Paul's Advice for Effective Leadership

Gary DeLashmutt

2 Timothy 2:1-26

In Paul's second letter to Timothy, he presents six mandates for Christian leaders, mandates that we too are called to follow today. First, we are called to draw strength from Christ's grace. We must develop leaders who will go on to develop leaders and embrace the hardships of leadership. We must focus on both keeping biblical instruction central and continuing to experience personal character growth. Finally, in order to be effective leaders, we must deal with sinful opponents in a godly way.

Being Different & Making a Difference

Jim Leffel

1 Peter 1:14-23

Peter discusses what it looks like to live as ?resident aliens? by contrasting being conformed to lusts versus being holy. We live in a culture that condones pursuing harmful passions and ?overdesires? that can never satisfy. Only the blood of Jesus can redeem us and make us holy which should radically change the way we live.\r\n

Praying for Spiritual Enlightenment

Gary DeLashmutt

Ephesians 1:16-22

Praying for spiritual enlightenment for ourselves and for others is important. Spiritual enlightenment involves the Holy Spirit supernaturally enabling us to see what God gives us through His son, Jesus. Gary DeLashmutt gives his personal testimony of how initial enlightenment sparked his relationship with God, then explains the role of enlightenment in spiritual maturity as to not get stuck in perpetual spiritual infancy.

When God's Commands Seem Burdensome

Gary DeLashmutt

1 John 5:1-5

Our relationship with God can be hindered when we try and earn His acceptance through our performance or obedience to His commands. Often, we try and follow His commands by our resources, leaving us alienated and forgetful of His love for us. We should cultivate focus towards His promises and ask for Jesus' help to guide us and empower us. As a result, we can have renewed awareness of God's love and an ability to rest in His grace and lean on our brothers and sisters for help in our weakness.

Increasing Your Capacity to Receive God's Love

Gary DeLashmutt

1 John 4:7-21

God's will for our lives is to grow in our ability to give out sacrificial love. As our capacity of receiving God's love increases, we are able to increase our ability to give His love out to others. This process begins with understanding the lengths of God's love for us, drawing continuously from His love, and learning how to reflect and meditate on how to move towards others in love. Living out of God's love is a key feature of growing Christians.

Stages of Spiritual Development

Gary DeLashmutt

1 John 2:14

John highlights the stages of spiritual development for Christians, including: 1) childhood; 2) young adulthood; and 3) mature adulthood. The focus of spiritual development within the childhood phase includes the assurance of God's complete forgiveness and the personal-love relationship we have with Him. As we mature, God wants to remind us of our victory against Satan and regularly exposing us to His Word and learning how to obey it. As we get to adulthood spiritually, God is able to deepen our appreciation of our personal relationship with Him and produce stability and confidence after years of depending on Him. Healthy spiritual development isn't automatic, but occurs within the confines of a healthy community of Christians.

Walking in the Light

Gary DeLashmutt

1 John 1:5-2:2

God is light and as such, having fellowship with Him requires walking in the light. As Christians, we must appreciate that God is righteous and His instructions have moral authority in our lives. Living in fellowship with God requires an appreciation for His righteousness, along with learning to humbly and honestly cooperate with Him as we encounter sin in our lives. As we respond to God's correction in our lives, we can enjoy deepened fellowship with God and others.

Helping People with Problems

Dennis McCallum

2 Corinthians 2:2-11

Paul called the Corinthian church to practice loving discipline with one of the members of their church who had committed a serious sin. Biblical discipline is something the church does for the spiritual well-being of the person being disciplined, and not something done in judgement of that person. When the man who was disciplined had repented of his sin Paul called the church to invite him back and to comfort him.

A Flexible Framework for Personal Discipleship

Gary DeLashmutt

2 Corinthians 2:2-11

Discipleship is a personal, ethical, and strategic relationship where mature members help to lead less mature members to maturity and continue in multiplication of groups. Discipleship focuses on developing four areas: study, counsel, coaching, and prayer. Alternately, shepherding is a more general relationship that can help someone become a worker for God, eventually leading to discipleship if that person does grow spiritually. Both focus on the continual development of Christians.