Archive for category Discipleship
Created to be Like Jesus
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Discipleship, Preaching, Sermons on December 3, 2010
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7 (NIV)
As believers, our ultimate goal is to become like Christ. He is the bullseye. He is the mark. He is the goal! Here are the basic points from a sermon I preached once entitled, Created to Become Like Christ.
WE BEGIN TO BECOME LIKE CHRIST WHEN WE . . . .
1. Turn over the steering wheel. God doesn’t want to be co-pilot; He wants to be pilot. The Apostle Paul said, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord….” (Vs. 6). When I ride with someone else, I find myself wanting to grab the wheel, hit the brake, or stomp the accelerator. Similarly, I sometimes do that in my Christian walk, but Jesus deserves to be Lord in my life as well as yours. I must continually turn the wheel of my life over to Him.
2. Dig in with Christ. There were a number of false teachers in Colossae, so Paul emphasized the need to be “rooted and built up in Him” (Vs. 7). One way to be rooted is to dig into God’s Word. Common sense tells us that we can’t watch television 5 hours a day, then read the Bible 5 minutes a day, and expect to grow spiritually!
3. Build our lives in Jesus. Paul said that we are “built up in Him” (Vs. 7). Construction takes time. Some building projects take longer than others. The same is true in our Christlikeness. Discipleship is a lifelong, exciting journey.
4. Pump up with teaching. Several years ago two famous Saturday Night Live characters regularly said, “we are here to pump you up!” Paul told the Colossian believers they were “strengthened in the faith as [they] were taught” (Vs. 7). Paul connects teaching of the Word of God with spiritual strength. We should “pump up” regularly with good Biblical teaching.
5. Spill thankfulness everywhere you go. Paul concludes verse 7 by reminding us that we should be “overflowing with thankfulness.” I remember a couple of times a waitress accidently filled my glass so full that it overflowed. As mature believers, we should intentionally be so full of thankfulness that we overflow for others to see. I believe that genuine thankfulness is a mark of spiritual maturity.
The Lord Jesus is our model and we often fall short. But, always remember that “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6, NIV).
Honoring Our Military – “Raw Worship”
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Discipleship, Life Happens, Worship on November 14, 2010
(Written 10/23/2008)
“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”John 4:24
Can you remember the most moving worship service you ever attended? I can, because it was only two days ago, on Easter Sunday.
My wife and I entered the Chapel Service at the Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas with our son wearing his sharp “dress blues.” Around us sat 1,000 young, uniformed men and women, at all stages of military basic training–”zero weekers” to “new airmen.”
Music videos played as we entered. Toward the beginning of the service, the worship leaders and band led some upbeat worship music along with a jazzed-up version of a moving hymn.
Then IT happened–the most powerful worship moment I can remember! The Mark Schultz video, Letters from War, began to play. In amazing unison, the soldiers leaped to their feet, let out a yell, and started passing around boxes of tissues. As the song began, every soldier was singing and every soldier was crying.
The moment was raw….the moment was real! They seemed to understand that God helped them through another week of “Hell on earth” as they prepared to serve our country. That week, the God of the Bible had been their God, their helper, their strength.
The most touching moment was the point in the video when the soldier came home. As his car turned down the lane to his farm on the video, the soldiers let out an enormous cheer. Wow! Patriotism and the Spirit of God was as powerful as any moment in my life.
Later, during the offering, I watched my son count out 10% of his small, military salary and place it in the basket as it passed. Words can never adequately describe how I felt at that moment!
The truth is, our churches are starving for that level of raw worship. Assimilation rates will dramatically improve if we achieve worship that is real….worship that is raw…worship that is relevant! Even though I have been a Christian for 34 years, I personally long for that kind of worship. I fear that we may have to experience a great trial in our lives, similar to these soldiers, if we ever hope to cling desperately to God again.
Prayer: “Lord, whatever it takes. Let us see You. Let us sense You. Let us experience You. Let us worship You in a way that is raw and real. Let us serve you with a living sacrifice which is our reasonable service because You are worthy!”
Honoring Our Military – “Father & Son”
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Discipleship, Life Happens on November 12, 2010
In honor of our military, I am going to post some blog entries that I wrote when I worked at the Kentucky Baptist Convention as Director of Discipleship and Assimilation. This first post was written while my oldest son, Matthew was in basic training. He is currently stationed in South Korea.
Father and Son (Written 10.23.08)
Please forgive me for being a little more personal than usual tonight. Three weeks ago my son left for basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. As expected, I did not hear from him at all during the last three weeks. At times, the desire to hear his voice has been overwhelming. I can only imagine what some of my co-workers and some of you face with family members serving in areas of conflict or living as missionaries for long periods of time.
Today, we received a letter and a brief call from our son. As many of you know from experience, basic training is difficult and I can tell he is struggling. Every father fiber in me wants to jump on the next plane and go fix the situation. Tonight, my heart aches for my son. When he hurts, I hurt. All I know to do is to wait and to pray! Again I’ve prayed, “Father, take care of my boy. Strengthen Him through your Holy Spirit. Support Him. Sustain Him. Hold Him. Let Him know You are there!”
