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Thursday Giveaway

Thursday Giveaway: Bible Studies for Life

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Each week on Thursdays we highlight a trustworthy discipleship resource that can help you in your mission to make disciples. This week’s post is “The POINT” from the Bible Studies for Life curriculum. At the end of this post there is a link to sign up for a chance to win a free giveaway of this resource!

The POINT

Welcoming others goes beyond a friendly handshake.

We naturally gravitate to the people we know best and who are like us. It’s easier to interact with people with whom we share a common interest or background. But a problem arises when those friendships drive us to overlook or ignore others, or worse, to show preferential treatment. Jesus, on the other hand, loves all people the same—and we’re called to do likewise. We must learn to embrace people with open arms.

The Book of James was written to Christians who were undergoing persecution. James wrote this letter not only to encourage them to remain strong during those difficult times, but also to remind them that faith and obedience are linked together.

It’s in this context that James addressed the issue of partiality. These Christians claimed to believe the gospel and follow Jesus, but apparently they were not treating people equally in their congregations. The particular example James lifted out involved people coming into the congregation who had the appearance of wealth. Apparently such a person with his nice clothing and polished appearance was given a place of prominence in the church, even if it meant pushing aside someone who was clearly not wealthy. According to James, this was an evil thing to do. This is true for at least three reasons:

  1. Partiality neglects the image of God in fellow humans. When we show favoritism to one person or group of people over another, we are—whether we realize it or not—subtly neglecting the truth that all human beings have been created in the image of God. Because all of us have been created in God’s image, every one of us is worthy of honor and dignity. When we remove some of that honor and dignity, even if it seems like a small thing, we are doing more than exercising our preference for one group or another. We are denying the image of God in the neglected party.
  2. Partiality sees others as objects to be used. Why might we show favoritism? In James’ illustration of the rich man and the poor man in the fellowship, the reason is simple: we can get something from the rich man. By showing favoritism, we might get some of his money; a greater reputation because we are associated with a person of prominence; or his approval which would increase our self-esteem. Whatever the case, we are hoping to gain something from him, which means we are using that person rather than serving and loving him. While we might trick ourselves into believing that showing partiality just means someone gets a little something extra from us, as if we are making the sacrifice, it’s really the other way around; our focus is on ourselves and what we might potentially gain.
  3. Partiality sets us up as judge. Favoritism is a big deal because it sets us up in the place of God. We are determining someone’s worthiness based on some preconceived notion based on the person’s clothes, money, reputation, or whatever. But we are not equipped to make this judgment. Indeed, only God can look at the heart. When we show partiality, therefore, we are putting ourselves in place of God. We are judging the worth of another.

For discussion: What are some ways we might be tempted to show favoritism today?

This article is an excerpt from Welcome Home: Connecting and Engaging People in Your Church, a six-session study in the Fall 2018 Bible Studies for Life. Learn more about this ongoing curriculum and preview one month for free at biblestudiesforlife.com.

Fill out the form below before tomorrow night at 11:59pm for an opportunity to win a free Bible Studies for Life: Adult Group Box. The Box contains 10 Personal study guides; 1 Leader Guide, and various other leader resources.

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Group Answers Podcast

Group Answers Episode 65: SBC – Chris Swain on Discipleship

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Join in with Chris Swain at SBC as we talk about the ministry “Replicate” and how they are helping to change the discipleship culture in local churches. How is Bible study best approached? How do we increase Bible engagement in our church? What does accountability look like in our group’s life? Listen as we talk about Jesus approached these questions.

GUEST: Chris Swain is the Executive Director of Replicate Ministries and serves at Long Hollow Baptist Church as the Equipping Pastor. After fours years of service in the United States Marine Corps, Chris served in full-time ministry for two decades in Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Georgia and Tennessee, leading ministries ranging from Students, to Collegiate, to Spiritual Formation. Most recently, Chris served as the Director of Student Ministry Publishing at Lifeway Christian Resources serving the Church in its mission of making disciples. Chris’s heart is to expand the Gospel through disciple-making in the local church.

The Group Answers Podcast is a weekly show designed to resource, train, and encourage small group leaders. Each episode considers current trends and resources as well as timeless truths and methods of discipleship. It is hosted by Brian Daniel, a Bible study and discipleship expert in LifeWay’s Groups Ministry, and Chris Surratt, the small group and discipleship specialist at LifeWay and author of Small Groups For The Rest Of Us.

Church Leadership

Links We Love

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If You Have to Choose Between Clarity and Creativity – Eric Geiger

Clarity and creativity are both admirable qualities. People seek both when creating a resource, when delivering a message, when leading a team, and when designing ministry strategy. Authors, artists, songwriters, communicators, ministry leaders, and a plethora of other people desire for their work to be both clear and creative.

