Everyday Discipleship Wk 5
Teaching #5: “The Call to the Great Community!”
(If you are just beginning your journey, please click HERE to read the introduction
grace abounds! Don’t quit; keep going! Find a pace that works for you.]
5) Calendar a weekly time for spiritual friendship: Y or N
+ Disciple = intentionally following Jesus’ way and teachings
+ Discipleship = intentional journey and life-long commitment to learn and manifest the fruit of who I am in Christ
+ The “Big Three” = transformative practices of Bible intake, prayer intimacy, and spiritual friendships
+ Great Community = intentional community of disciples who are called in love, gathered for love, and sent on mission
1) The Great Community is the “church” (ekklesia in Acts 11:26), which literally means, “the called out gathering or assembly.” While it can be used to describe any assembly of people, in the New Testament it is the work of the Holy Spirit to ingather those who have been called in Christ for God’s will. The church is God’s idea; not mine or yours!
2) Read 1 Peter 2:4-12. Why is God calling us out of the world and into fellowship with Him and one another?
+ Meditate upon this truth within the context of Matthew 5:13-16. How is Jesus calling us to be His church?
4) Read Acts 2:38-47. What brings the church together? What were some of the activities of the early church?
5) We are the church! Jesus is the head, and we are the many members of His one body. This imagery gives the body structure and purpose. Read Ephesians 1:22-23; 4:11-16; Romans 12:4-8; and 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.
6) We are commanded to gather as the church. Read Hebrews 10:23-25. Why are we supposed to gather today? What difference does it make to gather regularly?
7) The kingdom of God is a relational kingdom! As fellow members of the church our relationships have significance. What is the “so that” of Jesus’ prayer in John 17:22-23 and how does that connect to the new command of John 13:34-35? What then is the ultimate purpose of all that we do as the church and as a local assembly of believers?
+ “so that the world may know that You sent Me, …”
+ “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, …”
Action Items for this week:
1) Bible intake for this week: John 13-21 & Acts 1-12.
2) Write a SOAP journal entry for either each chapter or each day. Bring your notebook. Are you willing to share?
3) Review this handout as you prepare to read your Bible every day. Invite the Holy Spirit to help you “become” conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29).
4) Memorize Matthew 5:14 and be intentional about gathering with your local assembly of believers (church).
If you would like to watch this lesson on YouTube, click HERE.
If you would like to view the entire service including music, etc. click HERE.
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Seize the Moment – Day 1418
Today’s worship song focus :
They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love
John 13:35 (NASB95)
A favorite song of the late 1960’s and early 70’s, it was written by a young Catholic priest by the name of Peter Raymond Scholtes. Taken from the words that Jesus gave His disciples in John 13, Scholtes wanted to show the connection between the church and its role in the life of the world. While it had a folk style of music, he wanted to connect the faith story of the church’s young people to the disheartened landscape of the culture in America.
Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love
We need to wake up and take to heart the words of this song. It is an important part of the message of grace, hope and love that we are to share with our part of the world and beyond. That is when we will truly see our mission of transforming stories through the gospel of Jesus Christ being fulfilled.
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Ken reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
If you would like to listen to this song, click HERE
They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord.
And we pray that all unity, may one day be restored.
By our love, by our love.
Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.
We will walk with each other, will walk hand in hand,
We will walk with each other, will walk hand in hand,
And together we’ll spread the news, that God is in our land
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
And we’ll save each man’s dignity, and guard each man’s pride.
And all praise to Christ Jesus, God’s only Son
And all praise to the Spirit, Who makes us one.
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Seize the Moment – Day 1417
Set Your House in Order!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, February 2.
If I came to you, saying, “You had better get your house in order.” How would you respond? This is the situation Hezekiah found himself in Isaiah 38:1, “In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.” ’ ” Hezekiah wept bitterly. Through his tears, he cried out, “Remember now, O Lord, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in Your sight” (3). He responded to his crisis with prayer. Just like in Isaiah 37, when Hezekiah did not run to Egypt for rescue, now, in Isaiah 38, he did not run to doctors for a cure. Again, he threw himself at the mercy of God, who responded to his humility in verses 5-8:
“Thus says the Lord, the God of your father David, ‘I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city.’” This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that He has spoken: Behold, I will cause the shadow on the stairway, which has gone down with the sun on the stairway of Ahaz, to go back ten steps.”
