Making the connection between living a holy life and following Christs example of love, H. Ray Dunning provides spiritual guidance for Christians who want to grow in grace. His treatment of the joy and comfort that results from holy living is both helpful and encouraging. Inviting readers to return to the biblical meanings and descriptions of the holy life, Dunning challenges believers to cultivate a holy walk with Godand he provides guidance for that effort. His exploration and explanation of key spiritual disciplines in the life of the Christian will benefit pastors and lay persons for years to come. From the time I first sat under his teaching, H. Ray Dunning has been the pivotal theological influence on my understanding of the Holy God. My preaching, theology, and pastoral practice reflect the shaping that took place under his influence. Read reverently, think deeply, and live gratefully. Dan Boone President, Trevecca Nazarene University
Question: What is the God-given purpose of the local church? Answer: Relational discipleship. DiscipleShift walks you through five key "shifts" that churches must make to refocus on the fundamental biblical mission of discipleship. These intentional changes will attract the world and empower your church members to be salt and light in their communities. Over the last thirty years, many influential church leaders and church planters in America have adopted various models for reaching unchurched people. While many of these approaches have merit, something is still missing, something even more fundamental to the mission of the church: discipleship. Making disciples—helping people to trust and follow Jesus—is the church's God-given mandate. Devoted disciples attract people outside the church because of the change others see in their Christ-like lives. And discipleship empowers Christians to be more like Christ as they intentionally develop relationships with non-believers. Through biblical and professional insights, Jim Putman and Bobby Harrington discuss the transformational effectiveness of making disciples and just how to do so, in practical terms. You’ll learn: The specific roles of a disciple-making pastor. The components of person-to-person discipleship. How each ministry in your church leads to discipleship. How to implement discipleship in your church. Disciple-making leaders will not produce perfect churches, but they will create effective churches.
Based on Kurt Bennett's popular-ish blog God Running, Love Like Jesus begins with the story of how after a life of regular church attendance and Bible study, Bennett was challenged by a pastor to study Jesus. That led to an obsessive seven-year deep dive. After pouring over Jesus' every interaction with another human being, he realized he was doing a much better job of studying Jesus' words than he was following Jesus' words and example. The honest and fearless revelations of Bennett's own moral failures affirm he wrote this book for himself as much as for others. Love Like Jesus examines a variety of stories, examples, and research, including: -Specific examples of how Jesus communicated God's love to others. -How Jesus demonstrated all five of Gary Chapman's love languages (and how you can too). -The story of how Billy Graham extended Christ's extraordinary love and grace toward a man who misrepresented Jesus to millions. -How to respond to critics the way Jesus did. -How to love unlovable people the way Jesus did. -How to survive a life of loving like Jesus (or how not to become a Christian doormat). -How Jesus didn't love everyone the same (and why you shouldn't either). -How Jesus guarded his heart by taking care of himself--he even napped--and why you should do the same.-How Jesus loved his betrayer Judas, even to the very end. With genuine unfiltered honesty, Love Like Jesus, shows you how to live a life according to God's definition of success: A life of loving God well, and loving the people around you well too. A life of loving like Jesus.
In the last sermon he ever preached, John Stott echoed the Apostle Paul when he said that God’s greatest desire and plan for us is to become like his Son, Jesus Christ. BUT HOW? Stott prayed daily that God would bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit in his own life; a prayer clearly answered and evident in his Christlikeness. Chris Wright, a close friend of John Stott, reflects on all nine qualities that the Apostle Paul includes in the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians. He shows how they are rooted in the character of God, first revealed in the Old Testament, and modelled and taught by Jesus. With applications to encourage biblical growth with depth, and questions at the end of each chapter, this is an ideal resource for preachers, study groups and personal reflection. Many people rightly stress the importance of the gifts, power and ministries of the Holy Spirit, but easily neglect Paul’s command to live and walk by the Spirit and cultivate the fruit that only he can bear in our lives. Paying close attention to the beautiful and robust qualities that Paul includes in the fruit, and seeking daily to cultivate them with God’s help, is surely one way we can become more and more like Jesus.
For far too long, the church has tried to make disciples using a one-size-fits-all approach. Some churches advocate 1-on-1 discipling, others try getting everyone into a small group, while still others training through mission trips or service projects. Yet others focus all their efforts on attracting people to a large group gathering to hear biblical teaching and preaching. But does one size really fit everyone? Based on careful biblical study and years of experience making disciples in the local church, Bobby Harrington and Alex Absalom have identified five key relationships where discipleship happens in our lives. In each relational context we need to understand how discipleship occurs and we need to set appropriate expectations for each context. Discipleship That Fits shows you the five key ways discipleship occurs. It looks at how Jesus made disciples and how disciples were formed in the early church. Each of the contexts is necessary at different times and in different ways as a person grows toward maturity in Christ: Public Relationships: The church gathering corporately for worship Social Relationships: Networks of smaller relationships where we engage in mission and live out our faith in community Personal Relationships: Small groups of six to sixteen people where we challenge and encourage one another on a regular basis Transparent Relationships: Close relationships of three to four where we share intimate details of our lives for accountability The Divine Relationship: Our relationship with Jesus Christ where we grow through the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit Filled with examples and stories, Alex and Bobby show you how to develop discipleship practices in each relational context by sharing how Jesus did it, how the early church practiced it, and how churches are discipling people today.