Stop Defending Yourself Against Jesus – Michael Kelley

It’s an incredibly difficult thing to say, “I’m sorry.”

Those two words are packed with self-humiliation, responsibility, and acceptance of our own weakness and fallacy. And, of course, that’s why it’s so difficult. Our difficulty in uttering those two words, without self-justification and explanation and blame shifting reveals just how strong our impulse of self-defense is.

Scripture and the Christian Man – LifeWay Men

We become men of God by first loving the Word by believing what it says, and putting it into practice in daily life. Obedience in the Christian life is only possible because we’ve been born again. The result of being born again is that we will love God, His Word, and His people. Daily reading the Word will result in being men of integrity, in private and in public. Duplicity in our lives will be replaced by transparency and authenticity in our home life and at Church.

Household of Faith – LifeWay Women’s Ministry

“The rules are there for a reason.” Have you heard that before? I used to work in a residence hall on a university campus and some of their rules were rather interesting. As I flipped through the policy manuals outlining student conduct, employee expectations, and other rules, I saw a curious rule. I asked, “Why is there a rule forbidding access to the subbasement of the building? Why would this rule be in the book?” The answer: It’s there for a reason. One year a couple of adventurous male students found their way into a machine room, discovered the door leading to the subbasement, and concocted a plan to dig a tunnel under the building so they could visit the female-only wing on the opposite side. Rumors swirled concerning the tunnel and the students’ subterranean exploits. Sure enough, during the inspection of their dorm rooms, some small digging tools and muddy clothes surfaced. Their tunneling expeditions were brought to an end and a new rule was put in place. I was given a similar explanation in regard to the rule concerning access to the roof, as some students who loved to climb attempted to rappel from the building. Rules are there for a reason.

5 Ways Leaders Can Grow in Self-Awareness – LifeWay Leadership

Without self-awareness, a leader is stuck. In fact, the biggest hindrance to a leader’s development is not intelligence or work ethic but a lack of self-awareness. While self-awareness helps us understand what areas of leadership need focus and development, knowing ourselves is something we struggle with. We all have blind spots, areas of struggle we are challenged to see in ourselves. So how can leaders grow in self-awareness…

Thursday Giveaway

Thursday Giveaway: Gospel Foundations

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Each week on Thursdays we highlight a trustworthy discipleship resource that can help you in your mission to make disciples. This week’s post is from Gospel Foundations Volume 2: A Wandering People (Exodus–Judges), Session 1 God Hears His People. At the end of this post there is a link to sign up for a chance to win a free giveaway of this resource!

From Gospel Foundations Volume 2: A Wandering People (Exodus–Judges), Session 1 God Hears His People

Read Exodus 3:11-15.

In the Old Testament, a name was much more than the means by which you could address someone. A name was a description of a person’s character.

Even at this relatively early point in the Bible’s story, we’ve seen the significance of names many times. God had already changed the names of Abram, Sarai, and Jacob.

When they encountered God, the fabric of their identities was altered and God signified this change by changing their names. But while we have seen the importance of the names of people, we have not seen the importance of God’s name to this point. Even in the foundational covenants God established with Noah and Abraham (Gen. 9:9; 17:2,7), He never explained the meaning of His name—“the Lord,” or “Yahweh.” Then came Moses’ dramatic encounter with Yahweh at the burning bush.

Having been raised in the epicenter of Egypt, Pharaoh’s house, Moses knew about the many gods of that ancient land, each with a name revealing something about him or her. Among these were Horus, the falcon-headed god of the sky and the pharaohs; Isis, the goddess of magic, motherhood, and fertility; and Ra, the sun god and creator. But what was the meaning of the name Yahweh?

There was good reason for Moses’ question about God’s name. Though the Israelites were already familiar with the name Yahweh (Gen. 12:8; 26:25; 28:13), they had been enslaved for centuries without any word from this God. Perhaps Moses was voicing the curiosity of many of his kinsmen when he asked the Lord about His name, wondering, “What does Your name signify?” In other words, Moses was asking in light of these long years of suffering, “Who are You?”

Perhaps you can identify with that. Perhaps you too know the feeling of reading in the Bible the promises of God to the believer in Christ and then looking closely at your life circumstances and wondering who is this God who would make such claims. It’s during such times when we also might look to God and ask about His true identity: “Are You really the God I’ve read about? Are You really the God who promises never to leave or forsake me? Are You really the God who works all things for good?”