God moved back the shadow to emphasize that it was He who healed Hezekiah. This was not the work of a doctor; this was the intervention of a merciful God.
Seize the moment and throw yourself at the mercy of God! This is the way to get your house in order, no matter the circumstance.
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
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Seize the Moment – Day 1416
The Enemy at the Gate!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, February 1.
There was an enemy at the gate of Jerusalem. The emissary of Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, had left his ultimatum – surrender or be sacked! The leaders brought the message to King Hezekiah, and he responded in Isaiah 37:1-2, “he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth and entered the house of the Lord. Then he sent Eliakim who was over the household with Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz.” He led his nation in seeking God for rescue and deliverance from the enemy at the gate. What a godly leader!
The prophet Isaiah gave Hezekiah God’s answer in Isaiah 37:6-7, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.’” When you read through the words of the emissary in Isaiah 36, you see what the Lord was referring to, as Sennacherib went too far in his mandate to execute God’s righteous judgments and had taken on grandiose notions of his person and empire (23-29). God kept His word and sent forth the angel of the Lord to destroy the Assyrian army camped outside the gate of Jerusalem, and Sennacherib died at the hands of his own sons, in the temple of his false God in Nineveh (36-38). God’s justice was poetic, and it all came about because Hezekiah asked for God’s assistance in his crisis, as recorded in verses 21-35, “Because you have prayed to Me … I will defend this city to save it for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.”
Seize the moment and pray about the enemy at the gate, trusting God for His victory!
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
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Seize the Moment – Day 1415
The Book of Hezekiah!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, January 31.
Just like Isaiah 6-8 described the historical situation of Isaiah’s prophetic ministry at the time of King Uzziah’s death, so Isaiah 36-39 narrate the crisis of King Hezekiah’s kingship when Assyria invaded Judah. That is why these four chapters are nicknamed, “The Book of Hezekiah;” they are different than the rest of Isaiah. Isaiah 36:1 places you immediately into the drama, “Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them.” The parallel accounts of this historical event are found in 2 Kings 18:13-20:19 and 2 Chronicles 32, as you will find connections between these devotions in Isaiah and the ones done on those chapters in the history books.
In Isaiah 36:10, Rabshakeh, the emissary of Sennacherib, delivered a message to Hezekiah, speaking to the men on the wall of Jerusalem in their own language, “Have I now come up without the Lord’s approval against this land to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’” He wasn’t lying! As we have already learned, God did send Assyria against Israel to be “the rod of My anger and the staff in whose hands is My indignation” (Isaiah 10:5), but in his greed and pride, Sennacherib reached too far – God did not intend for Assyria to take Jerusalem from His people; it was not yet the appointed time for the destruction of Jerusalem, which wouldn’t come for another 125 years at the hands of Babylon. God had placed a godly king, Hezekiah, on the seat of David. The defenders of Jerusalem did not allow themselves to be intimated; rather, they went to Hezekiah to report to him the words of the emissary (21-22). Together, the leaders sought God’s guidance (see Isaiah 37).
Seize the moment and seek God for the courage you need to stand up against evil (James 4:7).
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
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Seize the Moment – Day 1414
The Highway of Holiness!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, January 30.
Traveling in the United States is reliable because of our safe and secure highways. You can drive from coast to coast with very little hassle; I know because I’ve done it twice. Because of this, we take this ease of travel for granted, but this would not have been the situation in antiquity; hence, the glorious imagery of the Highway of Holiness, as described in Isaiah 35:8-10:
A highway will be there, a roadway, and it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, but it will be for him who walks that way, and fools will not wander on it. No lion will be there, nor will any vicious beast go up on it; these will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord will return and come with joyful shouting to Zion, with everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
The Highway of Holiness symbolically describes God’s redemptive work amongst a fractured people in a hostile land; it’s the prescribed way of returning to the place of God’s presence (Zion). In Isaiah 40:3, we learn that it would be established by the Messiah, “A voice is calling, ‘Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God’” (cf. Matthew 3:1-3). In Hebrews 10:19-20, the Bible makes it clear that it was accomplished at the cross, “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh.”
Seize the moment and draw near to God on the Highway of Holiness – Jesus testifies in John 14:6 that He is the only way to get to the right destination!
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
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Seize the Moment – Day 1413
The Sword of the Lord!