Can you imagine the pain our Heavenly Father felt while His Son was suffering on the cross? Can we even begin to understand how God the Father’s heart ached when Jesus cried, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” Surely every Father fiber in Him wanted to come down here and rescue His Son! But, His love for us, kept Him from bailing out. His love compelled Him to hold back. His love saw past the cross to our forgiveness.
Tonight, I am reminded of similar moments of pain on my journey of following Jesus. As I’ve walked with Christ, I’ve discovered two things that I cling to tonight: God is faithful and God is love. In no way, does that mean that things will be easy or that things will work out the way I desire, but He is always faithful and He always loves.
Before I turn in tonight, I think I’ll be encouraged by listening to Mac Powell from Third Day as he sets the following verses to music:
“Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O Lord, you preserve both man and beast. How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.” Psalm 36:5-7 (NIV)
You Light My Path
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Discipleship, Running on October 8, 2010
I could hardly sleep last night because of the anticipation of trying out my new Petzl Tikka Plus 2 Headlamp at 5:30 am this morning. I went with this particular model because it had great reviews and was very affordable. Until this morning, I had never run with a headlamp. On several recent morning runs, I ran along the unlit path blindly–hoping that I did not trip or step on something.
BUT….this morning, thanks to my Petzl Tikka Plus 2 Headlamp, that ALL CHANGED! I could see! I could see well! Now, I couldn’t see everything because it was dark, but I could see the path well.
I was reminded of the fact that God’s Word is like a headlamp. It lights our path so we can see where to take the next step. God does not always show us the entire horizon in life, but He promises to “direct our steps” and He promises to “light our path.” I have personally found God to be very faithful to those promises in my life.
“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105 (NIV)
“If the Lord delights in a man’s way, He makes his steps firm.” Psalm 37:23 (NIV)
Bring on the Rain
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Discipleship, Life Happens, Running on July 20, 2010
If you saw me head out the door of my comfortable, dry house this morning during a torrential downpour, you probably thought I was BONKERS, CRAZY, CUCKOO, DERANGED, FRUITY, NUTS, SCREWY, UNGLUED…..or just plain WACKY. But actually one of the things I look forward to most as a runner is running in the rain.
Think about it for a minute. When you were young, your parents rarely allowed you to venture outside during a storm and even more rarely allowed you to splash through deep puddles in your good tennis shoes. But now that I’m an adult (I realize that’s still being debated in some circles), I can do whatever I want. My two or three top running memories all involve the rain, so BRING ON THE RAIN!
One of my favorite Christian recording groups, Casting Crowns, has a song called Praise You in the Storm. I couldn’t help but think of the following powerful lyrics as I was having an awesome, soggy moment early this morning:
I’ll praise you in this storm and I will lift my hands. For You are who You are no matter where I am. And every tear I’ve cried, You hold in your hand. You never left my side and though my heart is torn, I will praise You in this storm!
BE ENCOURAGED my friend. The God of the sunshine is also God during the storms of life. Praise Him in all things for He alone is worthy!
Fights and Quarrels in the Church
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Discipleship, Funny, Life Happens on May 12, 2010
“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.This week I’ve been reading from the New Testament written by James, the brother of Jesus. In the passage above, James asks the question, “What causes fights and quarrels among you?” Then he answers his own question by saying, “Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?” James 4:1-3, NIV
This week I have been reading the New Testament book written by James, the brother of Jesus. I love his letter written “To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations” (James 1:1) because it is very practical and very direct. We need more preaching and teaching like that today.
In the above passage (4:1-3), James identifies the source of most “fights and quarrels” in the church–they derive from our selfish, personal desires. The greek word for the term “desires” is the source of the word “hedonism.” Dictionary.com defines “hedonism” as “the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the highest good.”
We live in a day when many believe that the church exists to serve them, to entertain them, and to make them happy, but actually the opposite is true. The Church does not exist to serve us; as Christians, we exist to serve the Church.
May the Lord help every believer in every Christ-honoring church to set aside his or her personal desires for the church to pursue the desires that the Lord has for His church! May it begin in me.
The “Skinny” on Spiritual Growth
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Discipleship, Life Happens, Ministry on May 4, 2010
The last few weeks at Shelbyville First Baptist Church, Pastor Andy McDonald and I have been teaching our second-level foundational class called Maturity 201. The class includes some of the material written by Dr. Rick Warren as well as material I personally wrote for the class.
In Maturity 201 we discuss the important subject of spiritual maturity. Here is a brief excerpt from the class:
FACTS ABOUT SPIRITUAL MATURITY
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Spiritual maturity IS NOT automatic. A Christian believer must be disciplined and work at achieving spiritual maturity. We can’t just sit back and “hope” it happens. We have to develop and practice the spiritual habits that lead us to spiritual maturity. For more information on this topic, read my other entries under the “discipleship” category.
