Aspects of Godly Influence

Jim Leffel

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Paul writes to the church in Thessalonica to teach them aspects of Godly influence. He calls on them to imitate his life as he has imitated Jesus' life. He explains five ways to be influential: 1) lead by example; 2) be persuasive; 3) pray for others; 4) communicate gratitude; and 5) give concrete encouragement.

Christian Community

Jim Leffel

1 Peter 4:7-11

Peter is writing to folks dealing with a lot of suffering encouraging them to find refuge and sustenance in Christian community. This is an important passage on what is the church and a look at its core values. Would you like to have a growing circle of friends united by a clear conviction of purpose, strengthened by other-centered love and service and where honest, truthful, trusted words prevail?

Developing Your Prayer Life

Gary DeLashmutt

1 Peter 4:7-11

Gary DeLashmutt covers practical tips on staying connected to God in day-to-day life as well as making the most of times set apart for prayer. He encourages praying spontaneously and praying with others as two main ways to bolster our prayer lives. His explanations of the benefits of each include specific challenges for his listeners to consider.\r\n

Common Hindrances to Prayer

Gary DeLashmutt

1 Peter 4:7-11

Gary DeLashmutt addresses the most common reasons people find it difficult to pray: 1) feeling like an outsider; 2) feeling aversion or lacking the desire to talk to God right now; 3) feeling unworthy of God's presence due to a guilty conscience; and 4) being unwilling to listen to God. With humility and empathy, Gary explains some spiritual implications behind these common hinderances and offers solutions that are Biblical, yet often counterintuitive in the moment.

Praying As Jesus' Representative

Gary DeLashmutt

Colossians 4:2-6

As Jesus' representatives, believers can pray for God's help in representing Him well. Gary DeLashmutt focuses on three types of requests we can make of God based on the prayer in Colossians: 1) create opportunities for me to share about Jesus' love; 2) show me how to demonstrate Jesus' love through my actions; and 3) enable me to express Jesus' love in this conversation.

Praying When Your World is Rocked

Gary DeLashmutt

Acts 4:24-30

When we pray, God will help us overcome world-rocking crises. Overcoming may not mean deliverance from circumstances, but God can allow us to victoriously do His will in the midst of tribulation. The prayer in Acts includes three key points, that God would: 1) consider the threats against them; 2) enable them to represent Jesus well; and 3) pour out the Holy Spirit in healing so people may experience God. Gary DeLashmutt expounds on how this prayer serves as an example for us today. Includes a testimony by Bev DeLashmutt on a spiritual role model of victorious suffering in her life.

Introspection and Spiritual Living

Dennis McCallum

Hebrews 12:2

Paul argues that God will search our hearts and bring things to the light as He sees fit. Christians can find themselves in a state of morbid introspection where they think too much about themselves and focus too much on solving their own problems. There is a biblical level of introspection, but often we go above and beyond that in our conceited self focus.

Praying for Others

Jeff Gordon

Ephesians 3:14-21

Why does anyone pray? The apostle Paul was compelled to pray when he reflected on the mystery of Christ. ?The mystery of Christ' is explored as well as how it embodies the way God pursues us despite a stark contrast between His perfect nature and our human nature. He advocates praying for ourselves and others as a means of relating to God and closes with two personal examples of lives transformed by prayer.

The "Lord's Prayer"

Gary DeLashmutt

Matthew 6:9-13

Gary DeLashmutt breaks down the Lord's prayer, providing insight and application from key aspects of the prayer to be used as a guideline in our prayer lives. Highlights include: Jesus' invitation to an intimate relationship with God; a call to view God as our king as well as our father; the importance of asking God for help in loving others; and the implied prompting for us to pray in community, despite our individualistic culture.