Podcasts about Nicky Gumbel

​Alpha has introduced millions of people to Jesus, but what can it teach us about sharing our faith today? In this episode, Nicky Gumbel reflects on his journey from atheist to Christian, the story behind Alpha's global impact, and why people are still searching for love, purpose, and belonging. Together, Andy, Wes and Nicky explore how evangelism has changed in a post Christian culture and why genuine friendship, not pressure, remains the most powerful way to introduce people to Jesus.

Welcome back to another episode of the unSeminary podcast. Today we're joined by Dave Ferguson, co-founder of Exponential, co-founder of Community Christian Church, and author of Multiplier: How Healthy Leaders Create Lasting Impact. For decades, Dave has championed one central conviction: the Church will never fulfill its mission through addition alone. In this conversation, he challenges church leaders to rethink success, embrace multiplication, and cultivate the kind of personal health that sustains lasting kingdom impact. Are you building a church that grows, or a movement that multiplies? Wondering how your leadership today shapes generations of ministry tomorrow? Dave offers a compelling vision for creating influence that extends far beyond your own church. Multiplication changes everything. // Dave believes many church leaders are asking the wrong question. Instead of waking up each day asking, “How can I grow my church?” he challenges leaders to ask, “How can we multiply God's Kingdom?” That subtle shift transforms every leadership decision, from staffing and budgeting to leadership development and church planting. Growth focuses on adding people to one church. Multiplication focuses on reproducing disciples, leaders, churches, and networks that reach beyond one church long after the original leader steps away. The Church needs a new scorecard. // Only a small percentage of churches in the United States are actively reproducing new churches. Through Exponential’s “16% Mission,” the goal is to move enough churches toward multiplication that reproducing churches become the cultural norm rather than the exception. Reaching this tipping point would fundamentally reshape how churches think about mission and influence. Culture beats strategy every time. // Multiplication doesn’t begin with a sermon series or a strategic initiative—it begins with culture. Dave encourages leaders to model multiplication long before they publicly announce it. Whether leading a small group, mentoring an apprentice, or developing future leaders, pastors must demonstrate the behaviors they hope to reproduce. People adopt what leaders consistently practice far more readily than what they merely promote. Health fuels multiplication—not hustle. // While multiplication requires intentional effort, Dave warns against building ministry on relentless hustle. Instead, healthy multiplication grows out of healthy leaders. Churches don’t simply reproduce strategies. They reproduce the character, priorities, and habits of their leaders. If leaders neglect their own well-being, they will unintentionally reproduce that same dysfunction throughout the organization. Watch the four gauges. // At the heart of Dave’s new book, Multiplier: How Healthy Leaders Create Lasting Impact, is a simple daily framework for preventing leadership drift. He encourages leaders to evaluate four areas every day: relational health, physical health, mental health, and spiritual health. By honestly assessing these four “gauges,” leaders can recognize unhealthy patterns before they become major failures. Rather than waking up years later wondering how they drifted so far, leaders make small course corrections every day. Even better, Dave encourages processing these areas with trusted community, since accountability helps combat self-deception. Think beyond your lifetime. // Ultimately, Dave invites leaders to adopt a longer horizon for ministry. Buildings, attendance, and personal accomplishments eventually fade, but investing in people creates lasting kingdom influence. When leaders intentionally multiply healthy disciples and healthy leaders, their ministry continues bearing fruit long after they’re gone. That, Dave believes, is the kind of legacy worth pursuing. To learn more about Dave Ferguson, Exponential, and his new book Multiplier: How Healthy Leaders Create Lasting Impact, visit exponential.org/multiplier or daveferguson.org. Email Dave directly to get bulk copies of his book. Thank You for Tuning In! There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I'm grateful for that. If you enjoyed today's show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they're extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally! Episode Transcript Rich Birch — Hey friends, welcome to the unSeminary podcast. So glad that you have decided to tune in. You’re in for a real treat today. Today is a leader, you know, you have those leaders in your life. You’re like, man, I wish everybody could be exposed to this person and would follow along. And you feel like you’re introducing a friend to friends. That’s what today’s conversation is. And I hope at the same time, it’ll challenge you and encourage you as we think about the future. Rich Birch — Excited to have Dave Ferguson back on the podcast from Exponential. It is a growing community of leaders committed to accelerating multiplication of healthy, reproducing faith communities. They equip multipliers through a variety of resources. You might know their big event, Exponential, but that’s not all they do. They do a lot of other stuff as well.Rich Birch — Dave also was the co-founder of Community Christian in Chicagoland and New Thing. We actually had Ted on recently for a follow-up episode, which is fantastic. So these will this will come out at a similar time. Dave also wrote a book recently that I want you to pick up. It’s called Multiplier: How Healthy Leaders Create Lasting Impact. Dave, welcome to the show.Dave Ferguson — Hey, thanks, Rich. Good to be with you. Rich Birch — Yeah, so glad you’re you’re here. Why don’t you fill in the story for folks that don’t know or maybe aren’t following along. Maybe give us fill out the bio a little bit. Tell us a little bit about your background.Dave Ferguson — Long story short yeah, in my early mid-20s I planted a church in Chicago with a whole bunch of friends. God was very very kind to it; it grew had pretty large, and we had locations across the city and the suburbs. Out of that, then we started planting churches. Our first one was in Denver, then Southern California, and then Detroit, then New York, then Boston. And pretty soon we made a shift that we went from not only reproducing new churches, but helping reproduce networks of new churches. And that turned out to be a bigger deal than and we realized.Dave Ferguson — And we got opportunities then to do that in Europe and then in Africa. And next thing you know, fast forward 15, 20 years, and we were in 69 countries. And this will sound better than it is, but we got to help plant over 35,000 churches. Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s incredible. Dave Ferguson — And at the same time, we also started Exponential. And so all three of those things had seemed to have God’s favor on it, grew. And in the last year, I apprenticed a new lead pastor, Ted Coniaris, that you referenced, who is, I guess, recently on the podcast… Rich Birch — Yes, yes. Dave Ferguson — …and who’s doing a great job at Community.Dave Ferguson — And then then on top of that, we moved New Thing underneath Exponential. So Exponential actually acquired New Thing. And for us, that feels really good. It was pretty, pretty easy transition, but feels really good because we have something we call the 16% mission that we’re going after. And it’s starting to feel actually achievable now. Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s so cool. Dave Ferguson — So I think I think that’s all that’s all the things.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s that’s it. Just that’s it. Yeah, that’s amazing. It’s so good. And, you know, there’s a lot I respect about you and your leadership. But one of the core things I love is you’ve really given your life to multiplication. You’re focused on this idea, helping us think about and then really in the best sort of way, poking and prodding and pushing us to come back to this idea. Rich Birch — I think for many of us, the word multiplication is the kind of thing we can hear it so many times. We can kind of tune it out or it like, what does that actually mean? Aren’t we all committed to multiplication? Isn’t it, isn’t that just what it means? So why does it still matter to the church today? Really lay it on thick here. Why is multiplication such a big deal?Dave Ferguson — Yeah. I mean, two things real quick. I mean, one for every one of your listeners, if they’re involved in ministry, I mean, they want, they they’re trading their life and they want to make the greatest impact they can. And I’m telling you, when you don’t invest in multiplication, you’re short selling yourself. You’re not going to, you’re not going to get to make the kind of impact that God intended for you to, or you possibly could.Dave Ferguson — So, I mean, Let me give you a quick example, so it becomes real tangible.Dave Ferguson — So two weeks ago, I was in Long Beach, California, and I ran into Matt Larson. Matt’s a guy who did a leadership residency with us probably, man, it’s been a long time ago now, 15 years ago. So he basically came, spent a year with us at Community, really sharp leader, but he didn’t really understand how to multiply. And we kind of helped him understand how to do that. Dave Ferguson — So he does that, goes back to Ventura, California, plants Anthem Church, and they’ve planted 15 churches. Rich Birch — Wow. Wow. Dave Ferguson — So think about this and this this. And I don’t know how you keep score, but this is how I keep score with my own, how am I making a difference?Rich Birch — Yes.Dave Ferguson — So like even like if I’m taking a day off in Chicago… Rich Birch — Right. Dave Ferguson — …Matt’s still working in Ventura, California, and he’s planting churches. Rich Birch — Right. Amazing.Dave Ferguson — And I, you know, you’ve heard me probably say like my favorite quote from Bob Buford, my fruit grows in other people’s trees.Dave Ferguson — That’s what multiplication does. Rich Birch — So good.Dave Ferguson — Instead of just having one tree, you get a whole orchard. Dave Ferguson — Or Troy McMahon, who’s one of my best friends.Dave Ferguson — My wife’s getting ready to go to Kansas City to see his wife in just a few hours here.Dave Ferguson — And I mean, again, probably 15 years ago, they took 25 people who moved from Chicago to Kansas City. We blessed them and sent them with some money. They’ve gone to multiple locations.Dave Ferguson — They’ve started four networks there in Kansas City and have probably planted somewhere between 60 and 70 churches.Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s amazing.Dave Ferguson — I mean, again, if I can say it this way, like I count that.Rich Birch — Yes, yes.Dave Ferguson — I’m just telling people. So if you just want to kind of focus on just your thing, you will never, ever make the kind of impact you can if you invest in multiplication of multiplying other leaders.Rich Birch — Yeah. Dave Ferguson — And the other thing, so one, it’s in your best interest because you got this game not to make money. None of us are making any money, right?Rich Birch — Right. Sure. Yes, yes.Dave Ferguson — You got this game because you’re like, this is the best way I can make a difference. And if you’re not doing multiplication, you’re short selling yourself.Dave Ferguson — But let me add one more thing.Rich Birch — Yep.Dave Ferguson — It’s also how the mission gets accomplished. I mean, if you went into Acts 1:8, Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, ends of the earth, and Jesus said, okay, here four more guys.Dave Ferguson — Last time, before I leave, i want to shoot here’s here’s the mission, Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, ends of the earth. The only way that that’s going to happen is if there’s a movement, and movement does not happen unless there’s multiplication.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s so good. Yeah, and there’s, ah you know, one of the things I appreciate about kind of the the you and the broader exponential movement, I think you’ve helped really sharpen this conversation, tighten this up and get clarity for us, which I think is is positive.Rich Birch — And, you know, I bump into a lot of churches that are struggling, a lot of teams that are struggling with getting their their staff to be Ephesians 4 type people, people that are equipping others, that are multiplying others, that they, and there’s an interesting connection between these two, right? Somewhere we thought, oh, you could reach a bunch of people, but not actually equip anyone, which is so strange, right? It’s a strange, and actually there’s only a tiny fraction of churches that are actually multiplying today.Rich Birch — Most are only doing addition. I think this this thinking is one of the ways I think you’ve helped us sharpen this up. Why do you think that math is so stuck and kind of unpack that, help us understand, you know, the kind of the problem we’re trying to attack here.Dave Ferguson — Yeah. I think one of the things you’re referencing, so I casually talked about the 16% mission. Let me back up.Dave Ferguson — We want to see 16%, and I know your audience is bigger than the United States, but in the U.S., that’s where our exponential U.S.’s focus is. We want to see 16% of all churches in the U.S. become reproducing or multiplying churches. And that means that they’ve ever planted a church in the last three years.Dave Ferguson — When we first did the homework on this, it’s only about 4%. Now we’ve moved the needle in the last 10 years to 7%. Rich Birch — Amazing.Dave Ferguson — We think in the next five years, we can get to 10%. In the next 10 years, we can get to 16%. And 16% is kind of that tipping point. Where the of that tipping point, you get the right innovators and early adopters. They will convince the whole that this should be normative.Dave Ferguson — And that’s what we’re trying to do. So with that in mind, you’re right. So we’re still only at 7%. And I think the biggest… we’re stuck we’re stuck in an existing paradigm. We’re like fish swimming in water that um we think the best that we can do is grow a church. And I And I think candidly, here’s how I’d frame it up. I think most leaders wake up every morning asking the question, how can can grow my church?Rich Birch — Right.Dave Ferguson — How can I grow my church? And that’s a good question, but it’s not a great question. It’s not an Acts 1:8 question.Rich Birch — Right. Right.Dave Ferguson — It’s not the kind of question going allow you to maximize your impact, you know, where you’re sleeping in on a Saturday you’ve got a guy in Kansas City and you’ve got a guy in Southern California who’s planting churches. Okay.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good.Dave Ferguson — A better question is how do we multiply God’s kingdom? Rich Birch — So good.Dave Ferguson — And if and if we could get if we could get leaders to wake up every morning asking that question. Okay, and again, I and versus we, because it’s going to take us working together, not just grow, like addition, but actually multiply, multiplication, and not just my church, but actually God’s kingdom.Dave Ferguson — I mean, it’s going to make a huge difference in the kingdom. And I think, so when you get stuck in that kind of addition, like how do I grow my church, it impacts decisions you make about money… Rich Birch — Yep. Dave Ferguson — …because you’re going to go, oh, I need to keep that here. So we can you know add another you know and add another wing to our building versus like, oh, guess what? Maybe if I so if i sent that money to you know this church plant, it’s going to result in 70 churches in Kansas City.Dave Ferguson — I mean, it’s highly leveraged like venture spiritual venture capital is what it is. Rich Birch — Yeah. Dave Ferguson — It implements the decisions we make about staff. You know, we want to hold on to our best staff instead of developing them. And then some of them who actually have the capability of starting other churches and even networks, blessing them and sending them out and going like, yeah, I’m a spiritual father and these are my kids. I’m cheering them on. Dave Ferguson — So I think that’s that’s, we’re kind of stuck in this paradigm and it’s not a biblical one, but it is a paradigm that we’re stuck in.Rich Birch — Yeah. I love that. And, you know, I’ve similarly been with a lot of leadership teams where we’re in the kind of growth conversation. And I’ll come at that from ah kind of the almost the opposite end, but you end in the same place, which you end up saying, like, this box is not big enough to contain the number of people that your church is hoping to reach.Rich Birch — Like we can’t build a box big enough to do that.Rich Birch — I don’t care how much money, I don’t care how good you are at fundraising, you can’t do that. So we have to multiply. If you really think that we are trying to reach and make an impact in our community, if there’s so many churches say, we’re for whatever city we’re in, we’re for Chicago, we’re for whatever.Rich Birch — If you’re really for that, then you have to be by definition for multiplication and for other churches and for seeing, you know, this thing multiplying out. We can’t, we can’t get them all to come here. That’s never going to work. That’s just, it doesn’t work at all.Dave Ferguson — And here’s thing you can, though, do. I mean, you’re right. If it’s just about their butts in your seats, whatever. But if it’s about you bringing them and equipping them and then sending them out, oh, that’s highly leveraged. And that could be a really good use of a building or facility.Rich Birch — Right, right. Yeah, absolutely. That’s good. So, so much of this conversation, you know, I want to tap in your expertise. We’ve got a lot of lot of executive pastors listening in. You know, you have been in the one of the multiple seats you’ve sat in has been the kind of lead pastor seat. And let’s talk to some XPs from your perspective as as a you know a lead pastor around this area.Dave Ferguson — Oh, good. Those are the people actually the stuff done. They’re not just the top. These are the executors.Rich Birch — But let’s let’s think that through. So vision isn’t just about getting up on Sunday and preaching about it. You’ve actually led organizations that have done this stuff. And you know you’ve you’ve cast a compelling vision, but then have seen the organizations actually go out and make this stuff happen. So we think about it from our seat as an executive pastor. What is the executive pastor? Where do we actually come into play in this thing? What’s our piece of the puzzle? How can we help kind of move this thing forward at an operational level? You you named a couple of things, money, staffing. Help us think through that.Dave Ferguson — and And the assumption here is, okay, so the lead pastor is pro-multiplication, and now you have to execute the vision.Rich Birch — Yeah.Dave Ferguson — I I think one of the things, grab a hold of how do we create ah a multiplication culture? Because if you can create a multiplication in culture, you will literally become, people in your church will become unconsciously competent.Dave Ferguson — I’m thinking of a real quick story. A friend of mine named Doug. Doug was a guy who was nominally involved at Community. All right. Long story short, only because his wife insisted he joined a small group that Sue and I were leading. Now I didn’t have an apprentice leader in that small group, which is which is not good, okay? That’s how you don’t create a culture.Dave Ferguson — But we went through six weeks and I went up to Doug and I said, I told him, I said, hey… And actually said in front of the whole group because he’s the kind of guy I could do this to. I said, hey, I know this group would like to continue, but we can’t continue unless we have an apprentice leader.Rich Birch — Nice.Dave Ferguson — And I said, Doug, will you be my apprentice leader?Rich Birch — That’s great. Dave Ferguson — He’s kind of like you. Rich Birch — Yeah. Dave Ferguson — Big guy with a bald head. Beads his sweat or popping on top of his head. He says, all right, I’ll do it, I’ll do it, I’ll do it. Rich Birch — Right. Dave Ferguson — So he he agrees to be my apprentice leader. So I start meeting with him because the group was on Wednesdays. I’d meet with him on Tuesdays at Starbucks around 4 o’clock as he’d finish up work. And we’d kind of…And I remember his first question to me was like, hey, so if I’m going to be an apprentice leader, I should read the Bible, I guess, right?Dave Ferguson — I’m like, yeah, you probably should.Rich Birch — Yes, it’s a good starting point.Dave Ferguson — And so I told him how I how I do it. But over the course of the next 14 months or so, um you know, I basically apprenticed him through what we call the the five steps.Dave Ferguson — And here’s here’s the fun part of this story. OK, so Doug didn’t have much of a church background.Dave Ferguson — So he gets to the place where he thinks he’s ready to lead a group. And I think he’s ready, which people ask me a lot. how do you know when a leader is ready? I think it’s really that it’s that simple when they think they’re ready and you think they’re ready, they’re ready. And so I said, okay, why don’t you take over this group? It’ll be easy for me to go start a new group. You take… And he he said, okay. Dave Ferguson — I come back, like two or three weeks later, to Starbucks on Tuesday at 4 o’clock, sitting at the exact same table where we would always sit was Doug and his brand new apprentice, Tim.Rich Birch — Love it.Dave Ferguson — And so Doug was like unconsciously competent. He was like, oh, I thought I thought every church in America did that. I thought that’s how it works. I didn’t know I had a choice.Rich Birch — Yes, yes.Dave Ferguson — And if you create a culture of multiplication, that’s what will happen over and over and over again.Rich Birch — Yeah, I love that. Well, and and yeah, what a vivid picture. And, you know, we’ve got to move our our people and our systems towards, you know, continuing to multiply at every level. When you think about a church that’s stuck and it maybe is is just focusing on addition. They’re really in that, but they they have a desire to want to multiply.Rich Birch — Is your recommendation, or maybe what you’ve seen happen, the churches that have actually made that pivot towards multiplication, is it like a ground up thing? Like we start with, man, we’ve got to get all of our, you know, all of our team leaders get an apprentice, let’s go there. And then we’ll trickle up through the organization, which then leads to the conclusion. Oh, by the way, we’re going to have to, we’re going to multiply because we’ve kind of built this culture.Rich Birch — Or, is it better to go or or maybe there’s advantages to go one way or the other from the kind of the, hey, we’re going to declare this and that’s going to kind of pull us towards multiplication. Do you understand what I’m saying? Ground up or we cast a vision to pull towards it.Dave Ferguson — Yeah. And creating the culture.Rich Birch — Yeah, yeah. In creating the culture, yeah.Dave Ferguson — If you haven’t, if you, if you don’t currently have that kind of culture, here’s what I would encourage leaders to do. I do think it does start at the top with like the lead pastor and the executive pastor.Dave Ferguson — And I encourage leaders at every level. I said, lead at the smallest level of your organization and lead at the largest level and you train and trust everybody in between.Rich Birch — Oh, that’s good. That’s good.Dave Ferguson — You want, and so for, I mean, all, whatever it was, 30 some years at Community, I always led a small group and I tried to always have an apprentice leader. So you need to do that.Rich Birch — Right.Dave Ferguson — And if you can get, okay. And I think there was a moment where you declare, Hey, this is who we are. And you need to decide if you want to buy in or not. You’re firm, but kind about that. Rich Birch — Yep.Dave Ferguson — And if you can get all of your staff, plus all the people that you consider as leaders and key influencers, which is probably somewhere around 16 to 20% of your total church. You get them bought into it.Dave Ferguson — Once you get them bought into it, and it’ll probably take you a year and they’re actually doing this stuff. Then you preach a sermon on it. Then you start casting vision on it. Then you declare it for the whole, because what will happen is that, again, kind of back to that innovators and early adopters. When they’re in the lobby and somebody comes them and goes like, hey, what do you think about this idea of apprenticeship? And we’re all going to have apprentices or multiply. They’ll already have been done it. They’ll have done it for a year.Dave Ferguson — And they’ll be like, oh, yeah, I think this is awesome. And that’s exactly what you want.Rich Birch — Right.Dave Ferguson — Does that make sense? Rich Birch — Yeah, it makes total sense. Yeah. And even what you’re doing.Dave Ferguson — I guess I’m questioning if you’re ready to make that shift, I wouldn’t preach a sermon on it first, because what they’re going to do is if you’re preaching a sermon on it and you’re not doing this stuff, what happens is you implicitly and almost accidentally create a culture that says, oh, I don’t actually have to do this stuff because the guy who’s casting the vision only talks about it and doesn’t actually do it. And so you create that culture, which is what we have a lot of.Rich Birch — Yeah, yeah, I for sure I’ve seen a lot of that in, you know, in the churches I’ve been a part of, even with stuff like ah the fact that you, you know, were leading in a group, you know, I’ve I’ve seen a number, not necessarily the lead pastors I’ve worked for, but in churches where there’s like the lead pastor, they like elevate themselves out of that kind of thing. And they’re like Oh, I don’t need to interact with normal people. And, and that comes out, you know, I’ve, cause I’ve said it all the time to lead pastors. I’m like, even simply like, I would way rather you that just leak out of you that you’re, that you’re apprenticing a leader in a small group.Rich Birch — Then, then we have some big thing on why apprenticing is important because people will catch the the small little things, the little breadcrumbs here and there. They’ll catch that at a more powerful level than the big, let’s put a, let’s get a brand name, stick it on a wall, you know, kind of thing. That’s cool. That’s great.Dave Ferguson — It’ll but end up in your sermons, it’ll end sidebars, hallway conversations. Here’s one of my favorite examples. You know, Nicky Gumbel, right?Rich Birch — Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.Dave Ferguson — So Nicky’s the guy who previously was the vicar at Holy Trinity Brompton. He was really the guy who kind of really brought out Alpha… Rich Birch — Yeah. Dave Ferguson — …which you might say is, I mean, right there with Billy Graham and the Apostle Paul… Rich Birch — Yeah, Oh, absolutely. 100%. Dave Ferguson — …greatest evangelistic tools that we’ve ever had.Rich Birch — Yes. 100%.Dave Ferguson — One of the things I love about Nicky is I don’t know how exactly how many years, it’s probably been 40 years. Every semester for 40 years, he always leads an Alpha course.Rich Birch — Yes. Yes.Dave Ferguson — There’s a reason they have such a strong culture and so powerful. Rich Birch — Yes.Dave Ferguson — And that’s a big mistake. I mean, I think as, you know, we’ve planted church and starts to grow. And we’re trying to figure out, what can I do and what shouldn’t I do? And one of the first things that goes, oh well, I just won’t lead a small group anymore. I won’t lead a missional community anymore. Whatever is that smallest organizing principle is, you want to hold on to that. Train and trust everybody else to do everything in between. Rich Birch — That’s very good.Dave Ferguson — And as you continue to grow and scale, yeah, influence way out there. But but Ii’ll hold on to this too.Rich Birch — Yeah, continuing to shout out Nikki, I just think the world of Alpha… Dave Ferguson — I do too. Rich Birch — …and it’s been so effective for our our church. And I had an opportunity to interact with him right in the teeth of COVID. I was doing an interview with him. And he, we were talking about some stuff and i it really marked, it was one of those like you lean forward and you’re like, okay, that’s interesting.Rich Birch — He was talking about how he’s like, you know, for years, the meal is a big deal for for Alpha and like, you know, hospitality is a big deal for that. And he said, I was always critical of people that did Alpha online. He’s like, I was always critical of people doing it over Zoom and was like, I would say you can’t do it over Zoom. You can’t do it over Zoom.Rich Birch — And he said, obviously people did it over Zoom and I wasn’t stopping them, but I was, I poo-pooed it. Well, then well then COVID came. And he said exactly what you said. I’m still leading alpha courses and our Apha groups. And so I’m in an Alpha group. And what do you know? This is amazing. God works through this. Rich Birch — And so I was really struck by that, that he as a leader would have the humility to say, hey, I was wrong, but I’m enough in the weeds of this thing to understand, okay, what are the actual implications for our ministry? I think that’s a huge lesson for us to pull away.Dave Ferguson — Well, I mean, two things…Rich Birch — And yeah, I think it’s 35 million people they put through that. Yeah.Dave Ferguson — My thought is two things. One, is I remember that podcast. So thank you very much. I remember going, listening to him. And and and excuse me. And it shaped a lot of the ways I even thought about COVID from hearing from him on that.Dave Ferguson — But I think I think this the second thing is, I think what you were kind of replying to, you have to be in the weeds… Rich Birch — Yes. Dave Ferguson — …in order to know how the next innovation is going to happen. I mean, if if he wasn’t doing that, he would have kept with his assumption, no, it’s not going to work and maybe made a lot of bad choices.Rich Birch — Right, right. And we would end up in ah yeah and a very tough spot today. In a lot of ways, that that ministry continues to accelerate… Dave Ferguson — Oh, yeah. Rich Birch — …or that movement really continues to accelerate ah you know in these years, which is amazing.Rich Birch — So one of the things let’s talk about, so one of the things I’ve heard you say is that you really build the case that multiplication has to be built on health, not on hustle. And you know there was a previous generation that was really valued like we wanted leaders. We didn’t want leaders that were burnt out, but we wanted them one step back from being burnt out. We wanted them like right there, right at the line. But what, you know, but I know that’s not what you’re advocating for. But it but I think sometimes our teams, our people, our cultures can look at this and say, this feels like one more thing to do.Rich Birch — So what why does this distinction of health, not hustle, how does that factor in when we’re thinking about actually trying to become a multiplying organization when we’re, you know, we’ve got lots of other stuff to carry as we’re thinking about it. Help us understand that.Dave Ferguson — My experience, particularly working with church planters and other leaders, is they aren’t afraid to hustle. Rich Birch — Right.Dave Ferguson — And in fact, that’s our default position, that I that I will I can maybe outwork the next person. And they’re willing to do it for it for a good cause. But even though we are willing to that, it actually gives us the wrong result. Because if we only hustle more, if only work more, you’re not going to make the impact you could, like I’ve already described, if you’re multiplying more. So I am constantly encouraging leaders, don’t work more, multiply more. Don’t work more, multiply more. And that’s how you make the biggest impact. Dave Ferguson — The other part of that, which is really important, I kind of have a conviction. We knew that we need to try to do the Jesus mission the Jesus way.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good.Dave Ferguson — We want to do the Jesus mission, the Jesus way. And I think that has to do with, no, I’m going to try to i’m gonna try to be a great dad. I want to try to be a great husband. I want to try to be a good steward of this body that I have. I want to pay attention to what my thought life, I want to pay attention to my anxiety and and and and levels and and am I feeling depressed? I want to make sure I’m okay spiritually.Dave Ferguson — And I think if we’re doing those kinds of things, we’re checking what I call these four gauges, I think will be healthy leaders.Dave Ferguson — And here’s the axiom that I have kind of led by, especially over the last couple decades, is that you will reproduce who you are and what you do.Rich Birch — Yes. Right.Dave Ferguson — So if if if you want to reproduce unhealth, then be unhealthy. But like if you really want, if you want the, if you want the, the guys in your church to be really good dads. You don’t have to be a perfect dad, but just put in the effort and let them know that you’re also putting in the effort.Rich Birch — Right.Dave Ferguson — If you want to be a you want people to be you know really good spouses, then try to be that yourself. Because you’re going to reproduce who you are and what you do.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s so good. I really appreciate that you’re you know that you’re pressing on these issues. I think this is a a critical thing you know for us, and particularly as we, you know I’m in a phase of my ministry where looking on to like, okay, how am I handing this stuff off?Rich Birch — What am I doing to try to help the next generation? And man, I would love the next generation to, I think one of the things that particularly Gen Z leaders are attuned to is they seem to be naturally attuned to like, we’re not going to like drive over a cliff for this thing. We want to do this in a healthy manner. Rich Birch — And and you’re not obviously, you know, you’re highly productive. You get a lot done and Exponential is a highly productive organization. You do a lot. But we want to do it—I like that—you were saying, you know, the Jesus mission, in the Jesus way. That’s actually at the heart of your most recent book Multiplier. Rich Birch — You talk, you kind of referenced these four gauges. Can you unpack that a little bit more at a high level? Help us understand what are the four gauges? And what were you hoping with this book? Why, why another book? Why is this one? What are you hoping this accomplishes for churches?Dave Ferguson — I think there’s a lot of great content out there about personal health, emotional health, how to have a rule of life, that kind of stuff. And we and we need to avail ourselves to it. I think there’s also a lot of great stuff and some of it that I’ve helped contribute to around how do you multiply? How do you you know develop leaders? How do you hero making? All that kind of stuff.Dave Ferguson — What I tried to do in this book though is show how those are so interconnected. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. Dave Ferguson — That if you really want to do this for a long time, and that’s how you make the biggest impact, it’s only going to come if you’re a healthy leader, because again, you reproduce who you are.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good.Dave Ferguson — And so what we do is we kind of, we, we, we talk about the problem and the problem that all of us face, in the first couple of chapters, is what I call drift.Dave Ferguson — And we drift because…maybe frame it this way. I’ve never had a conversation with a young leader who tells me, hey, 15 years from now, here’s my dream: I hope I’m 50 pounds overweight and divorced and compromising my core convictions.Rich Birch — That’s so true.Dave Ferguson — I’ve never had that conversation. Rich Birch — Right.Dave Ferguson — But we read about it almost every week. And I sometimes share the story. I mean, I was in a small group with some of the most influential pastors, maybe in the world, but definitely in Chicago for about eight or nine years. If I tried to reassemble that group today, half the seats would be empty.Dave Ferguson — And I don’t think it’s, and I think it’s because they, they drifted and they unintentionally ended up someplace they never intended to be.Rich Birch — Right. Right.Rich Birch — Dave Ferguson — They didn’t intend to end up, you know, in a hotel room with a woman that wasn’t plan A, when they planted a church. Rich Birch — Right. Dave Ferguson — Or to create a toxic culture, which really benefited them more than other people i don’t think that was like the, the goal from the very beginning. Does that make sense? Rich Birch — Yeah, absolutely.Dave Ferguson — And I think what happens is we incrementally, we drift a little bit of time until, you know, in a variety of ways, we end up someplace we never intended to be. So one of the things that I do, I’ll I'll just, maybe I’ll show you here too. I know, this is, this is, I’ll just show you. And I don’t, I know we’re not doing anything on video. I don’t think, but this is, this is kind of, this is my journal.Rich Birch — Yeah.Dave Ferguson — Oh, that’s one from like December. Wow. That’s old. There we go. There we go. That’s actually yesterday. And so like, I just write these four letters, RPMS in my journal almost every day.Dave Ferguson — And R stands for relational. How are things with Sue, the kids, my friends?Dave Ferguson — P stands for physical. How am I doing stewarding this body? For me, it’s a trip the fitness center or out running on the prairie path. Dave Ferguson — How am I doing mentally, which has to do with kind of stress or anxiety or thought life?Dave Ferguson — And then how am I doing spiritually? What’s going on between me and God? Dave Ferguson — And then so I just make a little gauge here and I kind of just, where am I? Where am I? And then I actually go ahead and give myself, I like to keep score. If we got executive pastors, they’ll like this. You should keep score.Rich Birch — Yeah, they like numbers. Stuff that ends up on spreadsheets. It’s good.Dave Ferguson — So you can see, like, so I gave myself a score for each of those on a scale of 1 to 10, then a composite, which was 5, which was actually down from 5.25 the day before. And I think that’s because, as you can kind of hear, I got a little bit of a cold, so I’m not feeling well.Dave Ferguson — And, but I, I try to do this every day. And I encourage leaders, those four gauges, relational, physical, mental, spiritual. If you’ll just spend four minutes every day…Rich Birch — That’s so good.Dave Ferguson — …reflecting on those four areas prayerfully, how am I doing relationally? How am I doing physically? How am I doing mentally? How doing spiritually? You’re going to drift. We all drift, but here’s the thing. You’re not going to go a whole month or a whole year or a decade and and suddenly wake up, you know, and someone’s dragging you into court and you’re going like, how in the world did I end up here?Rich Birch — Yeah, I think this is…Dave Ferguson — And so… Rich Birch — Yeah, I would just want to… Dave Ferguson — …it’s hopefully it’s a very, very practical tool for here’s how you can do this every day. And and let me throw this in Rich too, because I want to make sure I hit this. And then if you can do it in community… Rich Birch — Yes. Dave Ferguson — …that’ll way mitigate how much you lie to yourself.Rich Birch — Yes.Dave Ferguson — t’s like if a small group or a missional community every week, just checking in or once a month with another group that you’re you’re working with, I think that if you do that, it’s not foolproof, but it’ll be a big, big, big help.Rich Birch — Yeah. Yeah. The human, uh, human propensity for self-delusion is incredible, right? Like our ability to like become, to lie to ourselves, let alone other people is amazing. You know, I, I want to just honor you for, I think, you know, I, obviously I saw it Exponential this year where you’ve been rolling it out. I’ve, I’ve, I haven’t read the entire book yet, but I’ve read a bunch of it. And I really appreciate that at this phase in your, journey, you’re raising this flag, I think, and connecting it so, you know, integrally to the multiplier, the multiplication mission. I think that is so critically important because we, you know, we’ve seen those leaders who make a series of foolish, unwise decisions that ultimately end up in a tragic spot.Rich Birch — And oftentimes it’s like, I don’t know what to say to people. How do you avoid that? And I like that you have, you’ve put together a framework here to help us think that. Now, as you’ve rolled the book out to folks…Dave Ferguson — How old you how old are you, Rich?Rich Birch — 52.Dave Ferguson — 52. Rich Birch — Yes. Dave Ferguson — Okay. Like, I’m convinced God’s probably got at least another 20 years… Rich Birch — Sure. Dave Ferguson — …you know, and ah and in some ways it’ll probably be your highest impact years.Rich Birch — Yep. Yep.Dave Ferguson — But if one of these gauges goes way south and takes you out, like there’s 20 of the best years of difference-making that we don’t get from Rich Birch. And it’s not just Rich Birch. Every one of the people listening to the podcast. I mean, I think there’s a whole bunch of people that God goes like, no, I got 75 years or 80 years of difference making. And let’s do the whole run.Rich Birch — Yeah. No, I appreciate that. That’s why I think it’s, it’s I'm not doing a good way I’m not doing a good job articulating. I think it’s a gift that you’ve given to the church because you’re helping us actually attack this problem in a really super practical, good way that that I can see it making a huge difference.Rich Birch — And I would agree with you. I think what I realized after being however many decades in ministry, there’s like a real cumulative effect here that it’s like, you know, each decade, I thought things were great in my thirties and then I hit my forties and now I’m in my fifties.Rich Birch — I’m like, oh my goodness, there’s and and sometimes people will say, they’ll they’ll ask you know kind of questions like, you know hey, how do you basically, you know how do you do what you do or whatever? And a part of I’m like, well, you just stay in it. Like you just keep doing it, right? And stay in the game and stay plugged in and yeah.Dave Ferguson — And the and the longer your influence continues to grow, I mean, like, in the kindest, humble way, if Rich Birch emails somebody, you respond. Rich Birch — Right. Yeah, that’s kind.Dave Ferguson — Because I mean, you’ve put in so much time you mean now that you you’re able to get things done that quicker than you couldn’t before because people know who you are, they’re interested in what you’re doing, right?Rich Birch — Yeah. Yeah, it’s true.Dave Ferguson — And I think that’s true with all of us. Our influence will just continue to grow if we stay faithful to this.Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s great. So I want to, I’m going to, we’re going to talk about where you can get the book in a minute, but just before we get there, of the four, this book’s been out now for a while and it’s out in the world. It’s, you know, as an author, I know that’s a very different experience. You go from writing and then it goes out there and then people react to it.Rich Birch — Are there any of those four gauges that you’ve been surprised by the reaction or you’ve noted the reaction? Like, oh, that’s interesting. I’m hearing from people or I’ve seen, you know, maybe it’s a conversation or that sort of thing that any four of those have kind of bubbled up in in discussion.Dave Ferguson — I think the one, I think that’s what surprised me so far in the conversation is how important the physical gauge, how, how underestimated it is and how important it is.Rich Birch — Oh, interesting. Tell me more.Dave Ferguson — I was just, I was just in a conversation this morning with somebody who’s telling me that he’s really been working on these four gauges and for him in the last year’s dropped 40 pounds. And he’s like, it has, it has really shifted my influence, my, my leadership.Dave Ferguson — He said, I just, I feel more confident walking into a room. And I, yeah, I think probably as Christian leaders, we probably downplay that one the most. And I'm I am surprised.Rich Birch — Right.Dave Ferguson — I’m not saying it’s the most important of the four… Rich Birch — No. Yeah. Dave Ferguson — …but I am surprised how important it is and the feedback I’m getting on it.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. I can see that. I can see that for sure.Dave Ferguson — Yeah, I mean we’re whole people.Rich Birch — Yeah, absolutely. And I, you know, the, the days I ride that Peloton in the morning, I’m better at, I’m a better husband those days. I’m a better, you know, it’s, it just works out, which is, yeah, that’s really cool.Rich Birch — All right. So we want to, so when I, as I’ve been going through this, what I’ve been struck by is, man, I think this could be a real gift for our team’s to go through together. i think this could be a great tool for our staff teams. Maybe if I’m an executive pastor, it’s like, Hey, what if we went through this with our senior leaders first? And then maybe we roll it out to our teams or something like that. Where can people pick up copies of this book? Where do we want to send them online to get them? I’m assuming Amazon. Is there anywhere else we want to send them?Dave Ferguson — You know what? Let me give you two things that comes to mind. One is if they’re ready to make a commitment, say, hey, I want to be a multiplier. If you go exponential.org/multiplier, exponential.org/multiplier, there’s a place there where you can say, hey, I want to be a multiplier.Dave Ferguson — We’ll explain how you can be involved in meetups and cohorts and resource. We actually have a multiplier digital check-in. So you can actually do this online every day, that kind of stuff. So that’s one place that would be, I think, really fun.Dave Ferguson — But you’re right, um a lot of people are using it as a book to go over with their with their staff or with their teams or even their networks. And if they’re going to get, I think it’s like six or seven or more, maybe it’s a dozen, somewhere in that neighborhood, you’re going to get more than few, go ahead and email me and I’ll tell you you get a bulk discount. And that’s dave@exponential.orgRich Birch — Great.Dave Ferguson — dave@exponential.org – Say, hey, I’m going to do this with my team. How can I get a bulk discount? And my assistant, Sarah or me, will get back to you and let you know how you can do that.Rich Birch — Yes, that’s fantastic. Friends, I don’t say this with every author that comes on, but I really, I would highly endorse, would recommend that you do that. I think this could be the book you should pick up maybe this summer, read it by yourself, read it with a small group of people. I do think this could be, I think it’s a critical resource. I think it’s, I think this is more than just like, hey, it’s another book. You know, I think there’s a real potential here for this to shift the conversation in a really positive way in the broader church. So I would love more people to pick it up. Well, Dave, this has been incredible. I really appreciate you being here today. Any final words as we kind of land today’s episode?Dave Ferguson — I would probably come back to, if I was going leave people with one thought, is just just remember that you’re going to reproduce who you are and what you do.Rich Birch — So good. Appreciate you, Dave. Thanks so much. We want to send people to exponential.org. Is there anywhere else online we want them to go if they want to track with you or with the movement or anything like that?Dave Ferguson — I mean um I’m on most of the socials, so you can follow me there. DaveFerguson.org, DaveFerguson.org, if, you know, for some reason you want me to speak or do something or find other books that I’ve written.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s great. Thanks for being here today, sir. Appreciate that.Dave Ferguson — Hey, my pleasure.

