Christ-Centered Community

Conrad Hilario
1 Peter 4:7-11

Knowing that our time on earth is limited, Peter calls on believers to be in close, Christ-centered community with one another. By having a fervent love and exercising our spiritual gifts for one another in Christian community we demonstrate to a watching world that is drowning in loneliness and alienation the grace and glory of our God.

Dynamics of Renewal in Christ

Jim Leffel
Colossians 3:5-11

When we become believers in Jesus, God embarks on a renewal process that involves us putting on Christ and setting aside the old self, the old way of life. We can know intellectually that we are a new creation, but we must go deeper and really consider our bodies to be dead to the old immoral ways. As we are clothed in the newness of Christ, all the differences between people falls away. We are one in Christ. This is real hope for a broken world. It cannot be lived out individualistically. It is lived out corporately, united with one another.

The Call to Community

Timothy Clarke
Acts 2:42-47

This passage in Acts provides us with a picture of the "beloved community" of Christians, showing us the context, concept, and consequences of the Body of Christ as God designed it. We see the "big idea"--obedience, openness, and oneness--leading to a wonderful community that is appealing to those in the outside world, and invites them in.

It Is Not Good for Man to be Alone: A Study of Elijah

Scott Risley
1 Kings 16-19

God sent Elijah out into the wilderness, by himself, under desperate circumstances. God used this time and it had a profound impact on Elijah's view of reality and his spiritual state. This workshop will study 1 Kings 17-19 where a man went from quarantine to intensive ministry to rejoining the pack.

United for a Purpose

Kate Mizelle
1 Timothy 1:5

Do we recognize that the biblical call to evangelism is not just an individual call, but a corporate call? To fully embrace what God intended, we must understand the unique witness that the body has to a lost world and why our best experience of community comes from when we are focused together on those outside of it. In this workshop we will also brainstorm some practical ideas on how to utilize community in evangelism.

The Newness of Life

Conrad Hilario
Philippians 3:9-14

Paul tells us God wants to forgive our sins and give us new life based on the work Jesus did on the cross for us. Some people never progress beyond receiving His forgiveness, but those who desire to grow and walk with Jesus will encounter suffering and failure. But this the only way for God to break through our fleshly resistance and conform us to the likeness of Christ.

Four Steps Toward Spiritual Progress

Chris Hearty
Philippians 3:10-16

The four steps toward spiritual progress begins with desiring to know Jesus better and more intimately, to know the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings and to be like him in his death. The second step involves a single-minded, focused pursuit of Jesus. The third step is to break form the power of the past whether feeling guilt or nostalgia for it. Learn from it, don't live in it. The final step is to respond to God's guidance whether from personal prayer, or bible study, or from the fellowship of mature believers.

Final Calls

Dennis McCallum
Philippians 4:1-7

As Paul begins to wrap up his letter to the Philippians, he gives a final call to live in harmony in the Lord and to rejoice always in the Lord. He exhorts them to pray with thanksgiving to God who guards their hearts and minds with a peace that is beyond comprehension. Like the Philippians, we have a choice between trying to generate peace by our own efforts or we can accept the immeasurable peace God offers.

Deep Unity in the Body of Christ

Dennis McCallum
Philippians 1:27-2:4

Paul uses military language of the type of unity soldiers exhibit in battle to describe the unity the Body of Christ must have. God's people must strive together in one spirit, with one mind to intrude into the enemy's territory to liberate people from the power of the evil one. We have been given a mission to spread the Gospel and we will encounter opposition that requires deep unity to overcome.