Podcasts about niv being

This is Christian Meditation for A Bigger Life – a time for you to relax your body, refocus your mind, and to re-imagine and re-narrate your life to a truer reality. I'm Dave Cover. I want to help you with Christian meditation where you can break through all the distractions and experience God's presence through biblically guided imagination.  If your podcast app is set to skip the silent sections, disable that in your podcast app for this podcast. Philippians 3:11-14 NIV 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 NIV “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:13 NIV “For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it. Follow Dave Cover on X (Twitter) @davecover Follow A Bigger Life on X @ABiggerLifePod Our audio engineer is Matthew Matlack. This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.

This is Christian Meditation for A Bigger Life – a time for you to relax your body, refocus your mind, and to re-imagine and re-narrate your life to a truer reality. I'm Dave Cover. I want to help you with Christian meditation where you can break through all the distractions and experience God's presence through biblically guided imagination.  If your podcast app is set to skip the silent sections, disable that in your podcast app for this podcast. Philippians 3:11-14 NIV 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 NIV “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:13 NIV “For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it. Follow Dave Cover on X (Twitter) @davecover Follow A Bigger Life on X @ABiggerLifePod Our audio engineer is Matthew Matlack. This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.

This is Christian Meditation for A Bigger Life – a time for you to relax your body, refocus your mind, and to re-imagine and re-narrate your life to a truer reality. I'm Dave Cover. I want to help you with Christian meditation where you can break through all the distractions and experience God's presence through biblically guided imagination.  If your podcast app is set to skip the silent sections, disable that in your podcast app for this podcast. Philippians 1:27 NIV “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” Another English translation captures the literal Greek… Philippians 1:27 CSB “Just one thing: As citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ.” Philippians 3:20 CSB “Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:28 NIV “without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you.” Philippians 1:6 NIV “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it. Follow Dave Cover on X (Twitter) @davecover Follow A Bigger Life on X @ABiggerLifePod Our audio engineer is Matthew Matlack. This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.

This is Christian Meditation for A Bigger Life – a time for you to relax your body, refocus your mind, and to re-imagine and re-narrate your life to a truer reality. I'm Dave Cover. I want to help you with Christian meditation where you can break through all the distractions and experience God's presence through biblically guided imagination.  If your podcast app is set to skip the silent sections, disable that in your podcast app for this podcast. Philippians 1:27 NIV “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” Another English translation captures the literal Greek… Philippians 1:27 CSB “Just one thing: As citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ.” Philippians 3:20 CSB “Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:28 NIV “without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you.” Philippians 1:6 NIV “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it. Follow Dave Cover on X (Twitter) @davecover Follow A Bigger Life on X @ABiggerLifePod Our audio engineer is Matthew Matlack. This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.

This is Christian Meditation for A Bigger Life – a time for you to relax your body, refocus your mind, and to re-imagine and re-narrate your life to a truer reality. I'm Dave Cover. I want to help you with Christian meditation where you can break through all the distractions and experience God's presence through biblically guided imagination.  If your podcast app is set to skip the silent sections, disable that in your podcast app for this podcast. Job 33:4 NIV “The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” Acts 17:25 NIV “…He himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.” Acts 17:28 NIV “For in him we live and move and have our being.” Philippians 1:1-2 NIV “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all God's holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi…. 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6 NIV “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it. Follow Dave Cover on X (Twitter) @davecover Follow A Bigger Life on X @ABiggerLifePod Our audio engineer is Matthew Matlack. This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.

This is Christian Meditation for A Bigger Life – a time for you to relax your body, refocus your mind, and to re-imagine and re-narrate your life to a truer reality. I'm Dave Cover. I want to help you with Christian meditation where you can break through all the distractions and experience God's presence through biblically guided imagination.  If your podcast app is set to skip the silent sections, disable that in your podcast app for this podcast. Job 33:4 NIV “The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” Acts 17:25 NIV “…He himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.” Acts 17:28 NIV “For in him we live and move and have our being.” Philippians 1:1-2 NIV “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all God's holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi…. 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6 NIV “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it. Follow Dave Cover on X (Twitter) @davecover Follow A Bigger Life on X @ABiggerLifePod Our audio engineer is Matthew Matlack. This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.