คอลัมน์ “สดแต่เช้า”ปีที่6(ตอนที่93)วิสัยทัศน์ของพระเยซู!“และเมื่อพระองค์ทอดพระเนตรฝูงชนก็ทรงสงสารเขาทั้งหลายเพราะพวกเขาถูกรังควานและไร้ที่พึ่งเหมือนฝูงแกะไม่มีผู้เลี้ยง”‭‭ ~มัทธิว‬ ‭9‬:‭36‬ ‭THSV11‬‬“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”‭‭~Matthew‬ ‭9‬:‭36‬ ‭NIV‬‬ผมไปประชุม Alpha Asia Pacific Conference ที่มาเลเซียกับพี่น้องผู้นำคริสตจักรและคนรุ่นใหม่ราว80คนมีอยู่ตอนหนึ่ง Nicky Gumbel แบ่งปันในหัวเรื่องว่า “วิสัยทัศน์ของพระเยซู” (The Vision of Jesus)โดยอรรถาธิบายจาก พระคัมภีร์ มัทธิว 9:35-38 โดยย้ำว่า“วิสัยทัศน์คือกุญแจของชีวิต!”(Vision is the key to life.)ใช่ครับเมื่อใดก็ตามที่เราเข้าร่วมใน วิสัยทัศน์ของพระเยซูเมื่อนั้น ชีวิตของเราจะมีเป้าหมายล้ำค่าที่ยิ่งใหญ่ขึ้นมาทันที!  พระธรรม มัทธิว 9:35-38 ตอนนี้จึงเป็นจุดเปลี่ยนสำคัญของพระกิตติคุณNicky Gumbel อธิบายไว้ดังนี้ ว่าก่อนที่พระเยซูจะส่งสาวกออกไป พระองค์ทรงเปิดเผยวิสัยทัศน์ของพระองค์ให้พวกเขาร่วมรับรู้ ดังนี้ 1.ความต้องการนั้นเร่งด่วน (The Need is Urgent)“เพราะพวกเขาถูกรังควานและไร้ที่พึ่งเหมือนฝูงแกะไม่มีผู้เลี้ยง”(36ก.) - พระเยซูไม่ได้มองด้วยสายตาภายนอก แต่ทรงมองด้วยสายตาฝ่ายวิญญาณ- พระองค์ทรงเห็นผู้คนที่ สับสน วิตกกังวล หมดหวัง โดดเดี่ยว ไร้จุดหมาย- พวกเขาเหมือนแกะที่ไม่มีผู้เลี้ยง- โลกทุกวันนี้ยังเต็มไปด้วยผู้คนที่กำลังแสวงหาความหวังและความหมายของชีวิตเหมือนแกะไม่มีผู้เลี้ยงเช่นกัน ​ แรงจูงใจคือความรัก (The Motive is Love)“และเมื่อพระองค์ทอดพระเนตรฝูงชนก็ทรงสงสารเขาทั้งหลาย”(36ข.)- สิ่งที่ผลักดันพันธกิจของพระเยซูไม่ใช่หน้าที่ แต่คือความรัก- ข่าวประเสริฐทั้งหมดสามารถสรุปได้ว่า พระเยซูทรงสิ้นพระชนม์เพื่อเรา เพราะพระองค์ทรงรักเราอย่างไม่มีเงื่อนไข- ทุกวันนี้ผู้คนกำลังแสวงหา 3 สิ่ง คือ ความรัก (Love), จุดมุ่งหมาย (Purpose) และ การเป็นส่วนหนึ่ง (Belonging) ซึ่งทั้งหมดนี้พบได้ในพระเยซูคริสต์! ​ตัวกระตุ้นคือการอธิษฐาน (The Trigger is Prayer)“เพราะฉะนั้นท่านจงอ้อนวอนพระองค์ผู้ทรงเป็นเจ้าของนา ให้ทรงส่งคนงานมาเก็บเกี่ยวพืชผลของพระองค์”(38)- เราควรตระหนักว่า พันธกิจทุกอย่างเริ่มต้นจากการอธิษฐาน- พระเจ้าตรัสกับเราผ่านพระวจนะ และทรงทำงานผ่านคำอธิษฐานของเรา- อาหารทำให้เราอิ่มท้องฝ่ายกาย แต่พระวจนะของพระเจ้าเติมเต็มความหิวกระหายฝ่ายวิญญาณของเรา- การอธิษฐานคือกุญแจสำคัญของชีวิต (Prayer is the key to life) ​ศักยภาพในการเติบโตมีมากมาย (The Potential is Vast)“ข้าวที่ต้องเกี่ยวนั้นมีมากนักหนา แต่คนงานยังน้อยอยู่”(37) - พระเยซูไม่ได้ทรงมองเพียงปัญหา แต่ทรงเห็นการเก็บเกี่ยว- ทุกคนสามารถเป็นคนงานในทุ่งนาได้ ทั้งผู้ที่อธิษฐาน รับใช้ ถวาย ประกาศข่าวประเสริฐ หรือสามารถเป็นผู้ช่วยในพันธกิจต่างๆ อย่างเช่น Alpha เพราะต่างก็เป็นส่วนในพันธกิจเก็บเกี่ยวจิตวิญญาณของพระเจ้าใช่ครับ พระเจ้าสามารถใช้ชีวิตธรรมดาให้เกิดผลเหนือความคาดหมายได้ อย่างเกินความคาดคิด!พี่น้องที่รัก​มีความจริงอะไรจากพระธรรมตอนนี้บ้างที่สัมผัสใจคุณ?2.มีความเมตตาสงสารอะไรจากพระคริสต์บ้าง?ที่ผลักดันขับเคลื่อนมือเท้าของคุณให้ 1).ออกไปสร้างความแตกต่าง และ2).เปลี่ยนแปลงชุมชนและสังคมที่คุณอยู่ให้ไม่เหมือนเดิม อีกต่อไป?…บอกหน่อยได้ไหม?……………………………………ธงชัย ประดับชนานุรัตน์ 2กรกฎาคม2026(ตอนที่93ปีที่6) #YoutubeCJCONNECT#คริสตจักรแห่งความรัก#Churchoflove #ShareTheLoveForward #ChurchOfJoy #คริสตจักรแห่งความสุข#NimitmaiChristianChurch #คริสตจักรนิมิตใหม่#ฮักกัยประเทศไทย #อัลฟ่า#หนึ่งล้านความดี# Alpha Apac Conference 29มิย~3กค 2026

Übertr: Kongress am Park, Augsburg, Ref.: Nicky Gumbel MISSION:IS:POSSIBLE Augsburg