Yahweh’s reply to Moses in verses 14-15 points to His identity as the covenant-making and covenant-keeping God. The Lord had made an everlasting promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations (Gen. 17:4). God had also told Abraham that his descendants would be enslaved for four hundred years but that He would set them free from slavery (Gen. 15:13-14). Now to Moses, God expressed that the meaning of the name Yahweh would be connected forever with His fulfilling the covenant promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Even though Yahweh appeared in connection with a burning flame in a bush, He revealed Himself to Moses as a personal Being, not an abstract force. God makes promises and then He keeps them. He is “to be remembered in every generation” by the name Yahweh, the covenant-keeping King of His people who is always true to His word. This is His name, and His name can be trusted.

From Gospel Foundations Volume 2: A Wandering People (Exodus–Judges), Session 1 God Hears His People

This article is an excerpt from Gospel Foundations Volume 2: A Wandering People (Exodus–Judges), Session 1 God Hears His People. Gospel Foundations takes groups through the storyline of scripture in one year.  Learn more and preview three free sessions at lifeway.com/gospelfoundations. Fill out the form below before tomorrow night at 11:59pm for an opportunity to win a free bundle of this resource. The bundle includes 10 Bible Study Books and 1 Leader Kit.

Giveaway form

by filling out this form you agree to receive more information regarding this resource
Thursday Giveaway

Thursday Giveaway: Bible Studies for Life

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Each week on Thursdays we highlight a trustworthy discipleship resource that can help you in your mission to make disciples. This week’s post is “God is Our Shepherd” from the Bible Studies for Life curriculum. At the end of this post there is a link to sign up for a chance to win a free giveaway of this resource!

God Is Our Shepherd

Maps are good to direct you from one place to another, but you need to study them before leaving on a trip. If you don’t know the route well, you will need to stop periodically and double-check the map.

GPS is better, but you still have to pay attention. You must glance continually at the screen to get a visual on how soon a turn is coming or listen intently to the verbal instructions.

The best way to travel is with someone who knows the route well. A guide can anticipate things and remind you to “get in the left lane” or “be prepared for a sharp turn.” They often know shortcuts that the GPS is not clever enough to know. A guide can also provide “color commentary” as you travel, telling you interesting tidbits about places along the route.

Let’s admit it: we all need a guide to get through life. Even when we think we have things figured out, life inserts a roadblock and the journey changes. But God does for us just as a shepherd does for his flock. God is our Good Shepherd who guides us on the right path and in the right direction.

King David very well may have written Psalm 23 during the latter years of his reign as Israel’s king. It clearly has the ring of personal experience. It testifies to a faith tested by trials and a life mellowed and matured by the passing of years.

David had experienced conflict—both internal and external—including wars; family division; and personal disappointments, discouragement, and despair. He faced issues that would equal or exceed anything we might experience today. His hands had been soiled by the murder of Uriah. His adulterous relationship with Bathsheba had ignited family fighting that led to ongoing conflict among family members. David experienced sin and the deep sorrow its consequences bring; he knew the pain of one son’s death and the rebellion of another who tried to take his kingdom.

Yet this psalm affirms that, through it all, David knew God as his tender Shepherd. The imagery in this psalm may go back to David’s childhood experience of tending sheep. As a shepherd boy, David was deemed an unlikely candidate to become the king of Israel. It is significant that David the great warrior was drawn to a simple but assuring depiction of God as a gentle Shepherd caring for the needs of His flock.

The profound impact of Psalm 23 is not discovering that God cares like a Shepherd, but the intimacy of the truth that He is my Shepherd. It is my Shepherd who “lets me lie down in green pastures”; who “leads me beside quiet waters.” David knew he belonged to the Lord and that gave him calm assurance in the midst of trials.

When we are walking through dark valleys of doubt, discouragement, and difficulty, how good it is to know God is with us! The reality that our Shepherd is Sovereign God assures us that we will not only survive, we will thrive. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, declared that He had come “so that they may have life and have it in abundance” (John 10:10). We can live in victory no matter what circumstances and challenges life may bring our way.

How have you seen God’s goodness and faithful love at work in your life?

How will a relationship with the Good Shepherd make a difference in your life?

If you are rushed and harried, it may be that you aren’t taking time for the Shepherd to feed you and restore your soul. Slow down and spend time in His Word. Make changes to your schedule to ensure more quality time in God’s Word.

Excerpted from Ken Hemphill, Bible Studies for Life: God Is… © 2018 LifeWay Press®. Used by permission. Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible®. Copyright 2018 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Click here and fill out the form before tomorrow night at 11:59pm for an opportunity to win a free bundle of this resource. The bundle includes 10 Bible Study Books and 1 Leader Kit.