We live in a time of disillusionment. Trust is waning in the public sphere, religious affiliation is on decline, and some feel a deep tension or ambivalence about their community—whether that's a region, family, political party, or spiritual tradition.How should we think about the experience of disillusionment, particularly the threat of becoming disillusioned with faith?Aimee Byrd, author of several books on contemporary issues facing Christianity. And after her own experience becoming disillusioned with the church, she wrote her most recent offering: The Hope in Our Scars: Finding the Bride of Christ in the Underground of Disillusionment.In this conversation, Aimee Byrd joins Evan Rosa to discuss: how to diagnose and understand disillusionment—particularly disillusionment with church and the trappings of Christian faith & culture; as well as the problem of spiritual abuse and the broken forms of faith that allow it to persist. She explores the Old Testament's Song of Songs—exploring how it honors the depth of human longing and desire. She considers how beauty validates our yearnings and invites us toward a lasting faith and gives us new sight and recognition, and ultimately takes a hard look at what it means to explore our wounds and scars in search of hope and faith.About Aimee ByrdAimee Byrd is the author of many books, including her latest, The Hope in Our Scars: Finding the Bride of Christ in the Underground of Disillusionment (2024).Show NotesThe Hope in Our Scars: Finding the Bride of Christ in the Underground of Disillusionment by Aimee Byrd (https://zondervanacademic.com/products/the-hope-in-our-scars)Steven Heighton's The Virtues of Disillusionment (free PDF download)Unpacking disillusionment. You spend some time thinking about disillusionment. Where do you begin to think about that?Experiencing disillusionment as we mature and try to figure out the meaningfulness of lifeThe hustle; pursuing what we think goodness is supposed to look likeA disrupting takes placeSpiritual maturity; writing into a neglect in women's discipleshipThe rejection and harassment experienced by women acting as theologians - spiritual abuseHelp set some parameters for how you conceptualize spiritual abuse and how you came to understand and integrate with your story?“And yet these feelings of unsafety in the very place where you're supposed to be shepherded.”Carefully using the word abuseAbuse: when people are okay with harming you for their own gain and power, where you are the costLimiting feelings of possibility; a shrinking of the person and questioning of their belongingDiane Langberg on the elements of personhood (https://www.dianelangberg.com/shop-books/)Agency, voice, and sense of selfDiagnosing disillusionment; a lot of dull signs leading up to it, somethings just not rightDesperation, loss, depression, fight, panic, pretending or rejecting/deconstructing to move onNaming our wounds is an action of hope“Jesus' wounds are a testimony.”Our scars are a remembering, a telling of our story.John 12:24 - grain of wheat falling to the ground (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John 12%3A24&version=NIV)Being a good witness to God, justing handing it over to him.“Unless a grain of wheat falls to into the ground” by Malcom Guite (https://malcolmguite.wordpress.com/2015/05/09/unless-a-grain-of-wheat-falls-into-the-ground/)Holding onto these resentments leaves us further alone; we must let go.We don't need reform, we need resurrection.Maintaining a false sense of belonging through facadesSanctified imagination and communityWe need to recapture our imagination as a way to combat disillusionmentWalter Brueggemann - the riddle and insight of Biblical faith is that anguish leads to life, only grieving leads to joy (https://www.walterbrueggemann.com/resources/books/textonly/)Lifting the Veil: Imagination and the Kingdom of God by Malcom Guite (https://www.squarehalobooks.com/lifting-the-veil)“Scripture is a story. It's all kind of story of people who screw up.”“God is bigger than all the ways we screw up our lives.”Open wounds, healing, scarringSong of Songs and unlocking the imagination and intimate love of GodScripture in which a women's voice and experiences are given center stageSong of Songs, chapters three (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Song of Songs 3&version=NIV) and five (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Song+of+Songs+5&version=NIV)Love calls to usVulnerability in the position and in the naming of our experiencesBeholding the face of Christ, and Christ looking back at us - the beauty Christ sees in us, as Christ beautifies us.“Beauty is an invitation into goodness.”The natural world develops our taste for beauty.A desire to feed our allusion of security, yet our hearts remain uncaptured.Beauty engages will and involves all of our senses; a hyper-fixation on the brain that is not holisticAwe and wonder; the role of the poets and the artists as the reveal what we try to hustle over the top of - they leave us feeling seen and maybe exposed.Speaking from a place of knowing our own value, a confidence and strength.Looking for the personhood that Christ is fostering in each of us.Being a community that beholds; our longing to be seen, known, and loved should be met by our churches as we see Christ in one another.We must go to Christ; yet disillusionment makes it difficult; all the disciples experienced disillusionmentHope is disruptive and subversive, but gloriously so.Production NotesThis podcast featured Aimee ByrdEdited and Produced by Evan RosaHosted by Evan RosaProduction Assistance by Kacie BarrettA Production of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School https://faith.yale.edu/aboutSupport For the Life of the World podcast by giving to the Yale Center for Faith & Culture: https://faith.yale.edu/give