Series: Contending for the Faith Title: “Why Hold on if God Won't Let Go?” Scripture: Jude 24-25 NIV Psalm 37:23-24 Psalm 139:23-24 Proverbs 24:16 John 10:27-30 Romans 8:38-39 Ephesians 1:13-14 Hebrews 13:5 1 John 2:19 1 John 5:13 Bottom line: We hold on because he holds us. INTRODUCTION CONTEXT OUTLINE CONCLUSION DISCUSSION QUESTIONS NOTES YOUTUBE DESCRIPTION MAIN REFERENCES USED My opening prayer: Lord God, help us grow to be and do like Jesus, while abiding in him and leading others to do the same. OPENING STORY "He is able to keep..." Watch a parent walk a small child along the edge of a busy sidewalk. The child is doing real walking — short, wobbly, determined steps, working as hard as little legs can work. And then she trips. Of course she does; her foot catches the curb and she pitches forward. But she doesn't hit the pavement. She never even gets close. Her hand is wrapped inside a bigger hand, and the instant she goes, that hand lifts and steadies and sets her back on her feet before the fall can finish. She stumbled — but she did not fall. Jude has spent his whole letter telling us to walk a dangerous edge: in the midst of false and deceptive teachers, contend, build, keep, rescue — right alongside the place where others have already gone over and not come back. Now, in the last two verses, he shows us the hand. “To him who is able to keep you from stumbling.” Or as the psalmist said it long before: "Though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand" (Psalm 37:24). The missteps still come. The fatal fall never does — because the grip holding you is not your own. Said another way, we may find ourselves in the ditch along the narrow way...but he's right there pulling us out of the muck and mire back onto the highway of our God. Too Busy in this life A traveler once walked more than 700 miles to see Niagara Falls. As he neared his destination, he heard a distant roar and asked a nearby farmer, “Is that Niagara Falls?” The farmer replied, “I don't know. It might be.” Surprised, the traveler asked, “Do you live here?” “Born and raised here,” the farmer said. “And you've never gone to see the falls?” “No, stranger. I've been too busy looking after my farm.” What a tragedy—to live within the sound of one of the world's greatest wonders and never take the time to see it. And yet many Christians do something similar. We know heaven is coming. We know we will stand in the presence of God's glory. We hear about it every week. But we become so busy with the things of this world that we lose our appetite for the world to come. Jude reminds us that God is keeping us for something far greater: to be presented before His glorious presence, blameless and with great joy. Poem "Some want to live within the sound Of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop Within a yard of hell." CONTEXT The entire letter begins and ends with God's keeping power: * Jude 1 — “To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ.” * Jude 21 — “Keep yourselves in God's love…” * Jude 24 — “To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you…” * Jude 25 — Doxology praising the God who does the keeping. That creates a beautiful tension: Kept by God (v.1) → Keep yourselves in God's love (v.21) → Kept by God (v.24). The question practically preaches itself: “If God is holding me, why does Jude tell me to hold on?” Imagine being swept toward a waterfall. You know you cannot save yourself. Then a strong rescuer reaches you and takes hold of your arm. The question isn't whether he will hold on. The question is: Why would you not hold on to him? That's the tension in Jude. God has taken hold of us. Therefore, we keep ourselves in His love. Not to earn His rescue. Not to maintain His rescue. But because His rescue is already underway. “Why Hold On If He's Holding You?” That raises one of the most important questions in the Christian life: Is my salvation ultimately dependent on how tightly I hold onto God—or how tightly God holds onto me? OUTLINE (Help from Shaddix/Akin) I. God holds/keeps me. (Jude 1, 24) i.e. I am saved and secured by God's power, promise, person, and praise. A. We are secure because of God's power “To him who is able…” Not merely willing. Able. Cross references: * John 10:28-29 * Romans 8:38-39 * Philippians 1:6 B. We are secure because of God's promise If eternal life can be lost, it was never eternal. Cross references: * John 6:37-40 * John 17:12 * Hebrews 10:14 C. We are secure because of God's person God does not change. The One who called you is the One who keeps you. Cross references: * Malachi 3:6 * 2 Timothy 2:13 * Hebrews 13:8 D. We are secure because of God's praise Verse 25 is worship. Jude cannot discuss salvation without ending in doxology. The doctrine of eternal security is not merely comfort. It is fuel for worship. The point is not: “Look how strong my faith is.” The point is: “Look how great my Savior is.” II. I am to keep hold of God's love. (Jude 21) God keeps me by helping me hold on to him and his love. Many people have asked: “If God keeps me, why must I keep myself?” Answer: Because security is not an excuse for passivity. Illustrate: A child walking through a crowded airport. The child holds Dad's hand. Dad also holds the child's hand. Which grip matters most? Dad's. Yet the child still holds on. The father may even let go of the child's hand in the airport to give the child a little more freedom and the child may stay close because they know that's where they're secure. But the human condition is that we are prone to wander from his grip hurting our fellowship with him. Not that we can get away from him and his security, but that we can wander far enough to impact our fellowship and assurance negatively. Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love.” “Here's my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above.” …because relationship requires abiding John 15. …because obedience strengthens assurance Not salvation. Assurance. …because spiritual drift is real The false teachers in Jude prove this. …because God uses means Prayer. Scripture. Church. Worship. Fellowship. …because the kept become keepers Verses 22-23. We rescue others. …because God's preserving grace produces perseverance This is the key theological answer. The evidence that God is keeping us is that we continue following Him. God's sovereignty and human responsibility are friends, not enemies. You might even summarize: God's grip is the cause. Our grip is the evidence. CONCLUSION Bottom line: We hold on because he holds us. As I've said, we have four daughters. All are married. As we wait for the music to start--in those few moments where your life flashes before you--before you begin to walk down that aisle before God and all those people--I established a tradition that goes back to the days when selfies were the rage. It was 2016. Selfies were a new phenomenon. I'm standing there with Samantha and I can tell she's excited, happy, and, well, emotional,m - on the verge of tears. Now we can't have her makeup running at this moment! So I suggest we do a selfie together as we wait for the thumbs up. It only takes a few seconds. But it gave her a reason to focus on this pic (I'm about to give her away, remember, so I'm emotional too). She leans in with a huge smile and relief and joy swallow us as we take the picture as I miraculously press the right button on the first try. It's an amazing picture. So, yes, I had the privilege to escort them down the aisle and move their hand from mine to another's. It's a humbling moment. There's a moment a father knows well — standing at the back of a sanctuary with his daughter on his arm, about to walk her down the aisle and present her, radiant and whole, to the joy of the whole room. This is a foretaste of the moment when each of us will walk an aisle with our Father and King to meet Jesus in all his glory. Jude 24 says God will one day “present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy.” Notice whose joy that is. Not just ours — His. The God you've been contending for, the One who kept you the whole way, doesn't grit His teeth at the finish line. He delights to present you. That's where this series lands: you held on, yes — but only because He was holding you, and He was glad to do it the entire time. To Him be glory, majesty, power, and authority. Amen. “without fault and with great joy” Most Christians believe: “God will tolerate me in heaven.” Jude says something entirely different. God will present you: * without fault * before His glorious presence * with great joy And I would emphasize: Whose joy? Certainly ours. But also His. God is not reluctantly dragging His children into heaven. He delights to present them. There is a moment a father knows well—standing at the back of a wedding venue with his daughter on his arm, about to walk her down the aisle and present her, radiant and whole, to the joy of the whole room. Jude says something even greater is coming. One day God Himself will present His children before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy. The God who called you. The God who saved you. The God who kept you. Will be the God who presents you. And when that day comes, you will finally discover what Jude has been teaching all along: You were able to hold on only because He never let go of you. Pray Questions (Write this down) - grab an index card and pen What is God saying to you right now? What are you going to do about it? Write this down on the index card in the seat pockets. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Discovery Bible Study process: https://www.dbsguide.org/ Read the passage together. Retell the story in your own words. Discovery the story 1. What does this story tell me about God? 2. What does this story tell me about people? 3. If this is really true, what should I do? What is God saying to you right now? (Write this down) What are you going to do about it? (Write this down) Who am I going to tell about this? Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcast NOTES "William Booth was the founder of the Salvation Army. Booth is often credited with saying, If I had my way, I would not send my workers to four years of college. If I had my way, I would not put them through three years of seminary. If I had my way, I would put all of my workers in hell for five minutes! That would be the best theological training they would ever receive. (Source unknown)" -Shaddix/Akin Why hold on to God's love? * It's a reminder to you when you doubt that you're his. * It's evidence to others. * It's a testimony of change in your life. * It's a make of obedience which is a mark of your love for God. * It's how we grow to be more like Jesus in practice. * He calls me to! (V. 21) * It's what faith looks like: o Deny self o Take up your cross o Follow Jesus o Cling to the cross o Rest in his arms o Walk the narrow way o Stand firm o Suit up YOUTUBE DESCRIPTION MAIN REFERENCES USED “Jude" by David Helm, Preaching the Word Commentary, Edited by Kent Hughes Exalting Jesus in Jude, Shaddix & Daniel Akin “The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC) “The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC) Outline Bible, D Willmington (OB) Willmington's Bible Handbook, D Willmington (WBH) NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/ Chronological Life Application Study Bible (NLT) ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.org The Bible Project https://bibleproject.com “Look at the Book” by John Piper (LATB) “The Bible in One Year 2023 with Nicky Gumbel” bible reading plan on YouVersion app (BIOY) Claude.ai

Series: Contending for The Faith Title: "How do we stand firm in truth and love?" Part 1 Scripture: Jude 1:1-16 2 Cor 13:5 "test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves." Numbers 14 12 spies Ezekiel 16:49 Sodom and Gommorah's sins 1 Cor 6:9-11 Wicked Corinth received cleansing Bottom line: Standing firm means contending for The Faith, rejecting distorted grace, and staying vigilant in fruit-bearing of both ourselves and others in love and by love. INTRODUCTION CONTEXT OUTLINE CONCLUSION DISCUSSION QUESTIONS NOTES YOUTUBE DESCRIPTION MAIN REFERENCES USED My opening prayer: Lord God, help us grow to be and do like Jesus, while abiding in him and leading others to do the same. OPENING STORY(ies) From the Lord of the Rings second book, The Two Towers In The Lord of the Rings, King Théoden has slowly fallen under the corrupting influence of Gríma Wormtongue. Wormtongue constantly whispers lies, fear, half-truths, and discouragement into the king's ear until Théoden becomes weak, passive, isolated, and unable to discern reality clearly. The corruption is subtle, not obvious. Wormtongue presents himself as a loyal counselor while actually undermining the king and the kingdom from within. Then Gandalf confronts the deception directly. He exposes Wormtongue's influence, calls Théoden to wake up, and helps him see clearly again. Once freed from that corrupting voice, Théoden rises, regains strength, and leads courageously. That parallels Jude well: False teachers rarely arrive looking dangerous. They infiltrate quietly (“have slipped in among you” — Jude 4). They distort truth while pretending loyalty. Over time they weaken discernment, courage, holiness, and mission. Jude, like Gandalf, is sounding the alarm: wake up, see clearly, contend for the faith, and do not surrender the community to corrupt influences. -ChatGPT Jude is giving the Church a wake-up call to arms. It's a challenging call that most Christ-followers brush aside so it won't disturb their spiritual slumber. Through Jude's letter, God is calling his church--his body--to rise up and contend for the faith, reject distorted grace, and stay vigilant with ourselves and others regarding ungodliness. We do all of this in love because we're loved. This calling is for everyone. And it's a calling few are willing to step into. It reminded me of Shackleton's newspaper ad when recruiting and hiring men for his expedition to cross Antarctica: Right image courtesy of John Hyatt http://johnhyattillustration.com SHACKLETON Newspaper ad: "Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success." CONTEXT The book of Jude was written by Jude, who identifies himself as “a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James” (Jude 1). Most scholars believe this means Jude was also a half-brother of Jesus, making him part of Jesus' earthly family (cf. Matthew 13:55). Rather than emphasizing his family connection to Jesus, Jude humbly identifies himself as Christ's servant. He likely wrote the letter sometime before AD 70 to a group of Christians facing the growing threat of false teachers infiltrating the church from within. Jude originally intended to write a positive letter about “the salvation we share,” but felt compelled instead to urge believers to “contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God's holy people” (Jude 3). The danger was not primarily persecution from outside the church, but corruption from inside it. These false teachers distorted God's grace into permission for immorality, rejected God's authority, and influenced others through arrogance, sensuality, and selfish ambition. Jude responds with some of the strongest warning language in the New Testament, drawing repeatedly from Old Testament history and vivid illustrations to remind believers that God takes both truth and holiness seriously. Yet the letter is ultimately framed by hope: believers are loved by God the Father, kept by Jesus Christ, and sustained by God's power. Bottom line: Standing firm means contending for The Faith, rejecting distorted grace, and staying vigilant of both ourselves and others in love and by love. OUTLINE I. Contend for "The Faith" by holding fast to the Truth (1-4) * It's about who we are in Christ. (1-2) * It's about being loved so that we love others. (1-2) * It's the purpose of this letter (3) * It's why this is the purpose of this letter (4) II. Reject the distortion of grace and don't give in to licentious ways * You will be judged * Old Testament examples CONCLUSION ““Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭6‬:‭41‬-‭42‬ ‭NIV‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/111/luk.6.41-42.NIV “Because the church here is under a satanic lullaby and I'm falling asleep. Every time I try to wake up, the lullaby goes faster. Let's go back to my country.” According to the testimony, an Iranian Christian couple escaped persecution and moved to a Western country (often retold specifically as America). The husband believed they finally had “the abundant life” — safety, money, comfort, freedom. But after only a short time, the wife became deeply troubled and told him she wanted to return to the Middle East because the spiritual complacency of the Western church was more dangerous to her soul than persecution in Iran.  It appears to come from interviews and testimony connected to the documentary Sheep Among Wolves Volume II and was later repeated on podcasts and blogs, including an interview on  Jennie Allen's podcast/blog. https://www.jennieallen.com/blog/the-underground-church?utm_source=chatgpt.com Pray Questions (Write this down) - grab an index card and pen What is God saying to you right now? What are you going to do about it? Write this down on the index card in the seat pockets. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Discovery Bible Study process: https://www.dbsguide.org/ Read the passage together. Retell the story in your own words. Discovery the story 1. What does this story tell me about God? 2. What does this story tell me about people? 3. If this is really true, what should I do? What is God saying to you right now? (Write this down) What are you going to do about it? (Write this down) Who am I going to tell about this? Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcast NOTES "A ten-year-old started screaming about a wave no one could see—and 100 people lived because her parents believed her. December 26, 2004. Mai Khao Beach, Phuket, Thailand. Christmas holiday. Perfect weather. The Smith family walked along the sand on their first overseas vacation together. Then Tilly noticed something wrong. The water wasn't behaving normally. ""It wasn't calm and it wasn't going in and then out,"" she later recalled. ""It was just coming in and in and in."" The sea had turned frothy—""like you get on a beer,"" she said. ""It was sort of sizzling."" Any other ten-year-old might have thought it strange. Tilly knew exactly what it meant. Two weeks earlier, her geography teacher Andrew Kearney had shown the class footage of the 1946 tsunami that devastated Hawaii. He taught them the warning signs: sea receding unusually far, frothy bubbling water, ocean behaving strangely. Tilly was watching those exact warning signs unfold in front of her. She started screaming at her parents. ""There's going to be a tsunami!"" They didn't believe her. They couldn't see any wave. The sky was clear. The beach was calm. But Tilly wouldn't stop. She became more insistent, more frantic. ""I'm going,"" she finally said. ""I'm definitely going. There is definitely going to be a tsunami."" Her father Colin heard the urgency in her voice. He decided to trust his daughter. By coincidence, a Japanese man nearby overheard Tilly use the word ""tsunami."" He'd just heard news of an earthquake in Sumatra. ""I think your daughter's right,"" he said. Colin alerted hotel staff. They began evacuating immediately. Tilly's mother Penny was one of the last to leave. She had to sprint as the water began rushing in behind her. ""I ran,"" she recalled, ""and then I thought I was going to die."" They made it to the second floor with seconds to spare. Then the wave hit. Thirty feet tall. Everything on the beach—beds, palm trees, debris—was swept into the pool and beyond. ""Even if you hadn't drowned,"" Penny later said, ""you would have been hit by something."" The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami killed over 230,000 people across 14 countries. Entire beaches in Phuket were wiped out. But at Mai Khao Beach, not a single person died. Because a ten-year-old girl paid attention in geography class. Tilly was hailed as the ""Angel of the Beach."" She received awards, spoke at the United Nations, met Bill Clinton. Her story is now taught in schools worldwide. Her father Colin still thinks about what could have happened. ""If she hadn't told us, we would have just kept on walking,"" he said. ""I'm convinced we would have died."" Tilly still credits her teacher. ""If it wasn't for Mr. Kearney,"" she told the UN, ""I'd probably be dead and so would my family."" Two weeks. One lesson. One hundred lives. That's the power of education. YOUTUBE DESCRIPTION Contending for the Faith | “How Do We Stand Firm in Truth and Love?” Preacher: Darien Gabriel Series: Contending for the Faith Scripture: Epistle of Jude 1–16 (NIV) Grace Christian Fellowship Grace Christian Fellowship In a culture filled with spiritual confusion, distorted grace, and growing compromise, the book of Jude gives the church a wake-up call. Jude urges believers to “contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God's holy people” (Jude 3). The danger wasn't primarily persecution from outside the church—but corruption from within. False teachers quietly slipped into the church, distorted God's grace into permission for sin, rejected God's authority, and weakened discernment among God's people. In this message, Pastor Darien Gabriel walks through Jude 1–16 and explores what it means to stand firm in both truth and love. Bottom Line Standing firm means contending for the faith, rejecting distorted grace, and staying vigilant in fruit-bearing of both ourselves and others in love and by love. In This Sermon * What it means to “contend for the faith” * Why false teaching is often subtle and deceptive * The danger of spiritual complacency * How grace can be distorted into license for sin * Why vigilance and discernment matter in the church * The examples of Israel, Sodom & Gomorrah, and rebellious angels * How believers can examine themselves faithfully and lovingly * Why truth and love must stay together Key Scriptures * Epistle of Jude 1–16 * Second Epistle to the Corinthians 13:5 * Book of Numbers 14 * Book of Ezekiel 16:49 * First Epistle to the Corinthians 6:9–11 * Gospel of Luke 6:41–42 Opening Illustrations This sermon includes reflections on: * The Two Towers and the corrupting influence of Gríma Wormtongue on King Théoden * Ernest Shackleton's famous Antarctic expedition recruitment ad * Testimonies from persecuted believers who warn against the spiritual complacency of the Western church Jude reminds us that false teaching rarely announces itself openly. It slips in quietly, weakens discernment gradually, and lulls believers into spiritual compromise. But God calls His people to wake up, see clearly, and remain faithful to Jesus Christ. Opening Prayer: “Lord God, help us grow to be and do like Jesus, while abiding in Him and leading others to do the same.” If this message encourages you, please like, subscribe, and share it with others seeking truth, discernment, and faithful discipleship in Christ. #Jude #ContendForTheFaith MAIN REFERENCES USED “Proverbs,” by Ray Ortland, Preaching the Word Commentary, Edited by Kent Hughes Exalting Jesus in Proverbs, Daniel Akin Windows of Wisdom, Stephen Olford “The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC) “The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC) Outline Bible, D Willmington (OB) Willmington's Bible Handbook, D Willmington (WBH) NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/ Chronological Life Application Study Bible (NLT) ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.org The Bible Project https://bibleproject.com “Look at the Book” by John Piper (LATB) “The Bible in One Year 2023 with Nicky Gumbel” bible reading plan on YouVersion app (BIOY) Claude.ai

Series: God's Promises, Our JourneyTitle: "Will you trust God with your future family?"Scripture: Genesis 24:1-67 NIV Hebrews 11:9-13Bottom line: When we rest in God's promises, Grace finds us.INTRODUCTIONCONTEXTOUTLINECONCLUSIONDISCUSSION QUESTIONSNOTESYOUTUBE DESCRIPTIONMAIN REFERENCES USEDMy opening prayer: Lord God, help us grow to be and do like Jesus, while abiding in him and leading others to do the same. Bottom line: When we rest in God's promises, Grace finds us.OPENING STORYI find myself thinking more and more about the future. Between caring for our aging parents, supporting our kids and grandkids, and taking our health and finances seriously so that we minimize our burden on our kids, we're thinking more and more about the future. And when you do that it's tempting to become anxious and to try to do things without trusting the Lord by taking control where we should surrender to the Lord. This is common but not wise. Today I want to challenge us with this question: Can you trust God with your future family? Can I? Will I?My bottom line for today is this: When we trust in God's promises, grace finds us.What promises?For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son...(John 3:16)For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life...(Romans 6:23)If you confess with our mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in our heart, God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9-13)I'm preparing a place for you (John 14)I'm coming back. (Various)Are you resting in God's promises? If you are, your life will look different. Your journey will be richer and more satisfying and will lead to life everlasting where the best is yet to come!CONTEXTAbraham is old. (140) Sarah is dead. (Genesis 23) Isaac is 40. Unmarried. No kids/grandkids. God's promise that his descendants will be more than the stars in the sky and the sand on the sea shore is hard to believe at this point. Yet, Abraham is resolved to see this through. He will show that as he trusts God with the future of his family. He trusts God to keep his promise. And this affects his journey--how he will live in light of those promises. OUTLINEI. Abraham trusts God with the future. (24:1-9)II. The servant trusts God with the process. (24:10-27)III. Rebekah trusts God with courage. (24:28-61)IV. Isaac trusts God to provide. (24:62-67)CONCLUSIONBottom line: When we rest in God's promises, Grace finds us.When you look to the future, how can you best trust God's promises?You believe and receive God's promises starting with the most important promise. "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."Have you done that? Have you crossed that line of faith regarding your future here and now, as well as, in the hereafter? Turn from your wicked ways to a Savior who forgives and forgets. Who is preparing a place for you where the best is yet to come.Believe and receive the Lord Jesus Christ today!In Jesus' name,AmenPrayQuestions (Write this down) - grab an index card and penWhat is God saying to you right now? What are you going to do about it?Write this down on the index card in the seat pockets.DISCUSSION QUESTIONSDiscovery Bible Study process: https://www.dbsguide.org/Read the passage together.Retell the story in your own words.Discovery the storyWhat does this story tell me about God?What does this story tell me about people?If this is really true, what should I do?What is God saying to you right now? (Write this down)What are you going to do about it? (Write this down)Who am I going to tell about this?Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcastNOTESYOUTUBE DESCRIPTION MAIN REFERENCES USED“Genesis,” by R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word Commentary, Edited by Kent HughesExalting Jesus in Genesis, by BethancourtThe Genesis Record, by Henry MorrisThe Genesis Factor, by David Helms & Jon Dennis“Look at the Book” by John Piper (LATB)“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)"Genesis" by Briscoe (TCC)Outline Bible, D Willmington (OB)Willmington's Bible Handbook, D Willmington (WBH)NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/Chronological Life Application Study Bible (NLT)ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.orgThe Bible Project https://bibleproject.com“The Bible in One Year 2023 with Nicky Gumbel” bible reading plan on YouVersion app (BIOY)Claude.ai