Do you know who the Edomites are? Edom was the nation of the descendants of Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal to his brother Jacob (Genesis 25:21-34). Isaiah 34 records the oracle of their utter destruction as “a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion” (8-10). Isaiah named the Edomites as the object of God’s wrath in verses 5-6:
For My sword is satiated in heaven, behold it shall descend for judgment upon Edom and upon the people whom I have devoted to destruction. The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is sated with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
The Edomites became the representatives of all the enemies of Yahweh, as it was Esau’s refusal to repent which led to his rejection (Hebrews 12:15-17). The judgment of Edom was recorded in Isaiah 63:1-2, “Who is this who comes from Edom, with garments of glowing colors from Bozrah, this One who is majestic in His apparel, marching in the greatness of His strength? ‘It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.’ Why is Your apparel red, and Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press?” This imagery of the Divine Warrior covered in blood is captured again in Revelation 19:13-15, “He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. … From His mouth comes a sharp sword, … and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.” This is the final victory of Jesus Christ!
Seize the moment and spend time daily in God’s Word – wield the sword of the Lord to live the victorious life (Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Corinthians 10:4-5).
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
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Everyday Discipleship Wk 4
Teaching #4: “The Third of the Big Three:
The Importance of Spiritual Friendship!”
(If you are just beginning your journey, please click HERE to read the introduction
3) Pray every day and during Bible time: Y or N
4) Read and reflect on the Tyranny of the Urgent: Y or N
5) Memorize 1 Thessalonians 5:17 & Lord’s Prayer: Y or N
Discipleship is the intentional journey to Christlikeness; it’s a life-long commitment to learn and manifest who you are as a disciple through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
+ How did Judas know where to find Jesus? (Luke 22:47)
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
+ How do Mark 2:2-5 & Galatians 6:1-2 teach us about how to fulfill the law of Christ as a spiritual friend?
+ “that they may be perfected in unity, so that…” (23)
+ “For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”
2) Write a SOAP journal entry for either each chapter or each day. Bring your notebook. Are you willing to share?
3) Review this handout as you prepare to read your Bible every day. Invite the Holy Spirit to help you “become” conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29).
4) Memorize John 13:34-35 and be intentional by setting up a weekly time to invest in your spiritual friendships.
If you would like to watch this lesson on YouTube, click HERE. (This link will be live shortly)
If you would like to view the entire service including music, etc. click HERE.
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Seize the Moment – Day 1411
Today’s worship song focus will be
Revelation Song
Revelation 4:8 (NASB95)
We need to wake up with a new hunger and desire for more of God in our lives. Immerse yourself in worship today. Empty yourself of your own selfishness and allow the Holy Spirit to fill you up afresh and anew with the love and joy that can only come when we join with the angels in declaring “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty!”
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Ken reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
If you would like to listen to this song, click on this link:
Revelation Song
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Seize the Moment – Day 1410
The Destroyer!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, January 26.
Have you ever wondered who the destroyer is? The destroyer is found throughout the Bible, including Isaiah 33:1-2a, “Woe to you, O destroyer, while you were not destroyed; and he who is treacherous, while others did not deal treacherously with him. As soon as you finish destroying, you will be destroyed; as soon as you cease to deal treacherously, others will deal treacherously with you.” Here, the destroyer appears to be Assyria, “the rod of My anger” (Isaiah 10:5), but it could also refer to Babylon, “My war-club” (Jeremiah 51:20).
Ultimately, the destroyer is a tool in God’s hands to execute His righteous judgments. This is evident at the Passover in Exodus 12:23, “For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite you” (cf. Hebrews 11:28). We also find the “destroying angel” in 1 Chronicles 21:15, “And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; but as he was about to destroy it, the Lord saw and was sorry over the calamity, and said to the destroying angel, ‘It is enough; now relax your hand’” (cf. Revelation 9:11).
Paul referenced the destroyer in 1 Corinthians 10:10, “Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.” An example of Israel’s grumbling was found in Number 21:6-9 when “the Lord sent fiery serpents” to kill the grumblers. Jesus referenced this story in John 3:14-15, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.” Jesus emphasized that there is only one way to be saved from the destroyer (John 3:16)!
Seize the moment and look to Jesus, high and lifted up, the only way (John 14:6)!
God bless you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
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