An Encounter with Jesus | Dr. Brandon Beals | Life Center Tacoma The Gospel is unstoppable when it is shared by people filled with the Holy Spirit Acts 3:1-5 (NIV) Being filled with the Holy Spirit changes everything! Luke 5:1-3 (NIV) Saved Luke 5:5 (NIV) Luke 5:11 (NIV) Surrendered Mark 16:7 (NIV) John 21:1-4 (NIV) Saturated Peter is different Acts 3:2-6, 8b-10, 11, 19 (NIV) Are you really different? The Holy Spirit fills us. It should change everything!

HOW TO BUILD MY CONFIDENCE IN GOD Philippians 1:3–8 (NIV): 3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus Philippians 1:6 (NIV) Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. CONFIDENT Philippians 1:6 (NIV) Being CONFIDENT of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 2 Corinthians 3:4–5 (NIV): Such confidence we have through Christ before God. 5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. QUESTION: In what does your confidence lie in today? HE (JESUS) Philippians 1:6 (NIV) Being confident of this, that HE who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. MAYBE SOMETIMES GOD TAKES US OUT OF OUR COMFORT ZONE SO WE CAN TRUST HIM MORE JOHN 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the WAY and the TRUTH and the LIFE. No one comes to the Father except through me GOOD WORK Philippians 1:6 (NIV) Being confident of this, that he who began a GOOD WORK in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:10 (NASB) We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. CARRY IT ON Philippians 1:6 (NIV) Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will CARRY IT ON to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. PERSPECTIVE CHANGES EVERYTHING! 1 Corinthians 1:8 (BSB) He will sustain you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. QUESTION WHERE DO YOU NEED TO CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE OR ATTITUDE? COMPLETION Galatians 6:9-10 NIV 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. JESUS CHRIST Philippians 1:6 (NIV) Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of CHRIST JESUS. APPLICATION: COMMIT TO MEMORY THIS WEEK THIS SCRIPTURE Philippians 1:6 (NIV) Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus IN WHAT AREAS CAN YOU GROW YOUR CONFIDENCE IN JESUS CHRIST THIS WEEK? HOW CAN YOU TRUST HIM THAT WHAT YOU SEE IS MAYBE A BAD WORK IS ACTUALLY A GOOD WORK?

Several years ago, my wife and I were part of a short-term mission team that traveled to Nicaragua. We provided a children's program, traveling to cities and remote villages. We also took a day to do some tourist things. I remember going to the shopping area in one town. It was a well-known area frequented by tourists. It was an outdoor, walking mall with several shops and small restaurants. Elaine and I decided to eat lunch at a restaurant with outdoor tables. As we ate our food, we noticed a young boy standing not too far away. We were not overly hungry and didn't finish our food. When we rose to leave, the boy who had been standing nearby sat down at our table and began eating our left-over food. He ate quickly until the restaurant staff chased him off. When I think of the poor in spirit, this young boy comes to mind. The poor do not have money to buy food. They are hungry and looking for a meal. Jesus said in Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”(NIV) Being poor in spirit involves spiritual hunger. We need the mercy and grace of God to fill us, because we can't satisfy the spiritual hunger ourselves. The poor in spirit are blessed because God satisfies their spiritual hunger by giving them life in his kingdom. Please provide feedback and suggestions at: https://www.sparkingfaith.com/feedback/ Bumper music “Landing Place” performed by Mark July, used under license from Shutterstock.

Pastor Tim Brown John 4:3-30 (NIV) Being right puts me on the opposite side of people I disagree with. Love puts me on the same side as people I disagree with.