eries: God's Promises, Our JourneyTitle: "Will you trust God or take control?"Scripture: Genesis 22:1-24 NIV Hebrews 11:17-19James 1:13-15John 1:29Bottom line: “We handle God's tests by trusting His promises, obeying His voice, and relying on His provision.”INTRODUCTIONCONTEXTOUTLINECONCLUSIONDISCUSSION QUESTIONSNOTESYOUTUBE DESCRIPTIONMAIN REFERENCES USEDMy opening prayer: Lord God, help us grow to be and do like Jesus, while abiding in him and leading others to do the same. Bottom line: “We handle God's tests by trusting His promises, obeying His voice, and relying on His provision.”OPENING STORY/ILLUSTRATIONControl vs. TrustImagine you're riding in the passenger seat while someone else is driving…Not just anyone—your spouse, your friend, maybe even your child learning to drive.You're coming up to a busy intersection…You see the light turning yellow…And what do you instinctively do?You reach for the imaginary brake pedal.You lean forward.You tense up.Why?Because you're not in control.And when we're not in control… we feel insecure.That's not just true in a car.It's true in life.Every time we feel insecure, we reach for control.And every time we reach for control, we reveal what we really trust.In Genesis 22, God puts Abraham in the ultimate “passenger seat” moment.God asks him to do something that feels unthinkable… unreasonable… even unbearable.And the question becomes:Will Abraham trust God… or try to take control?CONTEXTThe thread is security. Last week we saw...Abraham seek security through deception (Gen 20)Abraham seek security through control (Gen 21:1–21)Abraham seek security through agreements (Gen 21:22–34)This week, we hope to see Abraham find true security as he learns to trust in God's promises, obey his voice, and rely on his provision.Why does God test us?To reveal what we really trust (pleasing God)To display His worth through our obedience (glorifying God)God tests us to deepen our trust in Him and display His worth through us.Because he's teaching us to trust him as our ultimate security when we're tempted to reach for control.How do we handle God's tests?By trusting his promises,Obeying his voice/word, and Relying on his provisionOr, more specifically…Expect tests from God (1-2)Focus on promises, not explanations (3-5)Depend on God's provision (6-14)Look forward to what God has for you (15-24)Bottom line: “We handle God's tests by trusting His promises, obeying His voice, and relying on His provision.”First, there's a difference between testing and tempting:Temptation (James 1:13–15):“When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” James‬ ‭1‬:‭13‬-‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬Comes from within and from the enemy → aims to pull us away from God → exposes weakness.Testing (Genesis 22:1):“Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.” Genesis‬ ‭22‬:‭1‬ ‭NIV‬‬Comes from God → aims to draw us closer to Him → strengthens faith.Temptation is designed to make you fall. Testing is designed to make you stand.Consider how unreasonable God's test was as you consider how we might respond to his tests in our lives…OUTLINE (influenced by Warren Wiersbe & ChatGPT):We handle God's tests in life by:Trusting His promisesObeying His voice (word)Relying on His provisionExpect tests from God. (22:1-2) WW writes, “In the ‘School of Faith' we must have occasional tests, or we will never know where we are spiritually. Abraham had his share of tests right from the beginning.”“Family test” - leave nation, neighborhood and extended family and go“Famine test” - left Canaan and went to Egypt #FAIL“Fellowship test” - let Lot choose which way to go when they split up“Fight test” - rescued Lot and Sodom's citizens and stuff“Fortune test” - declined Sodom's wealth“Fatherhood test” - Sent Hagar & Ishmael away first time #FAIL“Farewell test” - Send Hagar and Ishmael away second timeOne test I faced was baptism. Another was my calling into ministry.Was “baptized” as an infant so didn't believe I needed to be baptized after my conversion; it took 2 pastors and 10 years for me to see the truthWas “called” into full-time ministry within a month or 2 of being baptized leaving successful career in EngineeringIf you walk with God, tests are not the exception—they are the curriculum.Focus on promises, not explanations (3-5) “Faith does not demand explanations; faith rests on promises.” -WW“Our faith is not really tested until God asks us to bear what seems unbearable, do what seems unreasonable, and expect what seems impossible.” -WWWhen God sends a test or trial, our first response is usually, “Why me?” Or “Why, Lord?” Instead of “What can I learn through this?”"Deliverance will get you out of Egypt. But surrender will get Egypt out of you." (Or Sodom, or Babylon, or America...)We live by promises, not by explanations. Abraham says, “We will worship and then we will come back” → implicit faith in resurrection (cf. Hebrews 11:17–19)Faith doesn't need to understand everything—it just needs to trust what God has said.If you wait for God to explain everything, you'll never obey anything.Depend on God's provision (6-14)Two statements reveal the emphasis in this passage:“God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.” (8), &Yahweh Yireh, “The Lord will see to it.” (14) #provide“Where God guides, He pro-vides.” -Old PastorHow does God provide?Where…does the Lord provide? Where you sent you to walk in his will. Should we expect his provision when we don't walk in his steps?When? Right when it's needed. Sometimes at the last minute. He's never late.How? Often simply. He surprised Abraham with the ram in the thicket right next behind him.To Whom? To those who humbly walk with him. Why? For his pleasure and his glory!What kind of provision is available?Resurrection-powered provisionEphesians 1:19–20 & 3:20You don't experience God's provision sitting on the sidelines—you experience it on the path of obedience.Look forward to what God has after the test. (15-24) What comes after the test?New Approval (12) “Atta boy!”New Son (13-14) → Isaac received backIsaac likely never the same. God gave. Abraham gave back. God gave back.Don't let the gift replace the Giver—Abraham didn'tNew Assurances. (16-18) New names for an expanded future. (14; 23)Yahweh Yireh (14)Rebekah (23)God is already preparing the next chapter while you're still in the test.CONCLUSIONBottom line: “We handle God's tests by trusting His promises, obeying His voice, and relying on His provision.”How do we handle God's tests?By trusting his promises,Obeying his voice/word, and Relying on his provisionEvery test exposes what we trustEvery test invites surrenderEvery test reveals God's sufficiencyWhat is your Isaac?Are you trusting God—or trying to control the outcome?Ram → Lamb → GospelAbraham looks up…and there's a ram caught in the thicket.God provides a substitute.Isaac lives…because something else dies in his place.Pause. Let that sit.Expand the PatternThis moment isn't just about Abraham and Isaac.It's pointing forward.Another Father…another Son…another sacrifice.Connect to ChristIn John 1:29, we read:When John the Baptist saw Jesus, he said,“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”On that day in Genesis 22—God provided a ram.But one day—God would provide His own Son.⸻In Genesis 22…God stopped Abraham's hand.At the cross…God did not stop His own.Let that land. This is your emotional peak.⸻Why?Because our greatest problem isn't lack of control—it's sin.And our greatest need isn't control—it's a Savior.⸻So the question isn't just:“Will you trust God in the test?”The deeper question is:Will you trust the God who gave everything for you?⸻You don't have to control your life…because the God who tested Abrahamis the God who gave His Son for you—PrayQuestions (Write this down) - grab an index card and penWhat is God saying to you right now? What are you going to do about it?Write this down on the index card in the seat pockets.DISCUSSION QUESTIONSDiscovery Bible Study process: https://www.dbsguide.org/Read the passage together.Retell the story in your own words.Discovery the storyWhat does this story tell me about God?What does this story tell me about people?If this is really true, what should I do?What is God saying to you right now? (Write this down)What are you going to do about it? (Write this down)Who am I going to tell about this?Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcastNOTESYOUTUBE DESCRIPTION MAIN REFERENCES USED“Genesis,” by R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word Commentary, Edited by Kent HughesExalting Jesus in Genesis, by BethancourtThe Genesis Record, by Henry MorrisThe Genesis Factor, by David Helms & Jon Dennis“Look at the Book” by John Piper (LATB)“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)"Genesis" by Briscoe (TCC)Outline Bible, D Willmington (OB)Willmington's Bible Handbook, D Willmington (WBH)NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/Chronological Life Application Study Bible (NLT)ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.orgThe Bible Project https://bibleproject.com“The Bible in One Year 2023 with Nicky Gumbel” bible reading plan on YouVersion app (BIOY)Claude.ai

eries: God's Promises, Our JourneyTitle: "Where are you looking for security?"Scripture: Genesis 20-21 NIV Galatians 2-5Bottom Line: Every time we feel insecure, we reach for control.And every time we reach for control, we reveal what we really trust.INTRODUCTIONCONTEXTOUTLINECONCLUSIONDISCUSSION QUESTIONSNOTESYOUTUBE DESCRIPTIONMAIN REFERENCES USEDMy opening prayer: Lord God, help us grow to be and do like Jesus, while abiding in him and leading others to do the same. OPENING STORY/ILLUSTRATIONDid you know you can insure your teeth and smile (Julia Roberts)… your hair Troy Palomalu)… even your taste buds (Gordon Ramsay)?You can insure your wedding (rain), your golf shot (hole in one), even against alien abduction…We laugh… but think about it—we are constantly trying to secure ourselves against what we cannot control.And Genesis 20–21 shows us something uncomfortable…Abraham is doing the same thing.CONTEXTThe thread is security:Abraham seeks security through deception (Gen 20)Abraham seeks security through control (Gen 21:1–21)Abraham seeks security through agreements (Gen 21:22–34)God shows that true security comes only from HimOUTLINE (influenced by John Lennox & ChatGPT)1. FALSE SECURITY: TRUSTING OUR OWN STRATEGIES (Gen 20:1–18)2. PARTIAL SECURITY: TRUSTING GOD… BUT STILL CONTROLLING (Gen 21:1–21)3. TEMPORARY SECURITY: TRUSTING HUMAN AGREEMENTS (Gen 21:22–34)4. TRUE SECURITY: TRUSTING GOD ALONE (BRIDGE TO GENESIS 22)Have you ever inflated your image or resume to look better? When we write a resume, we can get carried away over our accomplishments. Wording things to sound better than they really are. And then there's social media where we post pictures and poses of ourselves doing amazing things as if this is what our life is always like. We don't usually post pics of ourselves in unflattering positions or looks. That may not be conscious but it easily could be in the back of our mind. It's a fine line, right? What are our motives? Not a full lie. Just a truth designed to make us look better than we are. That's kind of like what Abraham is doing here. Technically true but still deceptive. And intentional—even strategic—deception is a sin. That's the heart of what a lie is. Deception.1. FALSE SECURITY: TRUSTING OUR OWN STRATEGIES (Gen 20:1–18)Text movement:Abraham repeats old sin (Gen 12 replay)Lies about Sarah (half-truth still deception)Abimelech acts with integrity (understood that Kings could take a woman)God intervenes (Sovereign)Key tension:The man of faith still falls back into fear.Key insight (pastoral):Abraham is trying to protect the promise by human meansFear makes us revert to old patternsWhen we don't feel secure in God's promises, we start managing our journey ourselves.Application/Diagnostic question:Where do I bend truth, control perception, or manipulate situations to feel secure?Bottom Line: Every time we feel insecure, we reach for control.And every time we reach for control, we reveal what we really trust.2. PARTIAL SECURITY: TRUSTING GOD… BUT STILL CONTROLLING (Gen 21:1–21)Do you make “just in case” plans? Backup plans?Do you have a financial emergency fund?This can be a wise decision. But where is your ultimate financial security found? Are you trusting God with your finances? Are you generous with your finances or do you operate in fear of the future and lack generosity?A. God keeps His promise (Isaac is born)God is faithfulLaughter fulfilled (Sarah → joy)B. Abraham expels IshmaelReal tension: promise vs. threatAbraham acts to “secure” Isaac's futureAbraham removes perceived threats to secure the promise. (Lennox)But God…Sees HagarProvides a wellKeeps promise to Ishmael tooKey theological move:God's promise doesn't depend on Abraham's controlGod cares for the “outsider” (Hagar/Ishmael)Even when we try to secure God's promises our way, God remains faithful to His purposes and our journey.Application/Diagnostic question:Where do I bend truth, control perception, or manipulate situations to feel secure?Where am I trusting God—but still trying to control the outcome?Bottom Line: Every time we feel insecure, we reach for control.And every time we reach for control, we reveal what we really trust.3. TEMPORARY SECURITY: TRUSTING HUMAN AGREEMENTS (Gen 21:22–34)Contracts vs. TrustWe sign contracts because we don't fully trust peoplePrenupsLegal agreementsNDAs“Agreements can create stability—but they can't create ultimate security.”Text movement:Abimelech recognizes God is with Abraham (pattern continues throughout Genesis)Covenant over wellsBeersheba establishedKey idea:This is not wrong—it's just limitedMutual security arrangements are still human-level solutions. (Lennox)Key contrast:This is horizontal security, not ultimate (vertical) security“You can build agreements with people—but you cannot build ultimate security without God.”Application/diagnostic questions:Where do I bend truth, control perception, or manipulate situations to feel secure?Where am I trusting God—but still trying to control the outcome?jWhere do I rely on relationships, systems, or resources as my ultimate safety?Do people see that God is with you?Bottom Line: Every time we feel insecure, we reach for control.And every time we reach for control, we reveal what we really trust.4. TRUE SECURITY: TRUSTING GOD ALONE (BRIDGE TO GENESIS 22)This is where you preview without preaching Gen 22The real test is: does Abraham's security rest in God—or in Isaac? (Lennox)Set it up like this:Gen 20 → security through deceptionGen 21 → security through control and agreementsGen 22 → God exposes the heart“God will lovingly test whatever you trust most—because He wants to be your only true security.”1. God's faithfulness despite flawed faithAbraham fails → God remains faithfulStrong gospel echo without forcing it2. God sees the overlooked (Hagar)Fits your church's “best neighbors ever” visionMissional application3. Security vs. trustDeeply relatableConnects to anxiety, control, family, financesCONCLUSIONBottom Line: Every time we feel insecure, we reach for control.And every time we reach for control, we reveal what we really trust.“You can insure almost anything in this life…but there is no policy that can secure your soul.Only God can do that.”PrayQuestions (Write this down) - grab an index card and penWhat is God saying to you right now? What are you going to do about it?Write this down on the index card in the seat pockets.DISCUSSION QUESTIONSDiscovery Bible Study process: https://www.dbsguide.org/Read the passage together.Retell the story in your own words.Discovery the storyWhat does this story tell me about God?What does this story tell me about people?If this is really true, what should I do?What is God saying to you right now? (Write this down)What are you going to do about it? (Write this down)Who am I going to tell about this?Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcastNOTESYOUTUBE DESCRIPTION MAIN REFERENCES USED“Genesis,” by R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word Commentary, Edited by Kent HughesExalting Jesus in Genesis, by BethancourtThe Genesis Record, by Henry MorrisThe Genesis Factor, by David Helms & Jon Dennis“Look at the Book” by John Piper (LATB)“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)"Genesis" by Briscoe (TCC)Outline Bible, D Willmington (OB)Willmington's Bible Handbook, D Willmington (WBH)NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/Chronological Life Application Study Bible (NLT)ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.orgThe Bible Project https://bibleproject.com“The Bible in One Year 2023 with Nicky Gumbel” bible reading plan on YouVersion app (BIOY)Claude.ai

Series: God's Promises, Our JourneyTitle: "Where is your life going?"Subtitle: "2 Righteous Men, 2 Very Different Lives"Scripture: Genesis 19:1-38 NIV Ezekiel 16:49Matthew 7:24-27Luke 17:31-381 Cor 3:10-15Hebrews 13:22 Peter 2:6-10Jude 1:7Bottom Line: Your walk with God determines the trajectory of your life.INTRODUCTIONCONTEXTOUTLINECONCLUSIONDISCUSSION QUESTIONSNOTESYOUTUBE DESCRIPTIONMAIN REFERENCES USEDMy opening prayer: Lord God, help us grow to be and do like Jesus, while abiding in him and leading others to do the same. Opening Illustration (What do you want said about you at your retirement party?I know I'd like people to say nice things about me, my family and how I lived. I'd love to hear stories of good memories from family and friends.But most of all, I'd love to hear stories about how God did something beautiful in and through my life. Not bad desires.Because my walk with God determines the trajectory of my life. My grandson has started T-ball. He's learning how to aim and throw a ball so that it ends up where he intends for it to. Because he's learning that how he aims and throws it determines the trajectory of that ball. He'll need to improve his strength, aim, and skill to get the ball where he wants it to be. The same is true for our walk with God.The question becomes: Is the trajectory of my life headed to where I want it be? Am I living my life wisely or foolishly? Or does it just look like anyone else's in the world?Context (Opening Paragraph)Today we're looking at 2 righteous men with very different lives. By contrasting them, we will not see a Believer and a non-Believer. No, we'll see 2 Believers who live very differently and their lives end up having very different outcomes in the short-term and in the long-term.My prayer for you today is that you'll evaluate your life soberly and humbly. That you will make the changes needed to change the trajectory of your life. Why? Because your walk with God determines the direction of your life.Bottom Line: Your walk with God determines the trajectory of your life.OUTLINE (Genesis 19:1-38) Influenced by Warren WiersbeContrasting Abraham, Lot and JesusI. Abraham, friend of God. (Genesis 18)A. Abraham served the Lord. (1-8)B. Abraham served his wife. (9-15)C. Abraham served a lost world. (16-33)...as an intercessorFor Lot For the residents of SodomII. Lot, friend of the world. (Genesis 19) Contrasting these two's...A. Souls (position before God)"Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness." Genesis 15:6Lot was righteous too. 2 Peter 2:6-7Neither was seen as righteous by God because of their righteous ways. Based on these verses, we see this. Otherwise, we'd assume Abraham righteous but not Lot, because Lot's actions did not show much righteous fruit (in our limited view).They were seen as righteous because of their faith in God's promises.The same is true for us.B. LocationsAbraham continues to live in a tent as a pilgrim, just passing through, on his way to his heavenly home. Lot, by contrast, leaves the tents of Abraham, in the Promised Land, and the favor of his God, and...Moves towards Sodom into the Jordan valley (looks like Egypt and Eden to him), Then into the city into a house, surrounded by the wicked,He stays even after they were captured by Babylonian Kings and rescued by Abram,Then is found sitting at the city gates with authority and position (judge, city administrator of some kind),While you could argue he was being a missionary, it appears he was more influenced by Sodom than Sodom was influenced by him.C. VisitorsOnly 2 angels visited Lot, for the Lord could not fellowship with Lot and his family as he did with A & S. Even though Lot was a believer, the Lord was not at home with him. This is the difference betweenRelationship, and FellowshipNot unlike a marriage where two people are in a covenant relationship but not always feeling the fellowship.D. HospitalityBoth showed hospitality, butAbraham's example was exemplary on multiple levels and Lot's showed skewed values re daughters.E. MessagesJoyful message to A & S--promised son in 1 year.Judgment and destruction for the people of Sodom (and Lot and his family, if they don't leave).God's message to a lost world is judgment as well. This event in history becomes the example people point to reminding them there's a holy God who will judge. (Jude 1:7) But he's also a merciful God saving all who repent, trust and follow him.F. InfluenceBecause of his faith and obedience, Abraham was a blessing to his family and the world. God blessed his family then and the world until he returns. Lot had little spiritual influence on his family nor the world. He had faith, which saved him, but he was more influenced by residents of Sodom than by the Lord. G. AttitudeLot was rescued first by Abraham, along with the people of Sodom. Yet, he went right back to them. Later he had to be pulled out of the city by the angels the second time. He loved the things which are seen more than the things which are unseen. (2 Cor 4:17-18)Abraham yielded even his one and only son as he obeyed by grace through faith. (Genesis 22)How You Respond to God?Abraham → Runs to obey (18:2 “hurried… ran…”)Lot → Hesitates to obey (19:16 “he lingered…”)H. ConsequencesThe Lord's visit to Abraham led to new hope and a future.The Lord's visit was judgment and destruction for Sodom and 2 evil nations who would oppose the very God who saved Lot and his daughters. That said, one day, a young Moabitess named Ruth would marry Boaz and become the grandmother of the Lord Jesus Christ. This would be part of the mercy of God for the world.Principle:Walking with God → blessing flows out; Righteousness leads to life and legacyWalking with compromise → damage flows out; Compromise leads to survival but lossHow Your Story Ends (Trajectory)Abraham → Future, promise, legacyLot → Escape, loss, regretIII. Jesus, friend of sinners.A. While Jude 1:7 tells us Sodom and Gomorrah will stand as the example of God's judgment on a wicked world,...B. It will also stand as a mark of his mercy for his covenant people. We see this through the Moabitess, Ruth, grandmother of Jesus.C. Jesus calls those saved, like Abraham, to:Abide in the Lord,Serve our faith family,Serve a lost world through intercession. D. When judgment day comes, will you be likeAbraham--no worries?How--saved by the skin of your teeth but a horrible legacy?Sodom--lost forever apart from your Creator?CONCLUSIONBottom Line: Your walk with God determines the trajectory of your life.Matthew 7:24-27 feels like it's written to the lost. And it certainly can be applied that way.But I now think it's written to the believer. As Jesus wraps up his Sermon on the Mount, he ends with how a follower of his should apply all that he has heard--not for salvation but for fruitful living. John 15:16 says...God chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will last. That means he chose you to live a fruitful, influential, peaceful, transformative life. One that leaves people praising God at your funeral instead of searching for kind things to say about you.Questions (Write this down) - grab an index card and penWhat is God saying to you right now? What are you going to do about it?Write this down on the index card in the seat pockets.DISCUSSION QUESTIONSDiscovery Bible Study process: https://www.dbsguide.org/Read the passage together.Retell the story in your own words.Discovery the storyWhat does this story tell me about God?What does this story tell me about people?If this is really true, what should I do?What is God saying to you right now? (Write this down)What are you going to do about it? (Write this down)Who am I going to tell about this?Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcastNOTESThe Legacy of AbrahamThis quote by John Lennox speaks to my part: “God first informs Abraham why he chose him. This is the only place in the Bible where he does so. The late Chief Rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks, comments:This tells us three things about what it is to be an heir of Abraham.First, it means that we are to be guardians of our children's future. We must ensure that they have a world to inherit... Second, education - directing our children and our household after us - is a sacred task ... Third, how do you keep the way of the Lord? By doing what is right and just.It would be impossible to overstate the importance of these principles in a world where children so often bear the brunt of neglect, abuse and suffering.” Friend of God, p. 186YOUTUBE DESCRIPTION MAIN REFERENCES USED“Genesis,” by R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word Commentary, Edited by Kent HughesExalting Jesus in Genesis, by BethancourtThe Genesis Record, by Henry MorrisThe Genesis Factor, by David Helms & Jon Dennis“Look at the Book” by John Piper (LATB)“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)"Genesis" by Briscoe (TCC)Outline Bible, D Willmington (OB)Willmington's Bible Handbook, D Willmington (WBH)NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/Chronological Life Application Study Bible (NLT)ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.orgThe Bible Project https://bibleproject.com“The Bible in One Year 2023 with Nicky Gumbel” bible reading plan on YouVersion app (BIOY)Claude.ai

Series: God's Promises, Our JourneyTitle: "Are you leading people to God?Scripture: Genesis 18:16-33 NIV 2 Peter 2:6-10Hebrews 13:2Ezekiel 16:491 Cor 3:10-15Luke 17:31-38Jude 7Bottom Line: I am leading people to God when I welcome the stranger, teach my household, and intercede on behalf of the world.INTRODUCTIONCONTEXTOUTLINECONCLUSIONDISCUSSION QUESTIONSNOTESYOUTUBE DESCRIPTIONMAIN REFERENCES USEDMy opening prayer: Lord God, help us grow to be and do like Jesus, while abiding in him and leading others to do the same. Opening Illustration (Rowan Atkinson, a legendary icon of comedy, television, and cinema, has left even the world's richest and most powerful figures stunned—not just with his words, but with decisive action.https://substack.com/@ajw3477/note/c-213026215?r=ogd8w&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-actionAt a glamorous red-carpet gala in Los Angeles on December 20, attended by film moguls, tech billionaires, and Hollywood's most elite stars, Rowan Atkinson took the stage to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award. But instead of offering a conventional acceptance speech, he chose a moment of truth—direct, fearless, and deeply human.He did not thank the Academy. He did not reminisce about Mr. Bean, Blackadder, or decades of global laughter. Instead, Atkinson looked straight into the audience of wealth and influence and declared:“We sit here surrounded by diamonds and artistic glory while the world outside is falling apart. If your voice can move millions and you choose not to use it for those who have no voice, then you are not creating change—you are creating noise.”The room fell into complete silence. Film executives and invited guests sat motionless, struck by the weight of his words. He continued, unwavering:“If you have more than you need, it no longer belongs only to you. Your responsibility is to lift up those who are still beneath you.”And he did not stop at words.That very night, Atkinson announced that all profits from his archived works and future creative projects—estimated at 160 million USD—will be donated to fund children's health initiatives, climate action programs, and arts education for underprivileged youth.His message was unmistakable:“Legacy is not built on what you earn. It is built on what you give.”In an era when celebrities are often dismissed as hollow symbols, Rowan Atkinson delivered a powerful reminder to the world:true impact is not created by applause, but by easing the suffering of others. Context (Opening Paragraph)Abraham has been entertaining 3 strangers at his tent for most of the day. Two of them are about to leave and head to Sodom to investigate the outcry against the wickedness of that city. They will assist the Lord in deciding the fate of the city. In the meantime, Abraham will have a conversation with God. He will intercede on behalf of those wicked citizens.Abraham will model for us how we are to live so that our lives make a real difference in the world. Just like the affluent were challenged to do by Mr. Bean.Bottom Line: I am leading people to God when I welcome the stranger, teach my household, and intercede on behalf of the world.OUTLINE (Genesis 18:16-33)I. Abraham, friend of God. (Genesis 18) Blessed to be a blessing, Abraham...A. Welcomed the stranger. #hospitality #love #care #lead (1-15)Qualified elders are required to be hospitable.Biblical hospitality is primarily geared towards strangers.B. Taught his household. #instruction #education #discipleship #feed (17-19)Qualified elders are to be able to teach the word.We start discipleship with our immediate family members and work out from there. Abraham was like the mayor, CEO and pastor of 1,000 people. Ultimately, he would bless the world.C. Interceded on behalf of Sodom. #mercy #intercession #prayer #mission #protect (16, 20-33)To intercede means to stand in the gap on behalf of others for their good.To intercede spiritually means to stand in the gap between them and God for their good.This is key to being an effective missionary.CONCLUSIONMy freshman year at college, when I was sitting in that auditorium at the end of the Christian concert, with my Christian friends, thinking I was a Christian the whole time, I heard the gospel message preached clearly for the first time.At that time, more than any other reason, I was drawn by the idea that I could make a real difference in this world. It just required surrender rooted in faith that God through Jesus Christ could use me to make some of that difference our world needed. So I stood and trusted Christ as my Lord and Savior believing that his way of making a difference in our world was the best way...maybe the only way.Bottom Line: I am leading people to God when I welcome the stranger, teach my household, and intercede on behalf of the world.So, Welcome the Stranger.Teach your household.Intercede for the world.Are you leading people close to you to God? Are you welcoming people into your life? Your home?Are you teaching your household how to be salt and light by doing what is right and just?Are you actively and prayerfully interceding on behalf of lost people around the corner? Around the world?Are you leading people close to you and far from God to God though Jesus?PrayQuestions (Write this down)What is God saying to you right now? What are you going to do about it?DISCUSSION QUESTIONSDiscovery Bible Study process: https://www.dbsguide.org/Read the passage together.Retell the story in your own words.Discovery the storyWhat does this story tell me about God?What does this story tell me about people?If this is really true, what should I do?What is God saying to you right now? (Write this down)What are you going to do about it? (Write this down)Who am I going to tell about this?Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcastNOTESThe Legacy of AbrahamThis quote by John Lennox speaks to my part: “God first informs Abraham why he chose him. This is the only place in the Bible where he does so. The late Chief Rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks, comments:This tells us three things about what it is to be an heir of Abraham.First, it means that we are to be guardians of our children's future. We must ensure that they have a world to inherit... Second, education - directing our children and our household after us - is a sacred task ... Third, how do you keep the way of the Lord? By doing what is right and just.It would be impossible to overstate the importance of these principles in a world where children so often bear the brunt of neglect, abuse and suffering.” Friend of God, p. 186YOUTUBE DESCRIPTION MAIN REFERENCES USED“Genesis,” by R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word Commentary, Edited by Kent HughesExalting Jesus in Genesis, by BethancourtThe Genesis Record, by Henry MorrisThe Genesis Factor, by David Helms & Jon Dennis“Look at the Book” by John Piper (LATB)“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)"Genesis" by Briscoe (TCC)Outline Bible, D Willmington (OB)Willmington's Bible Handbook, D Willmington (WBH)NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/Chronological Life Application Study Bible (NLT)ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.orgThe Bible Project https://bibleproject.com“The Bible in One Year 2023 with Nicky Gumbel” bible reading plan on YouVersion app (BIOY)Claude.ai

