Louie Giglio -Laminin

This blew me away! A snippet from a great message entitled How great is our God! by Louie Giglio, this section talks about Laminin, an amazing molecule in the human body. A must see!

Three Questions

Three questions we need to ask ourselves. These questions came from a sermon preached by Perry Noble @ the Unleashed Conference. He preached from the story of the Prodigal Son taken from Luke 15.

1. What is it that God wants to do in the church he has called us to shepherd?
-- are we working so hard for the Father that have forgotten the heart of the Father
-- is God working all around us but we are missing it because of "our hard work"
-- are working out of inspiration as opposed to revelation?

2. What are the barriers that stand in the way?
-- do we refuse to change? (personal preferences)
-- do we celebrate where God is moving?
-- do we lack in "our understanding"? (are we the older son?)

3. What do we want to celebrate?
-- our main job as the church is to lift up the name of Jesus
-- are we stuck on public and political issues or are we celebrating life change?

Ten Question: MInistry

I received these questions this morning in an email. Needless to say, my day has been spent reflecting upon them. I wante to share them with you

1. Is our vision so big that we obviously can’t accomplish it without God?
2. Am I doing ministry from memory or from fresh direction from God?
3. What ministry (or program or meeting) has lost its effectiveness and should be stopped?
4. Is there a person who needs to be moved to another role (or removed), and I haven’t done it?
5. What faith risk is God calling me to take?
6. Have I repented to my team at least once in the last year for a failure in leadership?
7. Have I done everything in my power to make sure my team is living without unconfessed sin?
8. Am I expressing love and care for my team members’ families?
9. Am I living with delayed obedience toward God in any area of leadership?
10. If Jesus my sole motivation for ministry or has my motivation become clouded?

Ten Questions: Introspection

Hey guys, I received these via email and wanted to pass them along. It is always great for introspection and reflection


1. In what area of life have I lost my passion? (What can I do to get it back?)
2. If the enemy were going to “take me out,” what are my three most vulnerable points?
3. What new burden has God given me in the last year?
4. What have I unlearned that has made me closer to God?
5. What new discipline is God calling me to do?
6. What has God asked me to do that I haven’t yet done?
7. Is there something that I think about more than I think about pleasing God? (Money, possessions, ministry, family, recreation, something else.)
8. Do I have an increasing joy in serving Christ?
9. Am I handling the pain of ministry with integrity?
10. Am I still being persecuted for my faith in Christ?

Key Disciplines Strengthen Discipleship

This is an article I came across while doing some research. As a Pastor who spent more than 13 years in youth and college ministry, I found this article to be helpful.


“What exactly is discipleship?” “How do I do it?” Are questions students often ask. Sometimes the concept of discipleship can seem overwhelming. We can help students grow as disciples by making the process a little more practical. Discipleship doesn’t have to add another meeting to your weekly schedule. Simply helping students focus in on some key areas of their spiritual lives can go a long way. Here are a few ideas.

Prayer. It’s more than a casual conversation. Prayer is a discipline, and scripture tells us it is effective. Yet, most Christians spend very little time in prayer. Help students enrich their own prayer lives by including some prayer “exercises” in your group times. Have a prayer time that is just for giving thanks. Give students some silent time to spend in personal confession. Pray for a specific area, ie. missions, lost friends, your church. Give your group weekly prayer “assignments.”

Bible Study. Help students understand that personal Bible study doesn’t end at noon on Sunday. Provide resources that they may want to use during their own personal Bible study time at home. Incorporate times of accountability into your group meeting times. Simply ask the group, “what have you been learning in your own Bible study times this week?”

Fasting. We live in a consumer driven society where, more often than not, we feel we should be denied nothing. The discipline of fasting does not come easy for us, but it is a great way to learn self control. Challenge your students to give up a meal during their week and spend that hour in prayer and meditation. Have a group discussion and Bible study on fasting at your next meeting time.

Stewardship. Little lessons can go a long way. Help students learn personal stewardship by doing an inventory of where they spend their money in a week, or how they spend their time. Have them keep a written log for the week, then evaluate their findings together. Help them find ways to be better stewards in their personal lives based on their results.

Leadership

10 questions leaders should ask themselves:

1. What did I learn in God's word this week?
2. Is my burden for prayer growing or diminishing?
3. Does my heart break for the things that break the heart of God?
4. Have I grown accustomed to or accepted sin in my life?
5. Am I doing ministry out of an overflow of God's work in my heart or out of my own
strength?
6. Has my teaching and ministry deepened, changed, or evolved in a positive way in the last year?
7. Do I have a sincere peace that I'm living an authentic life of spiritual integrity?
8. Is my heart growing larger for people and God or is it shrinking?
9. Am I closer to God today than I was a year ago?
10. Do others comment that they can clearly see evidence of God's work in my life?