Group Answers Podcast

Group Answers Episode 64: SBC – Michael Davis on Shame

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This week on the Group Answers Podcast, Brian and Chris join Michael Davis at the Southern Baptist Convention. Brian, Chris, and Michael discuss how we confuse guilt, shame, and conviction. Even though believers’ sins have been paid for by Christ on the cross, it is easy to forget this magnificent truth in the midst of habitual sin. How do we fight against shame when conviction of sin oftentimes pulls us toward it? Listen as they address shame in the Christian life, and how it is antithetical to the gospel.

GUEST: Michael Davis is the Senior Director of Marketing, Communications, and Media at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). For more on this topic, listen to this podcast. You can follow Michael Davis on Twitter.
The Group Answers Podcast is a weekly show designed to resource, train, and encourage small group leaders. Each episode considers current trends and resources as well as timeless truths and methods of discipleship. It is hosted by Brian Daniel, a Bible study and discipleship expert in LifeWay’s Groups Ministry, and Chris Surratt, the small group and discipleship specialist at LifeWay and author of Small Groups For The Rest Of Us.
Church Leadership

The Top Four Studies for Your Group This Fall

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It happens every autumn. Vacations are over. Everyone is back to work, back to school, and back to church, which makes it a great time to get back to basics. Give your groups a few refreshers on the fundamentals of our faith with these four Bible studies.

The Gospel 

Gospel: Rediscovering the Power of Christianity by J. D. Greear

Are you trying to be more patient? More generous? More … religious? It’s time to learn to simply abide in Jesus. When you are captivated by the love of Christ, the natural results are patience, generosity, kindness, self-control, selflessness, and much more. The gospel is the power of God and the only true source of joy, freedom, and audacious faith. Through this revised Bible study, discover ways to let the gospel work in your heart the way religion never has and never could. (8 sessions)

Faith vs. Works

James: Faith/Works by Matt Chandler

The Book of James is filled with practical wisdom for Christians, calling us to live out genuine faith through good works. In our own ability, we cannot stand in the face of adversity. Without faith we could never find the strength to trust God. We would never be able to see above the trials we meet and to keep our eyes focused on the King while counting our trials as joy. This is the essence of James. We don’t work to be saved; we work because we are saved. (13 sessions)

Discipleship

Kingdom Disciples: Heaven’s Representatives on Earth by Tony Evans

There is a missing force in Christianity today—discipleship. Its absence has led to weak believers, disintegrating families, ineffective churches, and a decaying culture. Without discipleship we lack what we need to fully live as heaven’s representatives on earth. The power, authority, abundance, victory, and impact God has promised will come about only when we understand and align ourselves with His definition of discipleship. This study calls believers and churches back to our primary, divinely ordained responsibility to be disciples and to make disciples. Only when we take this assignment seriously will the world see heaven at work on earth. (6 sessions)

Christian Growth 

Unstuck: Fresh Traction for Common Struggles by James MacDonald

We’ve all been there. Things are not changing, are not getting better, or may even be getting worse. You can get stuck in a pattern of addiction (thinking) or in a place of temptation. You can feel mired in your marriage. You can be depressed. And getting unstuck isn’t easy, especially when you feel emotionally bogged down. But God has given us His Word to meet us where we are. Use this study to discover God’s ever-present help for people who are stuck, feel stuck, or have already gained traction and want others to benefit from the biblical principles that set them free. (6 sessions)

Thursday Giveaway

Thursday Giveaway – Explore the Bible

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Dead Faith (James 2:14-17)

True faith produces visible change. That is the argument of James 2:14-17. James emphasized this key truth with two rhetorical questions. First, he introduced a person who claims to have faith. Merely saying one has faith is not the same as possessing it. The absence of works in his life makes that claim suspicious if not spurious. Therefore, James asked, What good is it? What benefit does it accomplish for a person to say he has faith when that faith is not legitimate enough to produce works in his life? Claims of faith without any resulting works are useless, profiting that person nothing.

The second question James asked was important—can such faith save him? He did not ask, “Can faith save him?” The answer to that would certainly be that faith can save a person. The Greek construction of the sentence, placing an article with faith, indicates James was referencing the kind of faith that claims to be genuine but lacks works. The kind of faith that has no resulting works is not genuine and therefore cannot save a person.

James used an illustration to show the ridiculous claim that faith exists without any resulting works. He mentioned a brother or sister who was living in poverty. These were clearly believers who existed in fellowship with other Christians but lacked the basic necessities of life.