eries: God's Promises, Our JourneyTitle: "Can God really restore what's broken?Scripture: Genesis 1:31-3:15, John 19:38-20:1-18 NIV Bottom Line: Because of the cross and resurrection, what was broken by sin can be restored by Jesus—if we repent, believe, and receive Him.In fact, it will be restored for the Church. The real question today is will it be restored for you?INTRODUCTIONCONTEXTSERMON OUTLINECONCLUSIONDISCUSSION QUESTIONSNOTESYOUTUBE DESCRIPTIONMAIN REFERENCES USEDMy opening prayer: Lord God, help us grow to be and do like Jesus, while abiding in him and leading others to do the same. INTRODUCTIONMarvel Universe“If you've ever watched the Marvel movies, you know they're not just random, disconnected stories.At first, it feels like Iron Man, Captain America, Thor—they all have their own separate plots.But as the story unfolds, you realize… it's all connected.Every movie is part of a much bigger story that's building toward one climactic moment.The Bible works the same way.It's made up of dozens of books, written over centuries, with different people and settings—but it's telling one unified story.And that story moves from creation… to brokenness… to redemption… to restoration.Today, we're going to step into two scenes in that story—two gardens—and see how everything connects… and how it connects to your life.”OUTLINE (With help from ChatGPT)I. Name the room: “We Know Something Is Broken”Some of you walked in here celebrating...others are carrying heavy burdens• Loss (recent deaths)• Marriages under strain• Financial anxiety• Health struggles• Relationships in crisis“You don't need a theology degree to know something is wrong with the world… you just need to live in it for a while.”“The Bible tells one story that explains all of it—and offers one solution that can heal it.”II. Eden: Where brokenness began (Genesis 1:31-3:15)God designed life to be good and whole (Genesis 1:31-2:25)Sin shattered what God made whole. (Genesis 3)• Relationship with God → broken• Relationship with each other → broken• Relationship with self → broken• Relationship with creation → brokenTie directly to today:“Every funeral, every divorce, every anxiety… traces back to this moment.”Share the 3 Circles here--Link: https://youtu.be/5W8ynRMr59k?si=6FZMytsIOhLmbQib“So the question is not: Is there brokenness?The question is: How do we get out of it?”III. Cross/Good Friday - Jesus enters our brokenness on the cross (where sin was paid for)Bring them to the cross.• Jesus doesn't ignore brokenness—He enters it• He carries:• Our sin• Our shame• Our sufferingIV. Resurrection/The Garden Tomb - Where restoration begins (John 19:38--20:1-18)Jesus didn't just die—He rose to restore.• The tomb is in a garden• Mary mistakes Jesus for the gardener (John 20:15)That's not accidental.“In Eden, humanity lost the garden. In the resurrection, the Gardener begins restoring it.”Tie her in personally:• Delivered from demons → deeply broken• At the cross → grieving• At the tomb → confused• Encounters Jesus → transformedKey moment:“Jesus said her name—‘Mary'—and everything changed.”V. Connect to OUR Story“Some of you feel like your story is too far gone…”Apply specifically:• “Your marriage…”• “Your past…”• “Your regrets…”• “Your grief…”Then:“If Jesus can walk out of a grave, He can step into your situation.”Name their pain again—but now with hope:• Grief → “Death is not the end”• Broken marriages → “God restores what seems beyond repair”• Anxiety → “You are not alone in the garden”• Shame → “Jesus already carried it to the cross”Power line:“The same Jesus who called Mary by name is calling your name today.”VI. Call to RespondA. REPENTTurn from sin and self-ruleB. BELIEVETrust what Jesus did on the cross and resurrectionC. RECEIVESurrender to Him as Lord and SaviorTie to Romans 10:9–10VII. How baptism fits“Earlier in the service, you saw people baptized—that's a picture of this very thing.”Tie to gospel:“Buried with Christ… raised to new life.”Then pivot immediately:“But baptism doesn't start the story—Jesus does.”VIII. Closing ImageBring it back to gardens:“We lost everything in a garden…Jesus paid for it on a cross…And in a garden, He began making all things new.”Then:“The question is not: Is restoration possible?The question is: Will you come to the Gardener?”John 15:1-5 "my Father is the Gardener"As we move to celebrate the cross and resurrection through the Lord's Supper, where he instituted a perpetual reminder, we pause to confess our sins to a holy God, repenting of those sins, believing Jesus forgives and saves, and receiving the gift of salvation by grace through faith in him alone.Questions (Write this down)What is God saying to you right now? What are you going to do about it?PrayDISCUSSION QUESTIONSDiscovery Bible Study process: https://www.dbsguide.org/Read the passage together.Retell the story in your own words.Discovery the storyWhat does this story tell me about God?What does this story tell me about people?If this is really true, what should I do?What is God saying to you right now? (Write this down)What are you going to do about it? (Write this down)Who am I going to tell about this?Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcastNOTESIntroduction (long version, but here it is stream of consciousness)Marvel Studios turned their company around when they began making superhero movies. (Tell this story briefly how they went from near bankrupcy to box office success through the risk taking of Kevin Fahge and the first Iron Man movie) The idea became a series of movies (22?) that fit under the banner of phases 1-4 of the Avengers. (?) What makes this franchise pretty unique is that all 22 of these movies fit into a larger story arc that covered many (15 years?) years. Each superhero origin story and sequel contributed to the meta-story arc resulting in one of the most successful movie franchises of all time. Why do I share this with you? Because it is very much like what the Bible represents in it's library of 66 books with dozens of origin stories all pointing to the meta-story arc from Genesis 1-2 through Revelation 21-22. The story: Creation-->Fall-->Redemption-->Restoration. As I was preparing for today, I ran across this quip by author Leonard Sweet:"How can a church silence or stifle the voices of women when you can't tell the story of Holy Week without hearing the voices of women?"I'd already been considering the 2 gardens--2 women idea when I read that and sensed God confirming my direction.As I was trying to decide what to preach this Easter Sunday, I seriously considered continuing through our Genesis series. But Sodom and Gomorrah. Not your typical "Positive and uplifting" Easter fodder. Earlier that week, my wife gently suggested that it might be good to preach a resurrection sermon on resurrection day. Ha! So, believing that that was from the Lord, I pivoted to John 20:1-18, dipping back into that deep well of truth John writes about so well. And there I found a woman. Mary Magdalene or Mary from the town of Magdala. Tradition says she was a prostitute, though scripture does not back that up. However, she was demonically possessed. In Mark and Luke we read where Jesus delivered her from not 1, not 2 but 7 demons. She was thoroughly and completely enslaved to demons. Is anything too difficult for God?She then begins to follow Jesus, though women were not permitted to be disciples formally. She was apparently a woman of some means. She followed Jesus and supported his ministry both financially and personally with all her time. She was as devoted as any of the twelve disciples were. In John 20, we find her devotion unwavering as she approaches the tomb early Sunday morning. It's before dark as she heads to the tomb. Hence, many participate in sunrise services every Easter. At some point, 3 other ladies join her at the tomb. And none of them know how they'll actually get into the tomb with a giant bolder rolled in place to keep people out. Yet here she is. Here they will gather. But let's focus on Mary of Magdala. In a garden. Joseph of Arimethia's tomb was in or near a garden. In fact, when Mary sees the resurrected Jesus at first, she thinks he's the gardener (v. 15).What was lost in the Garden of Eden will begin to be restored at the tomb in another garden...a garden near Golgotha, the place of the skull. And if you think it's weird to have a garden close to tombs, think about cemetaries today. We cultivate gardens with flowers around them headstones and around the grounds. We want people to rest in a beatiful place symbolic of the most beautiful place they will (hopefully) end up in...the new heaven and the new earth.We'll go back in time another 2,000 years to another garden and another woman. Eve, in the Garden of Eden, will disobey her father. She'll crave, take and then eat a piece of forbidden fruit, share a piece with Adam, and thrust humanity into darkness. We'll see the Fall of humanity in that moment where brokenness on earth began. We'll also see a promise made by God to Adam and Eve. A promise that the "Seed" of Eve will make things new again. Will reverse the curse and re-establish a new garden and a new city. We'll begin to see that we're in a meta-story. One that began with Creation that was good. (Genesis 1:31) We are in the part of the story between Genesis 1-2 and Revelation 21-22. The bookends, if you will, of this meta-story. ZBrokenness begins in Genesis 3. Restoration begins in John 19-20.The Bible tells one story that explains all of it. Good to broken to Good again.The Bible is one story. His-story. History. The 66 books of the Bible include origin stories that all point to the meta-story. After all, it's the one story that matters most of all. But our story fits underneath this story arc. Our story matters. Our story is still being written today. How will it end?“To quote another German one Nietzsche would have deeply disagreed with, the great Martin Hengel of the University of Tübingen concluded his groundbreaking study of the origins of the New Testament idea of atonement with these words. Jesus celebrated the Passover meal with his disciples, and in it, in a symbolic action, he related the broken bread to the breaking of his body, and at the end of the meal the wine in the cup of blessing to the pouring out of his blood, through which the new eschatological covenant with God would be founded, and atonement would be achieved for all. A story is told about the late Archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Martini, and man, I hope it's an accurate story.The Cardinalʼs ConfessionApparently, in a public lecture years ago, he told this lovely anecdote. He said he knew of three young men in Rome years before, who spent a debauched night out on the town together, which ended with them all sitting drunk on the steps of an old church in Rome. And high above them, they noticed on the outside wall of the church, there was a huge crucifix.For a moment, they looked up at it, remembering the lessons from their childhood, and then one of them gave a dare. One of us should go in, find the priest on duty, and confess to him all the terrible things we've done tonight, and shock him by inventing further sins, and then just as a joke, do whatever penance he offers. One of them piped up and said he'd do it.So he walked in, found the elderly priest on duty, sat down, and in excruciating detail began to describe all of the actual sins of the evening, and then some of the invented ones, hardly holding back the mockery. The priest apparently just listened patiently, and then said, I want you to do something for me. Outside our church is a large statue of Jesus on a cross.He died for your sins. I want you to go down the front steps of the church, turn around, point your finger at it, and say out loud, I know what you've done, and I don't give a damn.Will you do that?It didn't sound like any penance the boy had heard about before, but he thought he'd give it a go. He ran outside. His friends were eager to hear what happened.He walked down the steps. He turned around, and sure enough, there's the statue that somehow looked bigger and more serious than he remembered. And he pointed his finger at it and rehearsed in his mind the words, I know what you've done and I don't give a damn.He couldn't do it. In fact, in front of his friends, he knelt down on the steps in remorse and respect. Now, when the Bishop of Milan told this story, he ended by saying, I want you to know this story is true.I was that young man in Rome 40 years ago, and it was the pivotal moment of my life. What was it that changed him? Well, not a piece of religious penance, but confronting his guilt and shame while looking at the cross.And my question this Easter, dear listeners, is how would you finish the sentence in the light of Good Friday? I know what you've done, and… For some, I'm sure it's going to be, and I don't give a damn.For others, it might be, I need more time to think about it. For others, thank you. Thank you for Good Friday.Good beyond compare.On Undeceptions Podcast.”From Undeceptions with John Dickson: 173. Good Friday, Mar 29, 2026https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/undeceptions-with-john-dickson/id1478239058?i=1000758071210&r=3294YOUTUBE DESCRIPTION Series: God's Promises, Our JourneyTitle: Can God Really Restore What's Broken?Scripture: Genesis 2:18–25; John 19:41–20:18What if the Bible isn't a collection of disconnected stories—but one unified story pointing to Jesus?In this Easter message, Pastor Darien Gabriel walks us from one garden to another—from the Garden of Eden, where brokenness began, to the garden tomb, where restoration began through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.We all feel it—grief, broken relationships, anxiety, regret. The question is: Can anything truly restore what's been lost?Through the cross and resurrection, we discover that Jesus doesn't just meet us in our brokenness—He makes a way to restore us.This message includes a clear, visual presentation of the gospel using the “3 Circles” and a powerful look at the story of Mary Magdalene, the first witness to the risen Christ.If you're searching for hope, healing, or a fresh start—this message is for you.⸻Bottom Line:Because of the cross and resurrection, what was broken by sin can be restored by Jesus—if we repent, believe, and receive Him.⸻Next Steps:If you made a decision to follow Jesus or want to learn more, we'd love to connect with you.

Series: God's Promises, Our JourneyTitle: "Are You Marked by the Promise or by the Promiser (Promise-maker)?"Scripture: Genesis 17:1-27Romans 4:9-12Galatians 5:16-17Colossians 2:11-12Bottom Line: The sign (mark) identifies you—but the Promiser defines you.INTRODUCTIONCONTEXTSERMON OUTLINECONCLUSIONNOTESOUTLINESQUESTIONS TO CONSIDER DISCUSSION QUESTIONSMAIN REFERENCES USEDMy opening prayer: Lord God, help us grow to be and do like Jesus, while abiding in him and leading others to do the same. ⸻Context (Opening Paragraph)In Genesis 12, God calls Abram and makes a life-altering promise—to make him into a great nation. (Among other things) In Genesis 15, that promise becomes a formal covenant, secured entirely by God Himself. (Remember the flame and smoking pot? Abram sleeping?)Now in Genesis 17, that same covenant is expanded—Abram becomes Abraham, Sarai becomes Sarah, and God establishes circumcision as the covenant sign. The promise is now not only declared and guaranteed, but embodied and carried forward through generations.This isn't the first time God used a symbol to remind us of a covenant. Rainbow (Noah)Circumcision (Abraham)Sabbath (Moses)Baptism (New covenant)There's another one that isn't in the bible but is used in Christian tradition…⸻Opening Illustration (Wedding Ring)“When my daughters were younger, I used to tease them with my wedding ring. I'd slip it off and say, ‘Look, I'm not married anymore.' Then I'd put it back on—‘Now I am.' Back and forth—married, not married. They'd laugh, but also feel the tension. Then I'd say, ‘No, really—we're still married whether the ring is on or off. The ring is just a symbol of the covenant promise I made before God.'Think about the symbols we sometimes cling to—church attendance, family heritage, even baptism or communion. These are good, but they're signs. The real question is: are we holding on to the sign, or the One who made the promise?”⸻Bottom Line: The sign identifies you—but the Promiser defines you.⸻Outline (Genesis 17) 13 years later...(after Gen 16)1. God Reaffirms His Covenant (vv. 1–8)• “I am God Almighty… walk before me and be blameless”• Abram → Abraham (identity shift)• Covenant remains rooted in God's initiative

In this episode of Leaders in Living Rooms, Sean Morgan sits down with Nicky Gumbel to discuss the global acceleration of Alpha, leadership succession, church planting, and the essential role of spiritual leadership in the church today. As Alpha approaches its 50th anniversary and looks toward the 2033 vision—the 2,000-year anniversary of Jesus' death and resurrection—Nicky shares how new, fully contextualized film series in Chinese, Arabic, Spanish, and African languages are expanding Alpha's reach worldwide. He reflects on handing leadership to the next generation, the power of church planting to create healthy growth, and why pastors must resist being defined by business models rather than by spiritual leadership. Welcome to Episode 154 of the Leaders in Living Rooms Podcast with Sean Morgan.

Varmt välkomna till Martinson Möter – en podcast producerad av fadderbarnsorganisationen Compassion.Dagens underbara gäst hade sitt liv prydligt uppställt i raka led. Utbildad vid Eton College. Skolad i juridik vid University of Cambridge. Blivande advokat. Och övertygad ateist – trygg i att kristendomen antingen var förlegad, missförstådd… eller bäst att hålla på säkert avstånd från.Sedan begick han ett ödesdigert misstag.Han plockade upp ett Nya testamente. Inte för att tro. Inte för att bli omvänd. Utan bara för att “kontrollera sanningshalten” och tillrättavisa några kompisar.Och allt gick, som man säger, fullständigt fel.Idag är han en av sin generations mest inflytelserika kristna ledare. En före detta advokat som aldrig riktigt nådde rättssalen - utan istället hamnade i kyrkan. Han blev kyrkoherde i Holy Trinity Brompton i London, där omkring 4 000 personer samlas varje söndag, och varifrån nya församlingar har planterats över hela landet. Någon tog uppenbarligen “fel” avfart - och fortsatte köra i exakt rätt riktning.Han är också arkitekten bakom Alpha Course - en tio veckor lång introduktion till kristen tro som över 38 miljoner människor världen över har gått, inklusive hundratusentals fångar. Ett stillsamt bevis på att ärliga frågor över en middag kan vara mer omvälvande än de flesta predikningar.Tillsammans med sin fru Pippa står han bakom "The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel" - en app som laddats ner av miljoner. Och trots allt detta bor han fortfarande i prästgård, cyklar runt i London, badar dagligen i Serpentine-sjön i Hyde Park och kallas kärleksfullt av sina kollegor för “Humble Gumbel” - vilket möjligen är ett av få smeknamn i kristenheten som faktiskt har överlevt.Alpha börjar inte med färdiga svar. Det börjar med mat, nyfikenhet och tillåtelsen att tvivla.I det här avsnittet av Martinson Möter får vi höra om Nickys dramatiska återupptäckt av sitt judiska arv - och om den stora familjehemlighet som följt honom sedan barndomen, efter att hans pappa lämnat Tyskland. Vi talar om nyfikenhet som trumfar visshet, om tro utan påtryckningar, och om varför livets största frågor fortfarande spelar roll - särskilt för dem som känner sig längst bort från kyrkan.Det är ett samtal om tvivel, tro och upptäckt. Om lyssnandets kraft. Och om en Gud som verkar betydligt mer intresserad av inbjudningar än av argument.Och Nickys tydliga svar på varför alla borde bli faddrar? Det är lika enkelt som det är utmanande.Så varmt välkomna till Martinson Möter - och ett extra varmt, något försenat men djupt tacksamt välkomnande till dig, Nicky Gumbel.Tack för att du är här. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Series: God's Promises, Our JourneyTitle: "What happens when we rest in God's unshakable promises?"Scripture: Genesis 13:1-18 NIV Matthew 6:331 Corinthians 2:14-3:32 Corinthians 4:16-18James 3:13-4:102 Peter 2:7-8Bottom line: When God's people trust His promises, they can release what they see and rest in what He has said. OrFaith chooses promise over possession.INTRODUCTIONCONTEXTSERMON OUTLINECONCLUSIONNOTESOUTLINESQUESTIONS TO CONSIDER DISCUSSION QUESTIONSMAIN REFERENCES USEDMy opening prayer: Lord God, help us grow to be and do like Jesus, while abiding in him and leading others to do the same. INTRODUCTIONWhen I was in high school, I was encouraged by my dad to go to a good college to get a good job. A noble endeavor, as I saw it.In college I chose an engineering degree that would provide for that vision.I was focusing on what I could see. I wasn't focused on what I could not see.When God called me into the ministry, he called me out of a career of engineering. I'd been practicing civil engineering as a consultant for five years, and had finally found my footing and was beginning to be productive in the eyes of the company. I finally felt like I belonged. God called me out of that into full-time ministry and I never really questioned the money piece. In other words by God's grace, I was able to look past the money to the Ministry that God was calling me too. I was able to walk by Faith instead of my sight.In this passage today, Genesis 13 we'll see a contrast between Abram and Lot. Lot will choose based on what he sees. Abram chooses based on the promises of God.When we trust in God's unshakable promises, we will release what we see, and rest in what he has said instead.What are some of those promises?God is ableGod hearsGod seesGod is with usGod caresGod satisfiesGod approvesThese are just some of the many promises throughout scripture that you and I have to bank on when we rest in him. Let's look at the life and the contrast of Abram and Lot and see how it plays out in chapter 13.CONTEXTWe've gone from Promises of blessings to failure to rest in those promises to returning to the original promise keeper through repentance and faith.Abram went down to Egypt but returned to between "House of Bread" and "Ruin". It is here he and Lot part ways. He watches Lot choose what he thinks is best for him and yet outside of God's promised land. No doubt he knows this. He just doesn't believe it or realize it.Genesis 13 contrasts Abram's faith-shaped restraint with Lot's sight-driven ambition—and places both under the canopy of God's covenant faithfulness.SERMONReview from Genesis 12:1-3:God Is the Initiator of RedemptionGod Calls His People to Trust Him Before They Understand HimGod's Blessing Is Never Merely Personal—It Is MissionalGod Promises to Anchor His People in Uncertain Times & PlacesGod's People Respond with Obedience, Worship, and WitnessMy notes on Gen 13:God is.../God does...Merciful / forgives, restoresWest, spiritually (10) / Draws his people west, spiritually (10)Holy, just judge (10) / judges righteously (10)Permissive / allowed us to make mistakes and even sinFaithful (14-17) / kept his promise (14-17)Omnipotent (14-17) / able to deliver on his promise (14-17)Worthy of our worship (18) / Receives our worship w/ pleasure when by grace through faith (18)People are.../People do...Can be faithful, humble (3-4) / repent, return to the Lord (3-4); call on the name of the Lord (4)Tempted by riches (5, 10-11) / Pursue riches over God and end up in dark places (5, 10-11)Divided, greedy (6-7) / Quarrelsom (6-7)A witness to the world (7b) / A good or poor witness (7b)Gracious; magnanimous (8-9) / yield to the underserving (8-9)Brothers & sisters of humanity & sometimes in Christ (8) / Care about each other (8) or notLost; citizens of this world; born sinners (10-13) / Pursue the things of this world (10-13)Faithful (at times), blessed (14-17) / Obedient, humble, grateful, faithful, believing (14-17)Content for, yearn for God's presence (18) / Seek, pursue, rest in the Lord (18)CONCLUSIONBottom line: When God's people trust His promises, they can release what they see and rest in what He has said."Fellow believers (Abram's spiritual seed), when we truly believe the promises that are ours in Christ, when we truly understand and believe that we are seated right now in him in the heavenly places, when we understand that all things are ours in Christ, we will cease our grasping. As Alexander Maclaren put it:The less of our energies are consumed in asserting ourselves, and scrambling for our rights, and cutting in before other people, so as to get the best places for ourselves, the more we shall have to spare for better things; and the more we live in the future, and leave God to order our ways, the more shall our souls be wrapped in perfect peace.'" -Hughes, pp. 200-201INVITATIONPeter puts it all in perspective in his first sermon:““Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭36‬-‭39‬ ‭NIV‬‬How do we respond? Answer 2 questions:Take out a card or piece of paper right now. Write down the answer to these questions: What is God saying to me right now?What am I going to do about it? Write this down on a sheet of paper. What I hear you saying, Lord, is ___________________.[my name] is going to believe/do __________________________________________________ as a result.Finally, share this with your Home or Mission group this week when you gather as a testimony about what God is doing in your life. You don't have to get too specific to give him praise.Lord's Supper, 1 Cor 11:23-26 is good passage.Also, say something like, "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again." (past, present, and future)PrayNOTESThe Apostle Paul talks about 3 kinds of people in the world somewhere in 1 Corinthians I think. Lost people, carnal Christians, and spiritual Christians. I think I read this in a Warren Wiersbe commentary pointing to Lot as a carnal Christian when considering 2 Peter 2:7-8. Does Paul say this?Short answer by ChatGPT:Yes, Paul does describe three kinds of people in 1 Corinthians 2–3 — but he does not present them as three permanent classes of Christians.He contrasts unbelievers with two conditions of believers.That distinction matters.Where Paul says this1 Corinthians 2:14–3:3 (flow of thought)Paul uses three Greek adjectives:ψυχικός (psychikos) — natural / unspiritualπνευματικός (pneumatikos) — spiritualσάρκινος / σαρκικός (sarkinos / sarkikos) — fleshly / carnalThese form the three categories you're remembering.The Three Types Explained1. Natural person — unbeliever (2:14)This person:does not receive the things of the Spiritconsiders them foolishlacks spiritual discernmentThis is clearly outside Christ.Paul is describing someone without the Spirit.So this one is not debated.2. Spiritual person — mature believer (2:15–16)This person:discerns spiritual realitieshas “the mind of Christ”is walking under the Spirit's influenceThis is what we might call:matureSpirit-ledgrowingresponsive to GodThis is Paul's goal for every believer.3. Fleshly / carnal believer — immature believer (3:1–3)This is the key text:Paul says to the Corinthians (paraphrasing):I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but as fleshly people, as infants in Christ… you are still fleshly… there is jealousy and strife among you.Notice carefully:He still calls them “in Christ.”So they are:savedbut immaturebehaving like unbelieversdominated by worldly patternsThis is not a third ontological class — it's stunted growth.So what is Paul actually teaching?Here's the most accurate way to state it:Not:❌ Three fixed types of peopleBut:✅ Two groups (unbelievers vs believers), with believers living in two possible conditions (spiritual or fleshly)In other words:CategorySpiritual StatusConditionNaturalUnregenerateCannot understandCarnalRegenerateImmature / worldlySpiritualRegenerateMature / Spirit-ledWhere Wiersbe and others get “three kinds of people”Teachers like Warren W. Wiersbe simplify Paul's language pedagogically.It's a teaching framework, not Paul's formal taxonomy.Helpful for preaching.But not meant as rigid categories.Your Lot connection (2 Peter 2:7–8)This is actually a good biblical illustration.Peter calls Lot:“righteous”yet compromiseddistressedliving foolishly in SodomSo:justified positionallybut practically worldlyThat fits the carnal/immature believer concept very well.So Wiersbe's use of Lot is pastorally reasonable.Theologically important clarificationSome traditions mistakenly build a doctrine like:“There are three kinds of Christians: saved, carnal, and spiritual.”Paul does not teach that.His point is corrective:“You should be spiritual by now — but you're acting fleshly.”It's rebuke, not classification.He expects growth.Bottom lineYes — Paul does describe:natural peoplefleshly believersspiritual believersBut he is describing spiritual maturity levels, not permanent types.The “carnal Christian” is:not a category to settle intobut a condition to repent from.If you want, we can next:look at the Greek terms more closelycompare with Romans 8 (flesh vs Spirit)or explore whether “carnal Christian” is the best phrase theologically (some scholars push back on that wording)or build a teaching/diagram you could use in a sermon or classWhere would you like to go deeper?OUTLINESQUESTIONS TO CONSIDERWhat do I want them to know? Why do I want them to know it?What do I want them to do?Why do I want them to do it?How do they do this?DISCUSSION QUESTIONSDiscovery Bible Study process: https://www.dbsguide.org/Read the passage together.Retell the story in your own words.Discovery the storyWhat does this story tell me about God?What does this story tell me about people?If this is really true, what should I do?What is God saying to you right now? (Write this down)What are you going to do about it? (Write this down)Who am I going to tell about this?Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcastAlternate Discussion Questions (by Jeff Vanderstelt): Based on this passage:Who is God?What has he done/is he doing/is he going to do?Who am I? (In light of 1 & 2)What do I do? (In light of who I am)How do I do it?Final Questions (Write this down)What is God saying to you right now? What are you going to do about it?MAIN REFERENCES USED“Genesis,” by R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word Commentary, Edited by Kent HughesExalting Jesus in Genesis, by BethancourtThe Genesis Record, by Henry MorrisThe Genesis Factor, by David Helms & Jon Dennis“Look at the Book” by John Piper (LATB)“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)"Genesis" by Briscoe (TCC)Outline Bible, D Willmington (OB)Willmington's Bible Handbook, D Willmington (WBH)NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/Chronological Life Application Study Bible (NLT)ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.orgThe Bible Project https://bibleproject.com“The Bible in One Year 2023 with Nicky Gumbel” bible reading plan on YouVersion app (BIOY)Claude.ai