“You have been Christians for a long time now, and you ought to be teaching others, but instead … you need someone to teach you … When a person is still living on milk, it shows he isn’t very far along in the Christian life … He’s still a baby Christian!” Hebrews 5:12-13 (LB)
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Spiritual maturity is a journey. Ultimately, spiritual maturity will take a lifetime. It is a process–a lifelong journey of becoming more and more like Christ.
“Learn to be mature.” Proverbs 8:5 (GN)
“Continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:18 (GN)
- Spiritual maturity takes discipline. Spiritual maturity is not complicated, but it is not easy. It takes discipline to be spiritually fit just like it takes discipline to be physically fit.
“Take the time and the trouble to keep yourself spiritually fit.” 1 Timothy 4:7b (Ph)
“Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.” 1 Timothy 4:7b (NASB)
Are You That Man? Woman?
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Discipleship, Preaching, Sermons on April 19, 2010
In his book, The Making of a Christian Leader, Ted Engstrom shares the following, powerful statement about what the world needs to see in Christian leaders:
The world needs men (and I might add women) who cannot be bought; whose word is their bond; who put character above wealth; who possess opinions and a will; who are larger than their vocations; who do not hesitate to take chances; who will not lose their individuality in a crowd; who will be as honest in small things as in great things; who will make no compromise with wrong; whose ambitions are not confined to their own selfish desires; who will not say they do it “because everybody else does it”; who are true to their friends through good report and evil report, in adversity as well as in prosperity; who do not believe that shrewdness, cunning, and hard-headedness are the best qualities for winning success; who are not ashamed or afraid to stand for the truth when it is unpopular; who say “no” with emphasis, although the rest of the world says “yes.”
Are you that man? Are you that woman?
The Practice of “Slowing”
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Discipleship, Life Happens on April 7, 2010
One of the great books on spiritual disciplines is John Ortberg’s book, The Life You’ve Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People. You can read my review of the book by clicking here.
One of the spiritual disciplines he talks about in the book is the practice of “slowing.” Have you ever thought about “slowing” as a spiritual practice? One of his mentors told him that if he wanted to grow spiritually that he must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from his life. Listen to a great quote from his book:
Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day. Hurry can destroy our souls. Hurry can keep us from living well….Again and again, as we pursue spiritual life, we must do battle with hurry. For many of us the great danger is not that we renounce our faith. It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it. We will just skim our lives instead of actually living them.
Most of us battle the hurry sickness, but how can we treat it–how can we cure it? There are two main practices that can help us swim against our culture’s current of hurry.
1. Slowing. Slowing involves cultivating patience by deliberately choosing to place ourselves in positions where we simply have to wait. Slowing will seem like such a “waste of time,” but it is invaluable. Here are some examples. Deliberately drive in the slow lane. Chew your food slowly. Get in the longest check-out line at the grocery store. Go through an entire week without wearing a watch. Read each sentence slowly–then read it again even more slowly.
2. Solitude. Solitude is a more traditional spiritual practice. I’m not saying that we should take it to the extreme and join a monastery. I’m just saying that solitude is the one place where we can gain freedom from the forces of society that will otherwise relentlessly mold us. When we’re “alone” with God–He molds us!
We need some small measures of solitude every day. A walk, a short drive, working in the yard, sitting in the car before going into the office, a quiet time–all these serve as moments of solitude. On occasion, we need longer periods of solitude. Take an afternoon to yourself or even an entire day. Go to a place where you will be uninterrupted and alone. Spend the day relaxing, reading, walking, napping, etc.
Both of these practices have been vital to my spiritual growth and to my ability to hear from God. By the way, if you haven’t read John Ortberg’s book on spiritual disciplines, you must do so. Here’s a link to Amazon where you can purchase the book and get started. I wish I had read this book as a new Christian and learned about the practice of “slowing” and many of the other spiritual disciplines that have helped me to grow in recent years.
Making Disciples One at a Time
Posted by Stephen C. Rice in Church Chat, Discipleship on March 12, 2010
Have you ever discipled someone one-on-one. 1-2-1 discipleship is arguably the most effective discipleship method. If you are interested in this approach, here are 5 things to consider as you get started:
- Pray that God will lead you to the person He wants you to disciple. I cannot overemphasize the importance of prayer in this whole process, so focus the process toward prayer from the very beginning. God will match you with the person He wants you to disciple.
- Start by being a friend with that person (man to man, woman to woman). By nature, this method works through relationships. If God leads you to a person with whom you do not have an established relationship, take time to build a friendship before proceeding. Don’t rush this step! For obvious reasons, this method works best man to man or woman to woman.
- Read a book together. One great way to add structure to this approach is by reading a book together. You can choose a book of the Bible or a good Christian book to read and discuss.
- Suggest classes at church. When helpful discipleship classes are offered at church, encourage your friend to attend. Better yet, attend a class or conference together and discuss the material during your 1-2-1 meetings.
- Model Christ to them in real life. Involve your friend in your life and model Christ in your day-to-day living.
Prayer: “God, stir our hearts and help us to get real about your command to make disciples! Lord, teach us that we cannot personally disciple everyone, but we can disciple someone. Lead us to that person and give us the courage to get started for Your glory.”