KEY QUESTION: What happens next?Eternity is part of our humanity.He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the humanheart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)We hope for eternity because sin has created suffering and death.KEY VERSE: Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. John 14:1–3 (NIV)When I’m with Jesus, I’m with life.25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me willlive, even though they die; 26and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.John 11:25–26 (NIV)It was the disciples’ hope in Jesus being life which gave them the courage to facesuffering and even death.Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! Romans 5:1-9 (NIV)Being with Jesus forever is the hope of my salvation because to have Jesus is to have life.Heaven is life with God.Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”[a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:1-4 (NIV)Hell is without God and, therefore, without life.KEY IDEA: I believe there is a heaven and a hell and that Jesus will return to judge all people and to establish his eternal kingdom.Jesus invites me to receive His life by believing in Him so I can live eternally withGod and with God’s people.Will I be with Jesus after I die?BELIEVE books available here.

The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem was just the beginning on Jesus’ final week. Adam Barnett explores this powerful week in Christ’s life that lead up to His crucifixion. Palm Sunday April 9, 2017 Adam Barnett Luke 19:37-40 (NIV) When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” (You’re not the king!) “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” Jesus didn't come to engage in a temporary, physical battle. Jesus came to win an eternal, spiritual war. John 13:34-35 (NIV) A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. Disciples’ Group Text Slide 1 Slide 2 Slide 3 John 13:1-3 (NIV) It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; John 13:4-5 (NIV) so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. Philippians 2:6-8 (NIV) Being in very nature God, Jesus did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross. John 13:6-11 (NIV) He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. John 13:12-17 (NIV) When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. Jesus Washing Feet The Cross Where the best of God redeems the worst of man.

"God is always working on my growth!" is the third part of our new series, "GROW 2017". Philippians 1:6 (NIV) "Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

"God is always working on my growth!" is the third part of our new series, "GROW 2017". Philippians 1:6 (NIV) "Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

"God is always working on my growth!" is the third part of our new series, "GROW 2017". Philippians 1:6 (NIV) "Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

"God is always working on my growth!" is the third part of our new series, "GROW 2017". Philippians 1:6 (NIV) "Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

To TEACH you how to read AND apply God's Word to your life. For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Hebrews 4:12 (NLT) To HELP you see your life from God's perspective. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV) For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV) For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV) Message Title:  “Spiritual Maturity” There is a point we all must reach physically, mentally, and SPIRITUALLY where we move past IMMATURITY into MATURITY. The goal is not PERFECTION… but PROGRESSION. As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Ephesians 4:1-24 (NIV) Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1-24 (NIV) There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:1-24 (NIV) But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it… Ephesians 4:1-24 (NIV) So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:1-24 (NIV) Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Ephesians 4:1-24 (NIV) Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.  From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:1-24 (NIV) So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.  They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.  Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. Ephesians 4:1-24 (NIV) That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. Ephesians 4:1-24 (NIV) You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:1-24 (NIV) We fight for UNITY. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  Ephesians 2:2-3 (NIV) The first sign of a mature Christian is… how well they fight for unity. We are CONTRIBUTERS, not CONSUMERS. So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 11:13 (NIV) A mark of maturity is recognizing the needs of the house… and acting with initiative.  We are confident in what we BELIEVE. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Ephesians 4:14 (NIV) Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. Ephesians 4:15-16 (NIV) Confidence is not an excuse for hatefulness. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:15-16 (NIV) We are pursuing of HOLINESS. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires… Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV) …to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV) The pursuit of holiness is God's invitation for us to be like Him. We are living in the LIGHT. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Ephesians 5:8-16 (NIV) Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.  It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.  But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.  Ephesians 5:8-16 (NIV) This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Ephesians 5:8-16 (NIV) Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Ephesians 5:8-16 (NIV) Living in the light breeds integrity; Living in the dark breeds hypocrisy.   We are full of the HIS SPIRIT. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit… Ephesians 5:18-19 (NIV) …speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord… Ephesians 5:18-19 (NIV) When you are full of the Spirit… you are under the spiritual influence of something that alters your natural state. We are full of GRATITUDE. …always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:20 (NIV) Being thankful is foundational part of true spiritual maturity. I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Ephesians 4:1 (NIV)