I think we'd all like to work for Peter Vardy! When starting up his businesses, he set the ground rules as doing the best for 1) his employees, 2) his customers, and 3) the surrounding community. The results have been (un)surprisingly spectacular. Profits have been ploughed back into projects both nationally and internationally, and hundreds of thousands of lives have been changed. What a story! Sign up and book your place for an evening of prayer at the Revival, and a day of world class leadership learning at The Calling - events on the 1st and 2nd October 2026 at the Armadillo Glasgow. ▶️ Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/K81ZXgujExoThecalling.scot Tickets from just £62.50 + vatLessons for leading self, other and impact in the community Talks, workshops and celebrations hosted by Dan Walker including special guests; Sir Chris Hoy, Sir Brian Souter, Dr Patrick Dixon, Jo Salter, Todd Henry, Jon Acuff, Dan Owolabi and many many otherVisit: Therevival.scotTickets from just £25+ vatPerformance by Michael W Smith, including Celtic WorshipSpecial guests; including Nicky Gumbel, Pete Greig, Ian Duthie, Pete Anderson, Brian Ingraham...---

Series: God's Promises, Our JourneyTitle: "Where do you go when you fail God?"Scripture: Genesis 12:10-13:04 NIV James 1:2-6Bottom line: When we fail God, we return to the place where we left his presence and start again.INTRODUCTIONCONTEXTSERMON OUTLINECONCLUSIONNOTESOUTLINESQUESTIONS TO CONSIDER DISCUSSION QUESTIONSMAIN REFERENCES USEDMy opening prayer: Lord God, help us grow to be and do like Jesus, while abiding in him and leading others to do the same. INTRODUCTIONMany of you know that last week we were online only due to the snow and hazardous roads. I was super encouraged by the number of people who tuned in as well. However, the most common feedback I got was interesting. Apparently, it looked like I was reading from the back of my Bible. But I was reading Genesis which is in the front of our Bibles. So, just to set the record straight, I was reading from the front of my Bible while my iPhone live-streamed the mirror-version of me reading. Some of you figured that out by looking at my rings or some other thing. I thought that was funny:-).So "Hero to zero" is a term that athletes sometimes use to describe when a player follows an amazing play with a boneheaded play. I see this in Ultimate Frisbee a lot. (And have done it too)You make an amazing, diving catch. The sidelines erupt with sounds of awe and groans of opposition. Then the player jumps up and instead of dropping it to the open handler poised to throw a scoring strike, they act on their inflated confidence and make a poor throw that ends up in the other teams hands. Hero to zero. The psychological term is overconfidence effect. I don't know if Abram is dealing with that but he definitely goes from a very high confidence in God to a very high confidence in himself.Let's read this together now.Shorter-God initiates redemption, calls us to trust Him without all the details, blesses us for the sake of the world, anchors us with His promises, and forms a people who respond with obedience, worship, and witness.Longer-God is the One who initiates redemption. He calls people before they understand all the details, inviting them to trust His voice and follow His lead. God's blessing is never merely personal—it is always meant to flow outward for the sake of others and ultimately for the nations. Along the way, God anchors His people in uncertain places with unshakable promises. And when God calls, His people respond—not perfectly, but faithfully—through obedience, worship, and public witness as they walk with Him step by step.CONTEXT**Genesis 12 marks a decisive turning point in the biblical story, as God initiates His redemptive plan through one man and one family, promising land, descendants, and blessing that will ultimately extend to all nations. God's promises are spoken clearly and graciously at the outset, calling Abram to leave what is familiar and trust God with an unknown future. Abram responds in faith, worship, and obedience, yet the chapter quickly reveals that walking in God's promises does not mean a flawless journey. Famine, fear, and failure follow obedience, exposing Abram's weakness and need for grace. Throughout the chapter, God remains faithful to protect His promise, preserve Sarai, and continue His purposes despite Abram's missteps. Genesis 12 therefore holds together both realities of our series, God's Promises, Our Journey: God's promises are unshakable, while the journey of faith is marked by growth, testing, and restoration rather than perfection.SERMON (influenced by W Wiersbe, Kent Hughes, and Bethancourt)Review last week:God Is the Initiator of RedemptionGod Calls His People to Trust Him Before They Understand HimGod's Blessing Is Never Merely Personal—It Is MissionalGod Promises to Anchor His People in Uncertain Times & PlacesGod's People Respond with Obedience, Worship, and WitnessTruth 1: Tests often follow triumphs. Moses gets Israel delivered from Pharaoh after the 10th plague followed by Pharaoh abusing the entire arm after them and trapping them against the Red Sea. God brought them through the Red Sea only to test them with no water in the desert. Then no bread. Then no meat.God's tests often come after triumph when we're tempted to think the victory was because of us--not God. We quickly forget God.Of course, God doesn't have us face the tests alone. He allows them for our good* and for his glory. God is with us so we don't have to be afraid.*James 1:1-12Application: So after a faith victory, expect a trial or test. Humble yourself instead of swelling with pride by thanking God and asking him to not let you forget who made that happen or who the source of that grace and provision is.Truth 2: Tests tempt us to run.Ex. People travel up and down I-95 from NY to FL asking for $$$ from people and churches because they're running from crisis only to travel back a year later.Ex. People move from one town to another trying to start over as if all their problems will stay behind. 12:10 Instead of staying (or even just asking God), Abram schemes his own plan. A plan with dangers and risks.We go "down" to Egypt not just topographically (elevation is lower in Egypt) but spiritually, in the Bible. (Abe, Mo, Joe)We go "up" to Jerusalem (where God lives) not just topographicaly (elevation is high) but spiritually, in the Bible. Application: When testing occurs, stay put until God tells you to go. Now, I've met with a lot of people who say God told them to go, even though their sitting in front of me in crisis. So this requires great discernment and prayer.Faith moves towards peace and hope.Unbelief moves towards restlessness and fear.Truth 3: God is great! Therefore, he's in control so I don't have to be; he is able.I am safer in a famine IN HIS WILL that in a palace OUT OF HIS WILL."The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you." (A saying)Abe failed his test with God. This lead to more problems! "When you enroll into the 'school of faith' you can't just drop out because of failure." -WWIt was the first nine weeks of my freshman year in high school. I'd just moved to Summerville 3 months before. And I just failed the first nine weeks of Alebra 1. I'd never failed any class or nine weeks before. I was scared to go home that day. My parents were concerned by supportive. We worked harder and I finished the year with a C average. I might have felt it was a little unfair since my teachers name was Mr. Phailer. But I digress...Abram went down to Egypt moving from trust to scheming/grasping.No altars built in Egypt.No calling on the name of the Lord in Egypt.No worship of God in Egypt.When we stop trusting God's word, we start leaning on man's wisdom. -WWHalf-truths are used to deceive. In the 10 commandments, it says do not commit false witness. Do not deceive others. Abram did that.Abram...Moves from trust to scheming or graspingMoves from confidence to fear ("I will" to "they will")Moves from "others" to selfMoves from bringing blessings to bringing judgmentTruth 4: God keeps his promises. God graciously brought him (them) through it all. Mainly because it would have ruined his promise. God rescued them from Pharaoh and sent them home well-provisioned. This foreshadowed the fleecing that would occur when Moses led Israel out of Egypt and through the Red Sea.Truth 5: Repentance leads to New Beginnings. When you stop trusting God's word and disobey, the only right thing to do is to go back to where you left him and make a new beginning. (1 John 1:9)Abram went back to his tent and altar in the Promised Land; to his life as a sojourner and stranger in this world.What was the big deal?! He came out well-provisioned and safe. It led to other problems with Lot Sarai paid a priceApplication: Never abandon your altar. Stay in fellowship with the Lord and his people no matter the crisis. Resist the temptation to run or isolate. Rest in his provision and protection found in his community. This is part of his covenant relationship we made with us. And he is faithful!CONCLUSIONBottom line: When we fail God, we return to the place where we left his presence and start again. A new beginning.God's promises are unshakable. They are for Abraham and they are for us through Jesus Christ. Will we have times of fear and doubt? Yes. Will God be there for us no matter what? Yes!How do we minimize the times of fear and doubt?We humble ourselves and review God's promises thanking God for them and resting in them. We continue our journey by grace through faith. When we get off track, we return to where we got off track and make another new beginning. We remember these truths and receive his blessings by obeying God's word, worship God himself, and being a blessing in word and deed daily. INVITATIONPeter puts it all in perspective in his first sermon:““Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭36‬-‭39‬ ‭NIV‬‬How do we respond? Answer 2 questions:Take out a card or piece of paper right now. Write down the answer to these questions: What is God saying to me right now?What am I going to do about it? Write this down on a sheet of paper. What I hear you saying, Lord, is ___________________.[my name] is going to believe/do __________________________________________________ as a result.Finally, share this with your Home or Mission group this week when you gather as a testimony about what God is doing in your life. You don't have to get too specific to give him praise.Lord's Supper, 1 Cor 11:23-26 is good passage.Also, say something like, "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again." (past, present, and future)PrayNOTES"Fellow believers (Abram's spiritual seed), when we truly believe the promises that are ours in Christ, when we truly understand and believe that we are seated right now in him in the heavenly places, when we understand that all things are ours in Christ, we will cease our grasping. As Alexander Maclaren put it:The less of our energies are consumed in asserting ourselves, and scrambling for our rights, and cutting in before other people, so as to get the best places for ourselves, the more we shall have to spare for better things; and Whereas Abram was living by taith, Lot was living by sight, much as Proram had lived in Egypt."-Alexander MacLaren, Hughes, pp. 200-201Illustration from last week:"I only have eyes for..."AN EXTRAORDINARY ANECDOTE comes to us from the annals of ancient Mideastern history. As the story goes, Cyrus, the great conqueror of the then known world including Babylon, had a general under his authority whose wife was suspected of treason. She was tried before a great and austere tribunal, found guilty, and sentenced to death. After the sentence was pronounced, the woman's husband (a general) made his way to Cyrus's throne and requested, “King Cyrus, please let me take her place.” Cyrus, in awe at what was transpiring before him, said to his court, “Can we terminate a love as great as this?” He then paroled the woman to her husband. As the couple left the court, the general said to his wife, “Did you see the benevolent look in Cyrus's eyes as he pardoned you?” The wife responded, “I only had eyes for the one who loved me enough that he was willing to die for me.”OUTLINESQUESTIONS TO CONSIDERWhat do I want them to know? Why do I want them to know it?What do I want them to do?Why do I want them to do it?How do they do this?DISCUSSION QUESTIONSDiscovery Bible Study process: https://www.dbsguide.org/Read the passage together.Retell the story in your own words.Discovery the storyWhat does this story tell me about God?What does this story tell me about people?If this is really true, what should I do?What is God saying to you right now? (Write this down)What are you going to do about it? (Write this down)Who am I going to tell about this?Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcastAlternate Discussion Questions (by Jeff Vanderstelt): Based on this passage:Who is God?What has he done/is he doing/is he going to do?Who am I? (In light of 1 & 2)What do I do? (In light of who I am)How do I do it?Final Questions (Write this down)What is God saying to you right now? What are you going to do about it?MAIN REFERENCES USED“Genesis,” by R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word Commentary, Edited by Kent HughesExalting Jesus in Genesis, by BethancourtThe Genesis Record, by Henry MorrisThe Genesis Factor, by David Helms & Jon Dennis“Look at the Book” by John Piper (LATB)“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)"Genesis" by Briscoe (TCC)Outline Bible, D Willmington (OB)Willmington's Bible Handbook, D Willmington (WBH)NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/Chronological Life Application Study Bible (NLT)ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.orgThe Bible Project https://bibleproject.com“The Bible in One Year 2023 with Nicky Gumbel” bible reading plan on YouVersion app (BIOY)Claude.ai

Vision in stürmischen Zeiten / vision in troubled times | Nicky Gumbel

Try Church Sunday Matthew 9: 35-38 Sunday 11th January 2026

Proč vlastně slavíme Vánoce? Co z toho? Co lze najít pod nánosem tradic a zvyků a naopak - jsou tradice a zvyky v něčem důležité?Tento podcast můžete podpořit na https://radio7.cz

In this Christmas special, we reshare our conversation with Nicky Gumbel!  Very occasionally one individual can have a disproportionately powerful impact on a collection of people, but very rarely does that person's impact grow in time and reach, and expand beyond anyone's expectations and for millions, be responsible for enhancing their lives. In this episode we explore a slightly different realm: religion. Our guest, the Reverend Nicky Gumbel, talks of his own odyssey from barrister to clergyman, before widening both awareness and access to Christianity to those outside the church via the Alpha Course.  Alpha - a term which we usually employ in a very different context on the podcast - effectively rebranded and modernised Christianity for a new generation in the 1990s, with tens of thousands of courses being run by the end of the decade. The programme has now been translated into 112 different languages, and 30 million people have taken part.  In this interview he explains his own pivot to faith, how he was asked to take charge of the Alpha Course development, and in the subsequent years how its reach was extended globally. He explains how he built it into a global brand, how charismatic leadership can be relevant to all fields, the changing relationship between faith and secularism, the role of religion for prisoner rehabilitation, as well as thoughts on morality, money and giving! The Money Maze Podcast is kindly sponsored by Schroders, IFM Investors, World Gold Council and LSEG. Sign up to our Newsletter | Follow us on LinkedIn | Watch on YouTube 

The last few weeks we've been doing a deep dive on the core values and practices of Servants of Christ. This week Fr. David Trautman teaches on and exhorts us to prayer.The last few sentences of his sermon were lost on the recording due to technical difficulties, but we have provided a transcript of his last few paragraphs for your convenience below so you don't miss his closing thoughts. I want to close with three practical tips from Nicky Gumbel. Keep it real.Be honest. Be vulnerable with God. Say what's on your heart. He doesn't want to hear about what you think ought to be in you; he wants to hear what is really in us. Keep it simple.Jesus cautions us: “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:7–8) If you don't have a regular practice of prayer, start small & simple. Don't try to become an intercessory prayer monk warrior overnight. Keep it up.As I said at the beginning, prayer is hard. But after 25 years, I am so glad that I have kept at it. I have a long way to go. But I think of all the people I have seen healed over the past 25 years. All the marriages restored. All the people set free from addiction. Prayer has had a profound effect on my life. Martin Luther once said, “No one can believe how powerful prayer is and what it can effect, except those who have learned it by experience.” I invite you to experience the power and effectiveness of prayer in your life. Amen.If you like what you see, we hope you'll join us in person if you're in the area. Learn more about us:https://linktr.ee/servantsanglican⁠⁠https://www.servantsanglican.org/⁠

In Part 4 of the Revival series, Nicky Gumbel, Al Gordon, and Stephen Foster explain how and why Gen Z men in the UK are becoming Christians in record numbers. They discuss how they're seeing generations of church decline reversed and what America can learn from it.

We loved having our friend Nicky Gumbel, pioneer of Alpha and the former Vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton in London, share at our Vision Night in 2024 and wanted to reshare his incredible talk in case you missed it. Make sure to come along to this year's Vision Night happening on 20 September 2025. Find out more and book on at https://www.message.org.uk/event/international-vision-night

Bible Q&A Show with Pastor Derek Walker of Oxford Bible Church

Bible Q&A Show with Pastor Derek Walker of Oxford Bible Church

246. What is the spirit of the age and what is the antidote? At the HTB Leadership Conf 25 Nicky Gumbel said "Let's not embrace the spirit of the age, rather lets embrace the spirit of Jesus". In this episode, we explore how the "spirit of the age", driven by hyper-individualism, instant gratification, and moral relativism, directly challenges biblical discipleship in our daily lives. We'll explore practical ways to resist these cultural currents by embracing Jesus' spirit of community, patient growth, and surrendered service, rather than conforming to the world's pressure for performance and self-focus.   Support the podcast with a coffee....
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/crisrogers  
 
   To get a copy of The Bible Book By Book head here...
https://www.eden.co.uk/christian-books/bible-study/bible-study-reference-books/bible-background/the-bible-book-by-book/    Rev Dr Cris Rogers is a church leader at allhallowsbow.org.uk and Director of Making Disciples. Chair of the Spring Harvest Planning Group. For more information check out wearemakingdisciples.com #Heart #Hands #Heart

In Matthew 9:35-38, Jesus looks at the crowds with compassion, seeing them as harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. In times of transition—whether personal, communal, or within ministry—it's easy to feel disoriented, like those very sheep. Yet, Jesus not only acknowledges the need but also calls for a response. Matthew 9:35-38