The Bible teaches that the goal of the Christian life is to become like Jesus—for our own personal growth and for the sake of others. Every believer needs to ask three big questions: What do I believe? What should I do? And who am I becoming? In Think, Act, Be Like Jesus, bestselling author and pastor Randy Frazee helps readers grasp the vision of the Christian life and get started on the journey of discipleship. After unfolding the revolutionary dream of Jesus and showing how our lives fit into the big picture of what God is doing in the world, Frazee walks readers through thirty short chapters exploring the ten core beliefs, ten core practices, and ten core virtues that help disciples to think, act, and be more like Jesus Christ. This compelling new book can be used in conjunction with the 30-week all-church Believe campaign or read separately as an individual study. Either way, readers will deepen their understanding of what it means to not just know the Story of God, but to live it.
“A perceptive and practical book about why our calendars so rarely reflect our priorities and what we can do to regain control.”—ADAM GRANT “Carey’s book will help you reorganize your life. And then you can share a copy with someone you care about.”—SETH GODIN You deserve to stop living at an unsustainable pace. An influential podcaster and thought leader shows you how. Overwhelmed. Overcommitted. Overworked. That’s the false script an inordinate number of people adopt to be successful. Does this sound familiar: ● Slammed is normal. ● Distractions are everywhere. ● Life gets reduced to going through the motions. Tired of living that way? At Your Best gives you the strategies you need to win at work and at home by living in a way today that will help you thrive tomorrow. Influential podcast host and thought leader Carey Nieuwhof understands the challenges of constant pressure. After a season of burnout almost took him out, he discovered how to get time, energy, and priorities working in his favor. This approach freed up more than one thousand productive hours a year for him and can do the same for you. At Your Best will help you ● replace chronic exhaustion with deep productivity ● break the pattern of overpromising and never accomplishing enough ● clarify what matters most by restructuring your day ● master the art of saying no, without losing friends or influence ● discover why vacations and sabbaticals don’t really solve your problems ● develop a personalized plan to recapture each day so you can break free from the trap of endless to-dos Start thriving at work and at home as you discover how to be at your best.
For many congregations, there is a lack of clarity about what a disciple is and what a disciple does. Your congregation might find it helpful to have a larger conversation in worship or as a small group series around this theme. Disciple Like Jesus could provide the framework for this conversation. At the conclusion of each section, you will find a set of discussion questions that could support this conversation.Small Group StudyThere are many small groups of different varieties meeting at thousands of churches every week. They are forming bonds, supporting each other, often studying, and sometimes serving together. And yet, many people in many congregations sense there is something missing. They just don't know what that might be. Disciple Like Jesus could launch them on a new way of engaging life both within and outside of the Church.Accountability GroupEach of the dimensions of discipleship described in this book includes specific suggestions for behaviors that help develop the "life of" ways of living like Jesus. Accountability is vital to this process. Whether through mentoring, apprenticing, coaching, small groups, or triads, partners can and should process this resource together. They should commit to specific behaviors, and hold each other accountable for progress. Leadership TrainingThe greatest form of leadership in the Church is the leading of disciples toward maturity in becoming more like Jesus. There are skills, presented in Disciple Like Jesus, that can help develop more effective leadership toward this goal. In a strong sense, every disciple is called to be this kind of leader. But those publicly identified as leaders (in whatever role) have a biblically mandated special responsibility to be modeling this kind of discipleship development.Personal StudyDisciple Like Jesus provides many tools for exploration for individuals into the ways in which they can become more like Jesus and disciple like Jesus did. There are also many references for further study and personal growth. We do believe, however, that while this is a great resource for individual study, it is even better to study with a friend or two.
Let’s take a walk with the Master… Is it even possible to walk as Jesus walked? Well, there’s only one way to find out! Follow along and study the very model of how to live life—the way Jesus lived. More than just highlighting various aspects of Jesus’ life, ministry veteran Dann Spader examines the broad scope of who He is, helping us understand how the life of Christ should transcend our busy, 21st-century lifestyles. With a practical approach, daily lessons in this 10-week study touch on foundational elements of Jesus’ life, including: His intentionality in fostering loving relationships His unwavering obedience and reverent submission to God A life that was steadfast in prayer His dependence upon the Holy Spirit His movement of multiplying disciples Walk Like Jesus will not only provide you with a wealth of biblical knowledge on Jesus’ life, it will also challenge you to follow after Christ. It is sure to bring insight and godly nourishment in your trajectory toward knowing Christ and becoming more like Him. Learn how to implement the Like Jesus series into your small group, ministry and church to build a culture of disciple-making. Use the Like Jesus App and Digital Access platform for videos, assessment, engagement, real-time metrics are more, download today: https://LikeJesus.church
