Topic > Spiritual Growth > Spiritual Disciplines >
Where Can Wisdom Be Found?
Wisdom is the beauty of holiness. James says wisdom is reasonable; flexible; forgiving; peaceful; caring; given to friendly visits, small acts of courtesy, and kind words. It is humble, transparent, simple, gentle, and gracious to the core (James 3:17).
Earworms
They burrow. They bore in. They attach themselves inside your head. Earworms, a term once used exclusively for insects, is now the name for those unrelenting tunes that you can’t get out of your head. Songs like, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” the “Barney” song, or my personal nightmare: “It’s a Small World After All."
An interesting conversation on a forgotten discipline
A good meal can satisfy our hunger, give us a break from the day, and tickle our taste buds. So why would someone choose to give up food for a period of time? Let's examine the practice and purpose of fasting.
How the Sermon on the Mount acts as our balance beam for the Christian life
High up on the beam, a gymnast must be careful to keep her balance. Any drastic shifts to the right or left can send her careening to the mat! Learn how to maintain biblical stability.
Discover what Jesus said about the practice and benefits of fasting
As we look at spiritual disciplines in the life of a follower of Christ, reading God’s Word and praying are essential. But should fasting be on that short list as well?
Let’s turn to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount to find out what makes us “good”
What makes a follower of Christ a “good” person? Is it how long they pray? How well they serve? Let's turn to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount to answer this probing question.
Looking at whether our good works are for the reward people provide, or the praise only God can give
If our eyes are set on a particular prize, we’ll usually do whatever it takes to make it our own. A thoughtful study of the Sermon on the Mount continues.
Time Out
El Bulli restaurant, 2 hours north of Barcelona, is so popular that customers must reserve a table 6 months in advance. But noted Spanish chef Ferran Adrià decided to close the doors of his award-winning restaurant for 2 years so he and his staff could have time to think, plan, and innovate. Adrià told Hemispheres Magazine, “If we are winning all the prizes, why change? Working 15 hours a day leaves us very little time to create.” In the midst of great success, they took time out for what is most important to them.
Practical tools for ridding our hearts of envy, and finding freedom in Christ
“Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, . . . not in strife and envy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts” (Romans 13:12-14).
Discover insight into ways to combat envy in our own lives
Friday, November 23, 2012
IDEA: Envy can cause us to miss what God is doing in the world.
PURPOSE: To help listeners understand the pitfalls of envy.
Have you ever missed something really important to you because you were pouting or envious or were tied up in knots about some technicality or an
God’s generosity and our human discontentment
“But many who are first will be last, and the last first. For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ And they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.’ So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. And when they had received it, they murmured against the landlord, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and yo
A helpful discussion on what “having faith” truly means
“But many who are first will be last, and the last first. For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ And they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.’ So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. And when they had received it, they murmured against the landlord, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’ So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen” (Matthew 19:30 – 20:16).
IDEA: While faith is taking God at His word, it is also trusting God’s character.
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize that trust focuses on what God says, but also rests in what God is.
Discovering God’s perspective on grace and fairness
“But many who are first will be last, and the last first. For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ And they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.’ So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. And when they had received it, they murmured against the landlord, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’ So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen” (Matthew 19:30 – 20:16).
IDEA: God gives us two gifts: work and wages.
PURPOSE: To help listeners understand that God is generous in giving us work to do and a reward for doing it.
How the Lord’s Prayer draws us to the heart of worship
There have been times that in singing with other Christians, he’s been brought closer to God… has something like that ever happened to you? We’re talking about when and how we “hallow” God’s name in today’s Discover the Word.
For The God I Love
A couple of years ago in our church we did a sermon series on the Old Testament tabernacle. Leading up to the message on the table of showbread, I did something I had never done before—I fasted from food for several days. I fasted because I wanted to experience the truth that “man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord” (Deut. 8:3).