Series: Signs & GloryTitle: "Am I really born again?"Scripture: John 3:1-15John 2:23-25;Daniel 7:13-14; Ezekiel 36:25-27; Matthew 5:20, 48;Numbers 21:4-9; Isaiah 52:13Bottom line: No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born from the above.INTRODUCTIONCONTEXTSERMON OUTLINECONCLUSIONNOTESOUTLINESQUESTIONS TO CONSIDER DISCUSSION QUESTIONSMAIN REFERENCES USEDMy opening prayer: Lord God, help us grow to be and do like Jesus, while abiding in him and leading others to do the same. INTRODUCTIONBorn again. What does that even mean?Sometimes you hear people say they are a "Born-again Christian" as if there is another kind; as if you could be a true Christian any other way. I get why people do that. Am I really born again? That's not a question I would've asked as a young man going to college: I thought I already was. After all, I'd done everything the church had asked me to do growing up: confirmation class, youth choir, Sunday school, youth group, acolyte, even the hand bell choir. I did everything my parents put me in, regarding the church. But I don't ever remember hearing the gospel and responding by grace through faith to the gospel. Maybe that was because I thought I was a Christian by doing all those good things. Well, I wasn't. Not yet.Let me just talk to the students right now for a minute. Many of you have grown up going to church and have done everything asked of you by the church and your parents. You've been active in youth group. You've gone to Sunday school or kids group, and attended church services. Maybe you've even been on a mission trip or gone to summer camp. Maybe you've even prayed a prayer and been baptized. Those are good signs, of course. But the evidence that you are truly a follower of Christ is seen in the fruit of your life and made effective in your life because you were born from above. Not because you grew up going to church and doing all the church stuff. The church stuff is designed to lay a foundation on which to build your own faith in Christ on. The church stuff is to strengthen those who have been born again to not only be right with God in position, but to become right with God in practice. To walk in step with God daily. And to want to do that.Like I said, I grew up in the church doing all the church stuff. And I thought I was a Christian. But I figured out I wasn't a good Christian when I met my future wife. We met in ninth grade and instantly became friends. We started dating our senior year in high school. I saw how she carried herself for those four years in high school--with consistent love and integrity. I met her family and got to see how she was raised; how she was loved by her family; how she was taught by her family in word and deed. I got a glimpse of her church life by going with her to her church a couple of times as well. I probably heard the gospel there for the first time at a lock-in. She was a huge part of me coming to the Christ. Because I don't think I trusted Christ going through confirmation class, I suspect that Anita and I dated before I was a believer. I always council against that whenever you know that to be true. But I was playing the part of a Christian. I knew what to say and do in general and enough to come across as a young immature Christian. And by God's grace, she bought it. Ha ha. Little did I know that I had a lot more to learn about what it means to truly know God, and have a relationship with him because of a supernatural birth from above. I experienced what it means to be born again when I stood at the end of the concert and received Jesus is my Lord and Savior because I just knew I was supposed to.Jesus said to Nicodemus, you must be born again. He said no one can see the kingdom of God, unless they are born again or born from above. My hope is today that you will understand and comprehend what that means today so that should you choose to surrender to Jesus Christ, that you will be born from above today if you haven't already.CONTEXTJohn is transitioning from Jesus's first week of public ministry to conversations between Jesus and individuals. This is framed around the idea that there is more than one kind of belief in Jesus.SERMON Willmington's OUTLINE Bible (JOHN 3):Jesus meets with Nicodemus and tells him in order to be saved, all people must be born again. John the Baptist tells his disciples that Jesus is the Messiah.1. JESUS EXPLAINS THE PLAN OF SALVATION (3:1-21): A man named Nicodemus visits Jesus by night.A. The credentials of Nicodemus (3:1): He is both a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin and a Pharisee.B. The confession of Nicodemus (3:2): He acknowledges that Jesus is from God because of his miracles.C. The command to Nicodemus (3:3): Jesus says he needs the new birth.D. The confusion of Nicodemus (3:4): He confuses spiritual birth with physical birth.E. The chastening of Nicodemus (3:9-13): Jesus chides him for not knowing these things even though he is a respected Jewish teacher.F. The clarification for Nicodemus (3:5-8, 14-15): Jesus employs three illustrations to explain the new birth to Nicodemus. (Cf. Ezekiel 36:25-28)1. A physical illustration (3:5-7): Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.2. A natural illustration (3:8): Just as you don't know where the wind comes from or where it is going, so it is impossible to explain being born of the Spirit. Illustration: Imagine how crazy would be for wind to blow through a cemetery and bones to become living people again is no less dramatic than God transforming us from above.3. A scriptural illustration (3:14-15): As Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.NEXT WEEK:G. The conclusion for Nicodemus (3:16-21): Jesus now summarizes both the subjects of salvation and condemnation!1. The persons (3:16)a. The Father gave his Son (3:16a).b. The Son will give his life (3:16b).CONCLUSIONBottom line: No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born from above.What about you?Peter puts it all in perspective in his first sermon:““Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭36‬-‭39‬ ‭NIV‬‬InvitationHow do we respond? Answer 2 questions:Take out a card or piece of paper right now. Write down the answer to these questions: What is God saying to me right now?What am I going to do about it? Write this down on a sheet of paper. What I hear you saying, Lord, is ___________________.[my name] is going to believe/do __________________________________________________ as a result.Finally, share this with your Home or Mission group this week when you gather as a testimony about what God is doing in your life. You don't have to get too specific to give him praise.Lord's Supper, 1 Cor 11:23-26 is good passage.Also, say something like, "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again." (past, present, and future)PrayNOTESFrom Lesslie Newbigin, p. 36:John 2:23-25"Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs which he did; but Jesus did not trust himself to them, because he knew all men and needed no one to bear witness of man; for he himself knew what was in man.The fact that Jesus performed many miracles of healing is assumed in all versions of the tradition. The synoptics devote much space to those which were performed in Galilee; John— without giving details-implies that Jerusalem was also the scene of such activity and states that as a result "many believed in his name." In the light of what is said in 1:12, where the same phrase is used, this might seem to be an extremely promising development in the mission of Jesus—an early and impressive example of successful evangelism. But it is not so. This belief is based upon "things that are seen"; it is not that faith which is a work of the Spirit who is not seen, and who comes—like the wind-as he will, and comes not from the solid ground below but from above. Jesus-who knows the heart and does not look on the outward appearance (I Sam. 16:7) —does not "believe in" them, even though they "believe in" him."OUTLINESOutline from Willmington's Outline Bible N/AQUESTIONS TO CONSIDERWhat do I want them to know? Why do I want them to know it?What do I want them to do?Why do I want them to do it?How do they do this?DISCUSSION QUESTIONSDiscovery Bible Study process: https://www.dbsguide.org/Read the passage together.Retell the story in your own words.Discovery the storyWhat does this story tell me about God?What does this story tell me about people?If this is really true, what should I do?What is God saying to you right now? (Write this down)What are you going to do about it? (Write this down)Who am I going to tell about this?Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcastAlternate Discussion Questions (by Jeff Vanderstelt): Based on this passage:Who is God?What has he done/is he doing/is he going to do?Who am I? (In light of 1 & 2)What do I do? (In light of who I am)How do I do it?Final Questions (Write this down)What is God saying to you right now? What are you going to do about it?MAIN REFERENCES USED“John,” by R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word Commentary, Edited by Kent HughesExalting Jesus in John, by Matt Carter & Josh Wredberg“Look at the Book” by John Piper (LATB)“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)Outline Bible, D Willmington (OB)Willmington's Bible Handbook, D Willmington (WBH)NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/Chronological Life Application Study Bible (NLT)ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.orgThe Bible Project https://bibleproject.com“The Bible in One Year 2023 with Nicky Gumbel” bible reading plan on YouVersion app (BIOY)Claude.aiChatGPT 3.5

Series: Signs & GloryTitle: Why every Christian should live zealously for the LordScripture: John 2:12-251 Cor 3:16-17; 6:18-20; 1 Peter 2:4-8; Romans 12:9-11Bottom line: Every Christian should live zealously for the Lord and his kingdom mission.INTRODUCTIONCONTEXTSERMON OUTLINECONCLUSIONNOTESOUTLINESQUESTIONS TO CONSIDER DISCUSSION QUESTIONSMAIN REFERENCES USEDMy opening prayer: Lord God, help us grow to be and do like Jesus, while abiding in him and leading others to do the same. INTRODUCTION"Another day in paradise," January 13, 2025, Bill Murphy, Jr."Honest to God, I just could not stop thinking of wonderful things that have happened to me and blessings that I've had, so it was lovely. It was lovely. And I got to a point of grace with about two minutes to spare when I found out it wasn't actually happening.— Jim CarreySeek immediate shelterIt was a beautiful morning. But aren't they all in Hawaii? A little below 80 degrees at the weather station in Oahu, with nearly no cloud cover: the kind of day that people on the mainland sometimes wish they had (but almost never get) at the beginning of January. • Honeymooners were waking up in each others' arms in their hotel rooms. A woman named Lydia Warren and her husband were vacationing on the beach. • A college student named Makena was showing her visiting boyfriend the Pearl Harbor memorial. (It's open at 7 a.m.; who knew?) Her father, a TV news producer named David Patterson, was on the freeway, about to dial into a conference call. • Oh, and here's a quirky one: Actor and comedian Jim Carrey was up early, working on writing a memoir.Then: panic. At 8:08 a.m., Hawaii's civil defense and emergency agency sent an alarming text to every single person in the state with a cell phone. It read, in all caps: "BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL."Local T.V. put a chyron message on the screen as well, against the backdrop of things like a college basketball game between Ole Miss and Florida, or else a Premier League soccer game from London between Tottenham Hotspur and Everton:The U.S. Pacific Command has detected a missile threat to Hawaii. A missile may impact on land or sea within minutes. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. If you are indoors, stay indoors. If you are outdoors, seek immediate shelter in a building. Remain indoors well away from windows. If you are driving, pull safely to the side of the road and seek shelter in a building or lay on the floor. We will announce when the threat has ended. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. Take immediate action measures.Can you even imagine? Of course, you probably remember this -- along with the fact that in the end, there was no inbound missile. By the way, the date was January 13, 2018, so seven years ago today.In fact, officials at the civil defense agency realized this was a mistake pretty quickly, but it took them 38 minutes to confirm that and then figure out how to send a second message telling people that the first alert was in error.There's a lot about this story - but the biggest part that has stayed with me is how people spent those 38 minutes when they thought they and everyone around them was going to die.Lydia Warren and her husband raced back to their hotel -- not so much because they thought it would be safer, but because they thought that their bodies might be more easily identified someday if they were found near where they were staying.David Patterson called his daughter and learned where she was. He told her to use her phone to record video of Pearl Harbor visitors processing the possibility of an imminent attack. She later said this calmed her down, as she figured her father wouldn't tell her to spend what could be her last minutes videoing if he wasn't pretty sure the alert was a mistake.My favorite reaction is probably Jim Carrey's. He was engrossed in work and missed the initial alert, but his assistant called to tell him they had 10 minutes to live. He tried calling his daughter and some other family, wondering if there was any way to get off the island, and finally realizing everything was out of his control.He explained all of this on an episode of The Tonight Show two years later (video here):Jim Carrey: And we had to say goodbye. And I sat on the lanai and looked out at the ocean, and at that point, I started going, "Okay. Well, what can I do with this last moment of time?" And I just decided to go through a list of gratitudes, and honest to God, I just could not stop thinking of wonderful things that have happened to me and blessings that I've had, so it was lovely. It was lovely. And I got to a point of grace with about two minutes to spare when I found out it wasn't actually happening. And all I was planning to do was close my eyes an be thankful, 'cause it's been a good ride.'Jimmy Fallon: What did you do when you found out that it was a fake missile test?Carrey: Then I got pissed off, and heads rolled!The front page headline in the Star-Advertiser newspaper the next day read, in giant type: OOPS! (And in smaller type: "'Wrong button' sends out false missile alert.")Later, officials said that wasn't right; it was instead an employee who was absolute, 100 percent convinced that a missile was en route, and who sent the alert -- but was simply wrong.I guess I've mentioned this theme a few times recently -- but isn't it funny that even being told you are going to die within a few minutes can turn out to be a gift? At least that's what I take away from Carrey's account. Sometimes, I suppose you value things most when you're suddenly about to lose them.As for everyone affected that day, I feel for them. It must have been hard.Then again, after it was all over, they were still in Hawaii.Jesus is AngryJesus is angry. How can Jesus be angry? If God is love, how can Jesus-who is God-get angry? Genuine love is compatible with anger.In fact, genuine love is sometimes demonstrated by anger. At times anger proves love is authentic. Let me give you an example: a friend of mine is passionate about ending modern-day slavery and human trafficking.He writes and speaks about it. He's visited Washington to meet with politicians. He has traveled to foreign countries to learn more about stopping it. He's worked hard to bring it to people's attention. I don't doubt his commitment to ending trafficking. I don't doubt his love for those in slavery. But I would doubt a claim that he never got angry about it. I know his love for the abused is real because he gets angry when he sees the abuse.Jesus gets angry about how the Jews have turned his house of prayer and mission into a house of corrupt commerce. The Court of GentilesThe court of the Gentiles was the one place on the Temple Mount where anyone could engage with the God of Israel formally. But it was clogged with commercial enterprise instead of prayer, worship and evangelism.Matt Carter writes, "Jesus levels a charge, but the charge is not unethical practices. They have twisted the purpose of the temple. Jesus is denouncing impure worship."I would add they've forgotten the purpose of the outer temple court: mission to the nations.We do that too when we make our Sunday worship experience all about our wants and needs. When we see the Lord as he truly is, we are transformed to live on mission with him 24/7.CONTEXTLast week, Ken showed us how Jesus first displayed his power at a wedding in Cana, not far from Nazareth and Capernaum. He discreetly turns water to wine demonstrating his power as Messiah to his disciples and mother. This was part of his first week of public ministry. John called it the first of his "signs," or, miracles that point to who he is and why he's come. From Capernaum, Jesus leads his family and disciples to the temple in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover together. It's about to get dramatic.We pick it up with Jesus and his disciples in the temple in Jerusalem. This is the only temple of the Jews. It was the symbol of the nation and religion of Israel. It was the icon of their identity and the place where they 1) Met with God, and 2) atoned for their sins. SERMON Every Christian should live zealously for the Lord and his kingdom mission.Why? The answer is the message I'm about to give:It's because of his power, his passion and his promise.I. His power. (2:1-11) We saw last week how he powerfully transformed water to wine. He demonstrated this discreetly to reveal his power to his family and disciples; to help them believe he could powerfully transform our lives too.II. His passion. (2:12-17) We see his passion and zeal for his father's house. In fact, his zeal consumes him. We see this in the cross.Story by Kent Hughes, commentary on John, p. 47"One evening the great conductor Arturo Toscanini conducted Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. It was a brilliant performance, at the end of which the audience went absolutely wild! They clapped, whistled, and stamped their feet, absolutely caught up in the greatness of that performance. As Toscanini stood there, he bowed and bowed and bowed, then acknowledged his orchestra.When the ovation finally began to subside, Toscanini turned and looked intently at his musicians. He was almost out of control as he whispered,"Gentlemen! Gentlemen!" The orchestra leaned forward to listen. In a fiercely enunciated whisper Toscanini said, "Gentlemen, I am nothing." That was an extraordinary admission since Toscanini was blessed with an enormous ego.He added, "Gentlemen, you are nothing." They had heard that same message before the rehearsal. "But Beethoven," said Toscanini in a tone of adoration,"is everything, everything, everything!" This is the attitude we need toward ourselves and toward the Lord Jesus Christ. I am nothing, you are nothing, but he is everything! That was John's attitude, and it is the attitude of every authentic messenger of Christ."III. He promise. (2:18-22) We will see his promise fulfilled in our resurrection one day based on his resurrection 2,000 years ago.CONCLUSIONApplication: When we're tempted to doubt or find ourselves lacking zeal, REMEMBER THE RESURRECTION!From Tim Keller, The Songs of Jesus, p. 153"MISUNDERSTOOD. David is being scorned for his zealous devotion to God (verse 9). When he prays and repents, he is laughed at (verses 10-11). His world is not so different from ours. Even when Christianity was taken for granted by Western society, the most devoted believers were silently laughed at.Today they are also despised. The world does not understand the Gospel of grace, in which holy living is the result of humble, grateful joy, not a way to earn heaven. The world therefore sees all righteous living as self-righteousness and bigotry. We should not be surprised at this (2 Timothy 3:12), but we should also undermine this false narrative by living lives of humility, forgiveness, and sacrificial service to others."Bottom line: Every Christian should live zealously for the Lord and his kingdom mission.What about you?Peter puts it all in perspective in his first sermon:““Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭36‬-‭39‬ ‭NIV‬‬InvitationHow do we respond? Answer 2 questions:Take out a card or piece of paper right now. Write down the answer to these questions: What is God saying to me right now?What am I going to do about it? Write this down on a sheet of paper. What I hear you saying, Lord, is ___________________.[my name] is going to believe/do __________________________________________________ as a result.Finally, share this with your Home or Mission group this week when you gather as a testimony about what God is doing in your life. You don't have to get too specific to give him praise.Lord's Supper, 1 Cor 11:23-26 is good passage.Also, say something like, "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again." (past, present, and future)PrayNOTESMany today want to use this to say we shouldn't sell things in church lobbies because we tend to think of the church building as a house of prayer and mission too. And it is to the degree that it is filled with true believers. But I'd take it further. As a part of the better, spiritual temple of God, I must make sure I don't approach my time of worship as a transactional exchange with God where I show up, maybe serve a little bit, give a little bit, pray a little bit, and then expect God to bless me because I earned it.OUTLINESOutline from Willmington's Outline Bible N/AQUESTIONS TO CONSIDERWhat do I want them to know? Why do I want them to know it?What do I want them to do?Why do I want them to do it?How do they do this?DISCUSSION QUESTIONSDiscovery Bible Study process: https://www.dbsguide.org/Read the passage together.Retell the story in your own words.Discovery the storyWhat does this story tell me about God?What does this story tell me about people?If this is really true, what should I do?What is God saying to you right now? (Write this down)What are you going to do about it? (Write this down)Who am I going to tell about this?Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcastAlternate Discussion Questions (by Jeff Vanderstelt): Based on this passage:Who is God?What has he done/is he doing/is he going to do?Who am I? (In light of 1 & 2)What do I do? (In light of who I am)How do I do it?Final Questions (Write this down)What is God saying to you right now? What are you going to do about it?MAIN REFERENCES USED“John,” by R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word Commentary, Edited by Kent HughesExalting Jesus in John, by Matt Carter & Josh Wredberg“Look at the Book” by John Piper (LATB)“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)Outline Bible, D Willmington (OB)Willmington's Bible Handbook, D Willmington (WBH)NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/Chronological Life Application Study Bible (NLT)ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.orgThe Bible Project https://bibleproject.com“The Bible in One Year 2023 with Nicky Gumbel” bible reading plan on YouVersion app (BIOY)Claude.aiChatGPT 3.5

We were so lucky to have Nicky Gumbel with us this Sunday preaching on 'Vision in Troubled Times'.

John Wentz leads Alpha USA. Alpha is in over 150 countries and in the past thirty years about 35 million people have participated in Alpha groups. Last year over two million people went through their program. Alpha works in a prison cell, a refugee camp, a bar, a school, a neighborhood home, or a church. The secret to their evangelism success is asking questions and caring for people. On today's episode of The Evangelism Podcast you will hear some amazing testimonies about what God has done through Alpha. The Alpha program creates a safe, non-judgmental space for people to explore the Christian faith through meals, short talks, and open discussion. Alpha has been effective at reaching people outside the church by genuinely listening to their questions and struggles. Testimonies show how the welcoming community and focus on relationship rather than doctrinal correction can lead to life-transforming encounters with Jesus, even among the most resistant participants. Alpha's approach of empowering ordinary believers to invite friends and create this kind of environment has enabled its rapid global expansion and lasting impact. Questions we talk about: What is Alpha? What are some of the hard questions that people talk about in Alpha groups? What are some testimonies of how people are being reached through Alpha and perhaps you could share some statistics about the impact Alpha is having? What is your testimony? How did you come to know the Lord? How did you get involved with Alpha? Describe the philosophy behind how Alpha functions.  How did Nicky Gumbel change Alpha from a course for new believers into a course for people outside the church? What is it about our culture today that makes Alpha's approach so effective? If someone wants to start an Alpha group or support your ministry, what would be the best way for them to get connected with you?

Signs & GloryTitle: What does it mean to follow Jesus?Scripture: John 1:35-51Genesis 28:11-12; 2 Kings 6:14-17; Hebrews 1:14Lean a tall ladder against the back wall on the stage. Or set it up as an A-frame closer to the front.Bottom line: Following Jesus is humbling ourselves and apprenticing to lead people to Jesus as part of a supernatural way of life.1. INTRODUCTION2. CONTEXT3. SERMON OUTLINE4. CONCLUSION5. NOTES6. OUTLINES7. QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER 8. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS9. MAIN REFERENCES USEDMy opening prayer: Lord God, help us grow to be and do like Jesus, while abiding in him and leading others to do the same. INTRODUCTIONWelcome 2025! Apparently, I'll be learning more new things in 2025. We've been homeowners for at least 25 years and I learned something new about owning a home this weekend. We had our house re-roofed recently and I learned that when that happens, a lot of debris rains down onto the things you have stored in the attic! So I learned something new!We talk a lot about following Jesus here at Grace. And it's tempting to think that once you hear a sermon or two on that you're good to move on. But the Bible revisits it quite a lot. And since we're preaching through the Bible, we will repeat that a lot too. But here's the thing: Every topic you could choose to hear a sermon on relies heavily on understanding what it means to follow Jesus. Well John is going to go there with us today. Both John's, in fact. So here we go!CONTEXTThis series is called Signs & Glory. Zooming out, this book of the Bible by John the Apostle or Disciple is written that we might believe that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God and that by believing have life in his name. That's the point of this gospel account of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.Zooming in further, we see this gospel account divided into 2 major sections. The first 12 chapters will show us the 7 signs of belief along with many others truths that illustrate and justify the teachings of Jesus. Chapters 13-20 will show us the glory of God on full display. We'll see the light, life and love of God through his divine AND human son, Jesus of Nazareth during the last week of his life.In John 1:19-2:12, the apostle John begins his gospel narrative like the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark & Luke) do: Beginning with John the Baptist. This chunk of scripture covers Jesus' first week of public ministry. It skips his actual baptism, though he implies it. It also skips his 40 days being tempted by Satan in the wilderness. John assumes his readers already know about this and, even if they don't, it's well covered in the synoptic gospels already. He's moving on so he can focus on the themes he feels led to focus on.6 of the 7 days are mentioned so we'll point those out along the way. Verse 19 is day 1 of his first week.The first 12 chapters of John are about the Signs of the Messiah. After that, John's focus is on the Glory of the Messiah. SERMON What does following Jesus mean/look like?- Learning/apprenticing (Disciple) - Information vs - Transformation- Going (Evangelist-->Apostle) - Most of disciples were brought to Jesus by a disciple of Jesus - Start with those closest to you- Leading Others #LOTDTS - Jesus modeled this from the beginning - This isn't about gifting--this is about obedience- Living/experiencing Supernatural life - Story 1 - Story 2- Lord's Supper tie-inCONCLUSION"ON A DARK NIGHT about a hundred years ago a Scottish missionary couple found themselves surrounded by cannibals intent on taking their lives. On that terror-filled night the couple fell to their knees and prayed that God would protect them. It was a horrible time. Intermittent with their prayers, the missionaries heard the cries of the savages and imagined them coming through the door to take their lives. As the sun began to rise, to their astonishment they found that the natives were retreating into the forest. The missionaries were absolutely amazed and filled with joy. Their hearts soared to God. It was a day of rejoicing!The couple bravely continued their work. A year later the chieftain of that tribe was saved. As the missionary spoke with him, he remembered the horror of that night and asked the chieftain why he and his men had not killed them.The chieftain replied in surprise, "Who were all those men who were with you?" The missionary answered, "There were no men with us. It was just my wife and myself." The chieftain began to argue with him, saying, "There were hundreds of tall men in shining garments with drawn swords circling about your house, so we could not attack you."That story, recorded in Billy Graham's book Angels, is one of the greatest stories in missionary history. The missionary was the almost legendary John G. Paton of the New Hebrides. What a glorious story for the church — a story not often repeated or experienced, yet one that does have contemporary parallels.""Another vivid story was shared with me by a respectable Southern California pastor's wife. One evening she was driving down the Santa Ana Freeway, which is always busy. As she drove down that freeway, somehow the car door opened, and her four-year-old child tumbled out onto the freeway amidst the high-speed traffic. With her heart pounding and with horrible expectations, she pulled her car to a screeching stop and ran frantically back along the freeway. But she did not expect to see what she saw. Her child was sitting up in the fast lane of the freeway amidst the glare of headlights, his only injuries a few abrasions. The first words that came out of his mouth were, "Mommy, Mommy, I saw Jesus put up his hands and stop the cars!" Was that a child's imagination? Possibly. None of the drivers saw anyone. They just managed to stop their cars and miss him. The boy had been raised in a pious home, so perhaps he was just parroting what he had heard others say. On the other hand, it may indeed have been angelic intervention, considering the incredible danger in that unusual situation."Both from Kent Hughes commentary, pp. 51-52Bottom line: Following Jesus is humbling ourselves and apprenticing to lead people to Jesus as part of a supernatural way of life.What about you?Peter puts it all in perspective in his first sermon:““Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭36‬-‭39‬ ‭NIV‬‬InvitationHow do we respond? Answer 2 questions:Take out a card or piece of paper right now. Write down the answer to these questions: 1. What is God saying to me right now?2. What am I going to do about it? Write this down on a sheet of paper. What I hear you saying, Lord, is ___________________.[my name] is going to believe/do __________________________________________________ as a result.Finally, share this with your Home or Mission group this week when you gather as a testimony about what God is doing in your life. You don't have to get too specific to give him praise.Lord's Supper, 1 Cor 11:23-26 is good passage.Also, say something like, "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again." (past, present, and future)PrayNOTESOUTLINESOutline from Willmington's Outline Bible OUTLINE JOHN 1John begins his Gospel by talking about the deity of Christ, then describes the ministry of John the Baptist. Jesus is baptized and calls his first disciples.I. FACTS CONCERNING THE PREINCARNATE CHRIST (1:1-5) A. His relationship to the Father (1:1-2) 1. Christ's eternality is declared (1:1a, 2): He already existed in the beginning. 2. Christ's deity is declared (1:b): He is God. B. His relationship to the world (1:3-5) 1. He is the sole creator (1:3): Nothing exists that he didn't make. 2. He is light and life (1:4-5): His life gives light to everyone, and the darkness cannot extinguish it.II. FACTS CONCERNING THE INCARNATE CHRIST (1:6-51) A. The miracle (1:14): God became human and lived on earth among us. B. The mission (1:10-13): He came to save sinners. 1. Some rejected him (1:10-11): The world and even the people in his own country did not understand him. 2. Some received him (1:12-13): Those who believed him became children of God. C. The men (1:6-9, 15-51) 1. Christ's faithful forerunner (1:6-9, 15-34) a. John the Baptist and the crowds (1:6-9, 15-18): John makes three key statements to the people. (1) He is to serve as a witness to Christ (1:6-9). (2) Christ is greater than John or Moses (1:15-17). b. John the Baptist and the critics (1:19-28): John speaks to the Pharisees who are sent to cross-examine him. (1) John says that he is not the Messiah (1:19-20). (2) John says that he is not Elijah (1:21). (3) John says that he has been sent to prepare the way for the Lord (1:22-28). c. John the Baptist and the Christ (1:29-34) (1) He introduces the Savior (1:29-31). (2) He baptizes the Savior (1:32-34). 2. Christ's first five followers (1:35-51) a. Andrew and John the apostle (1:35-39) b. Peter (1:40-42) c. Philip (1:43) d. Nathanael (1:44-51)QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER1. What do I want them to know? 2. Why do I want them to know it?3. What do I want them to do?4. Why do I want them to do it?5. How do they do this?DISCUSSION QUESTIONSDiscovery Bible Study process: https://www.dbsguide.org/1. Read the passage together.2. Retell the story in your own words.3. Discovery the story 1. What does this story tell me about God? 2. What does this story tell me about people? 3. If this is really true, what should I do?4. What is God saying to you right now? (Write this down)5. What are you going to do about it? (Write this down)6. Who am I going to tell about this?Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcastAlternate Discussion Questions (by Jeff Vanderstelt): Based on this passage:1. Who is God?2. What has he done/is he doing/is he going to do?3. Who am I? (In light of 1 & 2)4. What do I do? (In light of who I am)5. How do I do it?Final Questions (Write this down)- What is God saying to you right now? - What are you going to do about it?MAIN REFERENCES USED---“John,” by R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word Commentary, Edited by Kent HughesExalting Jesus in John, by Matt Carter & Josh Wredberg“Look at the Book” by John Piper (LATB)“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)Outline Bible, D Willmington (OB)Willmington's Bible Handbook, D Willmington (WBH)NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/Chronological Life Application Study Bible (NLT)ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.orgThe Bible Project https://bibleproject.com“The Bible in One Year 2023 with Nicky Gumbel” bible reading plan on YouVersion app (BIOY)Claude.aiChatGPT 3.5

Enjoy this special teaching from our friend Nicky Gumbel, pioneer of Alpha and the former Vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton in London, as he shares at our Message Vision Night 2024.

