, more mature, more peaceful.

Picture someone who loves God more and loves sin less. Who is more patient, kind, and caring. Who weeps for the lost and is bold to share the gospel. That someone could be you.

How do we grow in godliness and become more like Jesus Christ? The Bible offers a spiritual workout routine, but it will not be easy. For the path to holiness involves discipline.

“Train yourself,” Paul said, “for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also fro the life to come” (1 Tim. 4:7-8).

The most valuable things in life usually come at great personal sacrifice. This is true of raising a family, earning a degree, building a home, or pursuing a career. And spiritual growth is no exception. No pain, no gain.

As Philip Yancy wrote, “Human beings grow by striving, working, stretching; and in a sense, human nature needs problems more than solutions” (Disappointment with God, p. 207). 

Last summer, we spent some time studying the Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life. Using Donald Whitney’s book as a springboard, we looked through several core disciplines God uses to consume our dross and purify our hearts, conforming us more into the image of Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29). This was the second module in our Wednesday night series Growing in Christ.

Here’s the complete set of lessons:

“Spiritual Disciplines”
Growing in Christ, Course 2

Lesson 1: Intro to Spiritual Discipline (handout | audio)
Lesson 2: Bible Intake
     Hearing the Word (handout | audio)
     Reading the Word (handout)
     Bible Study & Teaching Worksheet (handout | audio)
     Memorizing & Meditating (handout | audio)
Lesson 3: Prayer (handout | audio)
Lesson 4: Fasting (handout)
Lesson 5: Worship (not available)
Lesson 6: Stewardship (handout)
Lesson 7: Learning (handout)
Lesson 8: Simplicity (handout)
Lesson 9: Evangelism (handout | audio)
Lesson 10: Journaling (handout | audio)
Lesson 11: Suffering (handout | audio)
Lesson 12: Fellowship (handout)

Related posts:

Photo credit: freedigitalphotos.net
Teaching

Take the “Isaiah Challenge”

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Isaiah has been called the “prophet of hope” and the “gospel of the Old Testament.” He is quoted often at Christmastime, yet most of us know almost nothing about Him.

Together, our church will be reading through the Book of Isaiah over the next three months. Will you join us? Here’s how…

1. Download our reading guide bookmark (a bookmark will also be enclosed in Sunday’s bulletin)

2. Starting Sunday, Nov. 11, we will read one chapter a day, six chapters a week, taking Saturdays off as a catch-up day.

3. Use our Isaiah Challenge Facebook page to write comments of what God is teaching you!

4. Attend First Southern or listen to our weekly podcast as Pastor Stephen reviews the last six chapters and draws out lessons from the text.

Will you join us and take the “Isaiah Challenge”?

Teaching

Resolved Conference 2012

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Did you know that one of the best Bible Conferences in the world happens right in our backyard?

This June, you can join over 3,000 college students and young adults for “Resolved” at the Palm Springs Convention Center to enjoy three days of incredible worship and great preaching. Speakers include John MacArthur, C.J. Mahaney, Al Mohler, Steve Lawson, Rick Holland, and more. Click here for full details: http://www.resolved.org/

The early bird discount is $150 and ends on Feb. 29. I know things are tight, but this is money well spent if there’s any way you can make it. And for those of us in the high or low desert, it’s close enough that you don’t have to pay any airfare or hotel costs. You’ll simply never find a better deal.

Here are a couple of my favorite videos from past years…

Shepherding, Teaching

Spiritual Gifts

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For the last month, our church has been studying Spiritual Gifts on Sunday mornings. Here’s a chart I shared today that helps harmonize the gifts between the various Scripture passages where they appear. In total, there seem to be around 18 spiritual gifts listed in the New Testament.

spiritual gifts chart

Last week, we studied the Speaking Gifts, and today we introduced the Serving Gifts. If you’ve missed any of our studies, you can catch them on our sermon podcast. For those who want to go deeper on the subject of spiritual gifts, I would commend these books to you:

  • Dynamics of Spiritual Gifts by William McRae. This classic work defines a biblical ‘gift,’ shows how they are distributed throughout the Body, and provides an insightful look at each individual gift. McRae then gives helpful advice on discovering your own gift and how to cultivate your gift and the gifts of others.
  • Understanding Spiritual Gifts by Robert L. Thomas. This is essentially an exegetical commentary on 1 Corinthians 12-14, followed by some very helpful appendices such as the meaning of “the perfect” in 1 Corinthians 13:10; a critique of Wayne Grudem’s The Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Today; and a detailed description of the Eighteen Spiritual Gifts listed in the NT. Makes a strong case for cessationism.