The response of the faith community was appalling. A fellow-Christian told the poor person to go in peace. This was a standard farewell address in James’s day. Rather than helping the poor person, the church member tried to wish him on his way without helping. Ironically, it’s hard to be at peace without proper clothing and something to eat. Second, the church member said to the poor person, stay warm, and be well fed. In addition to attempting to dismiss the poor person, he wished him the very things that he lacked—clothing and food. The poor person needed more than words; he needed compassionate action.

If a person claims to care, wishes the poor well, and yet does not take care of the need, is that concern genuine? James asked again as he did of faith, what good is it? The hook was set. Nobody would say that the person’s concern is genuine if it is not connected with works, and neither should anyone say that a person’s faith is genuine if it is not supported by actions befitting a person who is walking with the Lord.

James delivered the point of his illustration in verse 17. He emphasized that faith without any resulting works is dead by itself. Good wishes and blessings without actions are nothing more than empty talk, and so is faith without visible change.

What evidence might a person point to as proof that his or her faith is alive? How do the works of a person reveal the genuineness of his or her faith?

This article is an excerpt from Explore the Bible: Adults Personal Study Guide Fall 2018. Explore the Bible is a book-by-book group Bible study that encourages participants to let the Word dwell in them and challenges them to live it out in their own context. Click here and fill out the form before tomorrow night at 11:59pm for an opportunity to win a free Explore the Bible: Adult Group Box. The Box contains 10 Personal study guides; 1 Leader Guide, and various other leader resources.

Friday Features

Friday Feature: First Things

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If someone were to take a look at the way you spent your time last week, what would they deduce is your number one priority?

Unless you named “Netflix” or “Partying,” your priorities are probably things that are inherently good. We emphasize the things in life where we feel we need to do well in the eyes of the world and especially the people we love. Pastor Bryan Loritts said, even “good things become bad things when they become ultimate things.” He explained, “One of the great temptations of life is to trade in what is essential for what is good; to neglect first things first. We need to make sure we are navigated not by the tyranny of the urgent, but by the north star of priority.”

“Write to the angel of the church in Ephesus: Thus says the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven golden lampstands: 2 I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars. 3 I know that you have persevered and endured hardships for the sake of my name, and have not grown weary… 6 Yet you do have this: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”

Revelation 2:1-3, 6 CSB

The lampstands represent the seven churches addressed in Revelation and the seven stars represent the angels (likely, the pastors) of those churches. Pastor Bryan points out that Jesus pictured walking among the churches and holding the pastors of those churches in His hand reminds us He cares about His people and is in control. He said, “The same God that was in control of the church of Ephesus and cared for the church of Ephesus is the same God who is in control of this church and cares for this church.”

Pastor Bryan uses the math principle known as order of operations to illustrate that you can get the math right, but if the sequence is wrong, the whole thing is wrong. He explained, “If Jesus isn’t first, it’s all messed up.” That’s what had happened in the church at Ephesus. At some point, passion for Jesus had dropped lower than ministry in their list of priorities. There were three things the church at Ephesus was commanded to do: remember the love they had, repent of their lovelessness, and return to doing ministry out of love for God and people. Pastor Bryan says it this way: “Do what you did when all you had was Me. The problem with many Christians is we’re just too doggone sophisticated. Go back.”

The Tree of Life and paradise are waiting for those who love Jesus above all else. Like Pastor Bryan explained, when we do not listen, remember, repent, and redo, we are trading in fullness of joy for temporary joy.

This is an excerpt from the study “First Things”  by Pastor Bryan Loritts. This study is available at smallgroup.com 
Group Answers Podcast

Group Answers Episode 63: SBC – Brandon Hiltibidal on Gospel Foundations

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This week on the Group Answers Podcast, we are joined by Brandon Hiltibidal at the Southern Baptist Convention. Listen as he shares the heart and vision behind the recently released bible study “Gospel Foundations.” This is a 6 volume series, each with 7 sessions, that takes you on a journey through the storyline of scripture and shows how Jesus is the hero of every story in the bible. Visit Lifeway.com/GospelFoundations to preview 3 sessions free.

The Group Answers Podcast is a weekly show designed to resource, train, and encourage small group leaders. Each episode considers current trends and resources as well as timeless truths and methods of discipleship. It is hosted by Brian Daniel, a Bible study and discipleship expert in LifeWay’s Groups Ministry, and Chris Surratt, the small group and discipleship specialist at LifeWay and author of Small Groups For The Rest Of Us.

Guest: Brandon Hiltibidal is a former church planter and multi-site pastor, and he is now part of the Groups Ministry team at LifeWay Christian Resources. He and his wife Scarlet have three little girls and lead a community group at The Bridge Church in Spring Hill, TN.

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