Series: Signs & GloryTitle: Who is Jesus according to John?Scripture: John 1:19-34Matthew 3:1-12Malachi 4:4-5; Deut 18:18Bottom line: John the Baptist comes as the voice of one pointing others to Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. We receive this forgiveness when we repent and believe.INTRODUCTIONCONTEXTSERMON OUTLINECONCLUSIONNOTESOUTLINESQUESTIONS TO CONSIDER DISCUSSION QUESTIONSMAIN REFERENCES USEDMy opening prayer: Lord God, help us grow to be and do like Jesus, while abiding in him and leading others to do the same. INTRODUCTIONEven if you're not an NFL fan nor a Swifty, you've probably heard about the budding romance between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce (tight end of the Kansas City Chiefs). Swifties who never cared about football before this have become KC fans. And some NFL fans have been learning how to "Shake it off" as they learn Taylor Swifts latest songs. There's nothing wrong with being a fan of TK or TS. If you are, that makes you a "Groupie" of the one you are a fan of.However, there can become a point at which being a groupie is detrimental to your heart. It can lead you to sin.As a groupie of TK or TS, if you are consumed with the idea of getting a selfie with them so that you can show everybody that you were with the star, that can be an unhealthy place to be. Because you're making it all about you.In contrast, you could be a roadie. So TS has a crew that she pays but who gladly serve her behind the scenes so that her show comes off great and that she, as the star of her show, is easily seen and heard for her fans. They work tirelessly before, during and after the show for one purpose--to make much about the TS who is the star. The same can be said of all the trainers and support team for TK and the KC Chiefs. The players are the stars and the support crew is all about making the stars look good and be successful as a team. These folks are behind the scenes and embrace their role gladly. We as Christians believe that Jesus is worthy of all our worship. We believe that he is the Star of stars for all time. But do our lives look like that? Do we live gladly serving him behind the scenes making him look good while pointing others to him? Or do we want to be seen serving him or talking about him in such a way that others think we're great?If someone were to follow you around for a week, what would they conclude about you? Who would they think you think is the star in your life?John the Baptist is the best roadie I can find in Scripture. His whole life he lives in obscurity in the wilderness, preparing for over a decade for his brief public ministry. And what ministry is that? To make much of the Star, Jesus Messiah, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is where John the Apostle will take us today.It had been 400 years since God had spoken through one of his prophets. (Malachi) God broke the silence through an Elijah-like prophet called John, later called John the Baptizer because he preached a message of repentance and at the invitation, if you repented, you immediately were baptized in the River Jordan. This was considered evidence of your sincere belief that you genuinely repented of your sins and that believed that God forgave you because of your faith. This got a lot of attention. Soon crowds formed to hear the preaching of this great prophet. What was provoking to the religious leaders in Jerusalem was the fact that he wasn't just baptizing Gentile converts to Judaism but Jews. They taught that as God's chosen people, they were already saved and settled in his kingdom. (Not that that is what the OT scriptures actually teach, but I digress)There were rules and regulations about how to do things like preach, baptize, etc. John was unsettling the leaders because he seemed ok ignoring those rules. And, because he was getting large crowds, they knew they needed to investigate further and see if they needed to take action. Thus the inquiry in the desert. CONTEXTThis series is called Signs & Glory. Zooming out, this book of the Bible by John the Apostle or Disciple is written that we might believe that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God and that by believing have life in his name. That's the point of this gospel account of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.Zooming in further, we see this gospel account divided into 2 major sections. The first 12 chapters will show us the 7 signs of belief along with many others truths that illustrate and justify the teachings of Jesus. Chapters 13-20 will show us the glory of God on full display. We'll see the light, life and love of God through his divine AND human son, Jesus of Nazareth during the last week of his life.In John 1:19-2:12, the apostle John begins his gospel narrative like the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark & Luke) do: Beginning with John the Baptist. This chunk of scripture covers Jesus' first week of public ministry. It skips his actual baptism, though he implies it. It also skips his 40 days being tempted by Satan in the wilderness. John assumes his readers already know about this and, even if they don't, it's well covered in the synoptic gospels already. He's moving on so he can focus on the themes he feels led to focus on.6 of the 7 days are mentioned so we'll point those out along the way. Verse 19 is day 1 of his first week.The first 12 chapters of John are about the Signs of the Messiah. After that, John's focus is on the Glory of the Messiah. SERMON I. Who is John the Baptist & what's he about, according to John the Apostle? (1:19–28)II. What does J the B say about the Lamb of God, according to John the Apostle? (1:29–31)III. What does J the B say about of Jesus' Identity, according to John the Apostle? (1:32–34)CONCLUSION"In 1912, when the Titanic sank, a pastor named John Harper was aboard. As the ship went down, Harper ensured his young daughter was safely placed on a lifeboat but stayed behind to help others. Survivors later recounted how Harper swam from person to person in the freezing water, urging them to trust in Jesus. His final words to a man clinging to debris were, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved."-ChatGPT & GeminiBottom line: John the Baptist comes as the voice of one pointing others to Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. We receive this forgiveness when we repent and believe.What about you?Peter puts it all in perspective in his first sermon:““Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭36‬-‭39‬ ‭NIV‬‬How are you living today? Like a Jesus groupie or Jesus roadie?InvitationHow do we respond? Answer 2 questions:Take out a card or piece of paper right now. Write down the answer to these questions: What is God saying to me right now?What am I going to do about it? Write this down on a sheet of paper. What I hear you saying, Lord, is ___________________.[my name] is going to believe/do __________________________________________________ as a result.Finally, share this with your Home or Mission group this week when you gather as a testimony about what God is doing in your life. You don't have to get too specific to give him praise.Lord's Supper, 1 Cor 11:23-26 is good passage.Also, say something like, "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again." (past, present, and future)PrayNOTESGroupies vs RoadiesDo you know the difference between a roadie and a groupie? If you're on tour with a rockstar and you are part of the crew that travels with the rockstar, that sets up before the rockstar gets there, that tears down after the concert is over, and that works all the things that have to happen behind the scenes like lights and sound, then you're the roadie. You're someone who exists to lift up the star and to make much about the star of the show. In contrast, a groupie is a person who buys a ticket and shows up an hour before the show and then does everything they can to try to get a picture with the star of the show. They want it to be about them as much as it is about the star. They are not around for setting up or tearing down. They are simply there to be seen with the star.John the Baptist is a roadie. He does not want to be seen with the star in the sense that he doesn't want to be in the in the limelight. He makes it very clear that he is not the star and that he's not even worthy to do the most menial task for the star Jesus. This is the posture that God calls all of his followers to have. It is what we see John the Baptist model as well.“Charles Lamb was once in a group of men who were discussing what they would do if certain great men suddenly appeared in their midst. When the name of Jesus was mentioned, Lamb remarked that if other great men appeared, they would all rise but that if Jesus appeared, they would all kneel. Men in every age have felt this reverence, showing that among all who have known him is the feeling that he is far more than a prophet.” -Edward W. Bauman in his book the Life and Teaching of Jesus, pp. 195-196OUTLINESOutline from Willmington's Outline Bible OUTLINE JOHN 1John begins his Gospel by talking about the deity of Christ, then describes the ministry of John the Baptist. Jesus is baptized and calls his first disciples.I. FACTS CONCERNING THE PREINCARNATE CHRIST (1:1-5)A. His relationship to the Father (1:1-2)1. Christ's eternality is declared (1:1a, 2): He already existed in the beginning.2. Christ's deity is declared (1:b): He is God.B. His relationship to the world (1:3-5)1. He is the sole creator (1:3): Nothing exists that he didn't make.2. He is light and life (1:4-5): His life gives light to everyone, and the darkness cannot extinguish it.II. FACTS CONCERNING THE INCARNATE CHRIST (1:6-51)A. The miracle (1:14): God became human and lived on earth among us.B. The mission (1:10-13): He came to save sinners.1. Some rejected him (1:10-11): The world and even the people in his own country did not understand him.2. Some received him (1:12-13): Those who believed him became children of God.C. The men (1:6-9, 15-51)1. Christ's faithful forerunner (1:6-9, 15-34)a. John the Baptist and the crowds (1:6-9, 15-18): John makes three key statements to the people.(1) He is to serve as a witness to Christ (1:6-9).(2) Christ is greater than John or Moses (1:15-17).b. John the Baptist and the critics (1:19-28): John speaks to the Pharisees who are sent to cross-examine him.(1) John says that he is not the Messiah (1:19-20).(2) John says that he is not Elijah (1:21).(3) John says that he has been sent to prepare the way for the Lord (1:22-28).c. John the Baptist and the Christ (1:29-34)(1) He introduces the Savior (1:29-31).(2) He baptizes the Savior (1:32-34).2. Christ's first five followers (1:35-51)a. Andrew and John the apostle (1:35-39)b. Peter (1:40-42)c. Philip (1:43)d. Nathanael (1:44-51)QUESTIONS TO CONSIDERWhat do I want them to know? Why do I want them to know it?What do I want them to do?Why do I want them to do it?How do they do this?DISCUSSION QUESTIONSDiscovery Bible Study process: https://www.dbsguide.org/Read the passage together.Retell the story in your own words.Discovery the storyWhat does this story tell me about God?What does this story tell me about people?If this is really true, what should I do?What is God saying to you right now? (Write this down)What are you going to do about it? (Write this down)Who am I going to tell about this?Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcastAlternate Discussion Questions (by Jeff Vanderstelt): Based on this passage:Who is God?What has he done/is he doing/is he going to do?Who am I? (In light of 1 & 2)What do I do? (In light of who I am)How do I do it?Final Questions (Write this down)What is God saying to you right now? What are you going to do about it?MAIN REFERENCES USED“John,” by R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word Commentary, Edited by Kent HughesExalting Jesus in John, by Matt Carter & Josh Wredberg“Look at the Book” by John Piper (LATB)“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)Outline Bible, D Willmington (OB)Willmington's Bible Handbook, D Willmington (WBH)NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/Chronological Life Application Study Bible (NLT)ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.orgThe Bible Project https://bibleproject.com“The Bible in One Year 2023 with Nicky Gumbel” bible reading plan on YouVersion app (BIOY)Claude.aiChatGPT 4.o

With Christmas coming up, we thought today would be the perfect time to replay one of our older episodes! Very occasionally one individual can have a disproportionately powerful impact on a collection of people, but very rarely does that person's impact grow in time and reach, and expand beyond anyone's expectations and for millions, be responsible for enhancing their lives. In this episode we explore a slightly different realm: religion. Our guest, the Reverend Nicky Gumbel, talks of his own odyssey from barrister to clergyman, before widening both awareness and access to Christianity to those outside the church via the Alpha Course.  Alpha - a term which we usually employ in a very different context on the podcast - effectively rebranded and modernised Christianity for a new generation in the 1990s, with tens of thousands of courses being run by the end of the decade. The programme has now been translated into 112 different languages, and 30 million people have taken part.  In this interview he explains his own pivot to faith, how he was asked to take charge of the Alpha Course development, and in the subsequent years how its reach was extended globally. He explains how he built it into a global brand, how charismatic leadership can be relevant to all fields, the changing relationship between faith and secularism, the role of religion for prisoner rehabilitation, as well as thoughts on morality, money and giving! ​​The Money Maze Podcast is kindly sponsored by Schroders, IFM Investors, World Gold Council and LSEG. Sign up to our Newsletter | Follow us on LinkedIn |  Watch on YouTube

In today's conversation I sit down with Archie Coates, the vicar (pastor) of Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) in London, one of the most influential churches in the world.Archie discusses the purpose of the Church, the importance of intentional diversity within the Church, and the dynamic role of the Holy Spirit at HTB.If you're trying to make a big life decision, don't miss this episode as Archie shares some helpful and practical advice for discernment and guidance from the Holy Spirit.One of my favorite parts: Archie shares what he's learned from vicars Sandy ​Millar ​and Nicky ​Gumbel and how he's worked through the challenges of leading in an organization he didn't start.  Thanks to our amazing partners on this episode: Vern Eide & First Interstate BankVern Eide Motorcars is a growing employee-owned company that offers sales, service, and financing of automotive, motorcycle, and power sports lines, including Acura, Ford, Chevy, GMC, Honda, Hyundai and Mitsubishi brands. Whether you live locally or across the country, visit verneide.comFirst Interstate Bank has a mission to help people and their money work better together. They do this by ensuring clients can manage their money conveniently wherever they are while also providing the friendly service. They have over 300 locations throughout 14 states! For more information and to find a location near you, visit firstinterstatebank.comSubscribe to The Conversation on YouTube and watch the full interview with Archie: youtube.com/@adamaweber Sign up for The Crew: adamweber.com/thecrew  

We were truly honoured in October to have a visit from the very Rev Nicky Gumbel, who joined us in Manchester to share with us in what was a memorable day. He brought a message to us titled 'The Vision of Jesus' and you can catch up on this great sermon, here

Nicky Gumbel, previously Vicar at HTB and a pioneer of the Alpha Course, shares how Jesus has a great vision for our lives.

Dear All, You can watch the original YouTube version of this here.Thank you for listening to Into the Pray, a podcast akin to a growing library of voice-notes helping disciples of Christ around the world to breach the global chaos of the unfaithful Church...because Christ is coming and we are not ready. Jesus issues a warning of great exclamation in Luke 12 — that we must be very careful to fear Him who has authority to throw us into hell rather than man who can but kill the body. I publish this podcast because I fear Him infinitely more than any man.PLEASE WATCH/SHARE: Urgent Bible teaching here with all info here. Nick's reflections on Jordan Peterson & Elon Musk's conversation here.Mairi speaking about IVF here.You can subscribe to our YouTube channel and tap the "bell" to ensure you don't miss any videos here.Please do share these videos on to your networks.Maranatha?MARANATHA!Love, Nick & MairiOur flagship content:

Alpha's Nicky Gumbel and Archie Coates, the Vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton, discuss the keys to church revitalization in a post-Christian era and how to create a vibrant church culture. Plus, they share field notes on Archie's succession to become Vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton after Nicky Gumbel stepped back. Show Notes The Art of Leadership Live On The Rise Newsletter Preaching Cheat Sheet Watch on YouTube Follow @careynieuwhof Follow @theartofleadershipnetwork   This episode is sponsored by: THE ART OF LEADERSHIP ACADEMY What if you could get coaching from me and some of the guests on this podcast? Every single month, that's exactly what the leaders inside the Art of Leadership Academy do. We hop on a Zoom call to talk through the challenges people are facing so you can learn from each other, with each other, and from world-class experts. On August 8th, Patrick Lencioni is joining us as a special guest to help you leverage your Working Genius. To join, visit https://careynieuwhof.com/livecoaching   COMPASSION As a pastor, I knew child sponsorship was an opportunity for my church to make an impact worldwide and I trusted Compassion International to make that happen. Learn more about hosting your own Compassion Sunday at compassion.com/carey       TIMESTAMPS: Church Decline and Hope for the Future (00:07:01)   Church Decline and Global Growth (00:13:01)   Leadership Challenges (00:18:28)   Leadership and Succession (00:30:37)   Succession in Leadership (00:41:21)   Facing the Challenges of Succession (00:44:14)   Momentum in the Church (00:57:07)   Leadership Challenges (01:00:34)   Building Projects (01:08:34)   Cultural Building (01:12:11)   Alpha as an operating system (01:16:44)   Brought to you by The Art of Leadership Network

From the edges of civilization, to the corners of the globe, we are your Brothers in Arms! On tonight's episode Greg has a chinstrap, that was my first squadron, not for the reasons you guys went over,  Rome down in Greece, “it's my math leave me alone,” don't math with the man, chasing tail - a fishing shirt, does it wick away?, chaffage, Carters Lake, fishing and the blackstone, yup no, switch game backlog, like playing a studio ghibli movie game, (I died) Oh that's what I look like, I like seeing me, an entire week of swing, why do you swing shift?, none of the “good idea” fairies are running around, over there you all are on suck, you can teach what you know but you will reproduce what you are (Nicky Gumbel), the Captain forgot me, “you're not qualified,” a new campaign, a natural AC of 25, fire bad, I was like doop *turtle*, tajin on watermelon, let his proverbial hair down, I'm just more surprised he can read, for the farmers, it's a good jingle if it sticks, and our top three available Dad Jokes to wrap it up neat. All this and the bugs are rising up against us on this week's episode of Brothers in Arms!   Where you can reach us: YouTube: BrothersinArmsPodcast Instagram: Yourbrothersinarmspodcast Twitter: @YourBIAPodcast Gmail: yourbrothersinarmspodcast@gmail.com Twitch: Twitch.tv/brothersinarmspodcast (schedule varies due to life) Website: https://brothersinarms.podbean.com

The best way to fight against idolatry is to seek the voice of God.  So, what does that actually look like? In this episode, we're going to hear three perspectives from three incredible leaders around the world.  We'll head first to the UK to hear from priest and author, Nicky Gumbel for a chat he had with Henry about a framework he has for hearing the voice of God. Then, we'll make our way to the U S for another conversation with Kim Avery, business coach, and author of the prayer powered entrepreneur. And lastly, we'll stop in Taiwan to hear how pro basketball player, entrepreneur, and investor, Jeremy Lin keeps prayer at the center of his routine.

In this Easter special we explore a slightly different realm: religion! Very occasionally one individual can have a disproportionately powerful impact on a collection of people, but very rarely does that person's impact grow in time and reach, and expand beyond anyone's expectations and for millions, be responsible for enhancing their lives. Our guest, the Reverend Nicky Gumbel, talks of his own odyssey from barrister to clergyman, before widening both awareness and access to Christianity to those outside the church via the Alpha Course.  Alpha - a term which we usually employ in a very different context on the podcast - effectively rebranded and modernised Christianity for a new generation in the 1990s, with tens of thousands of courses being run by the end of the decade. The programme has now been translated into 112 different languages, and 30 million people have taken part.  In this interview he explains his own pivot to faith, how he was asked to take charge of the Alpha Course development, and in the subsequent years how its reach was extended globally. He explains how he built it into a global brand, how charismatic leadership can be relevant to all fields, the changing relationship between faith and secularism, the role of religion for prisoner rehabilitation, as well as thoughts on morality, money and giving! ​​The Money Maze Podcast is kindly sponsored by Schroders, Bremont Watches, and IFM Investors. Sign up to our Newsletter | Follow us on LinkedIn | Watch on YouTube

Our lives are rarely predictable or at all in our control. Sometimes what happens to us or around us can reshape our entire trajectory. Nicky Gumbel is someone whose life was dramatically changed. He thought he was going to be a very fancy lawyer… just like everyone else in his family, but that's not what happened. Nicky became one of the pioneers of the Alpha Course where 30 million people have been introduced to Christian faith around the world. In this conversation, Kate and Nicky discuss: Nicky's reluctant conversion to Christianity How to stay open to the things we didn't expect to happen. How age isn't necessarily the limiter we might assume—perhaps there are opportunities or new ventures that can open up in our later third of life Why the church should be more like a hospital than a museum   Watch clips from this conversation, read the full transcript, and access discussion questions by clicking here or visiting katebowler.com/podcasts. Follow Kate on Instagram, Facebook, or X (formerly known as Twitter)—@katecbowler. Links to social pages and more available at linktr.ee/katecbowler.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today's conversation, I spent time with my good friend, Sandy Millar.At 84 years old, Sandy has loads of wisdom to share so I sit down to ask him questions that were submitted by my friends, family and podcast listeners. We cover everything from facing your own mortality to being called to ministry. Sandy was the former vicar (pastor) of HTB Church and has been the pastor to some of the most influential pastors in England including Nicky Gumbel, Ken Costa, and Nicky Lee. I genuinely hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!Thanks to our amazing partners on this episode: Vern Eide & SimpleVern Eide Motorcars is a growing employee-owned company that offers sales, service, and financing of automotive, motorcycle, and power sports lines, including Acura, Ford, Chevy, GMC, Honda, Hyundai and Mitsubishi brands. Whether you live locally or across the country, visit verneide.comSimple provides an easy, secure way to make giving super user-friendly. If you are a church or lead a faith based nonprofit, you have to look into working with Simple. You won't regret it! For more info, check out their brand new website simpledonation.comSign up for The Crew: adamweber.com/thecrew

Alpha's unique approach to presenting the gospel has more to do with listening to others than it does with making sure people hear us give all the right answers. How does it work? Tune in to find out...Join the community! Chime in the comments and share your thoughts and perspective. We read the comments every day and would love to hear from you.Become New is here to help you grow spiritually one day at a time.

"Proverbs 20:5 says 'In the heart of every human being is a deep well, and the wise person draws it out.'" How can we create a space where people have the chance to explore faith, ask questions, and share their story?Ben and Aaron are joined by Nicky Gumbel, former Anglican priest and founder of Alpha, a multi-week course that creates a space where people come to discuss life's big questions.-------------------------------------------------Join the Steiger Online Intensive Training!October 20th - October 21stClick HERE to register now!Questions, comments, or feedback? We'd love to hear what you think! Send them to provokeandinspire@steiger.org, or send us a message on Instagram.Join the Provoke & Inspire Community!Click below to follow Ben, Aaron, Luke, or David on Instagram!Ben PierceAaron PierceLuke GreenwoodDavid Pierce

Jordan Raynor sits down with Nicky Gumbel, Pioneer of Alpha, to talk about why Alpha is the #1 tool I recommend for sharing the gospel winsomely with your co-workers, how Ephesians should compel pastors to view themselves as the “backline” and mere Christians as the “frontline,” and how to “draw out the deep well” in others.Links Mentioned:AlphaBible in One Year (BiOY)Nicky Gumbel on InstagramNicky Gumbel on TikTokNicky Gumbel on FacebookNicky Gumbel on XNicky Gumbel LinktreeAlpha Film Series‘Alpha Film Series: Who is Jesus'Come, Creator SpiritTim Keller