The purpose of Iron Leadership comes from I Corinthians 16:13 – “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, be strong – act like men.” Our aim is to equip men to be better leaders in their own personal lives, homes, work, church, and city for the sake of God’s glory. Be watchful. Stand firm. Act like men. Be strong. These are all military terms Paul borrows to close out his letter to the church at Corinth, a church which was…
(Discussion Notes Below) The Lie: There is nothing worth giving yourself for. The Truth: You were born to live a life of consequence. This morning, I want to focus specifically on spiritual apathy. When your faith, your focus on Jesus is lukewarm. I want to do this by looking at the lukewarm church in Revelation 3. Ephesus was the most prominent city of the seven cities referred to in Revelation 2-3. The church at Ephesus was the mother church of…
Often, men work hard to expand their exterior life, but not their interior life. They grow like a pyramid and then things happen to them that they can’t withstand and they topple over. Eugene Peterson wrote a forward to the book Water My Soul, which is about expanding your interior life. The Lie: There is nothing worth giving yourself for. The Truth: You were born to live a life of consequence. The Question: What kind of life are you choosing…
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. Colossians 3:23 “The Bible begins talking about work as soon as it begins talking about anything—that is how important and basic it is.” – Tim Keller “The gospel frees us from the relentless pressure of having to prove ourselves and secure our identity through work, for we are already proven and secure.” – Tim Keller “You should expect to be regularly frustrated…
(Discussion Notes Below) The topic today is the Shadow of Futility. The lie: my work doesn’t matter. The truth: you have a calling to serve and heal the world. 1. The Sacredness of Work: Rule and Reign Work is not a 4-letter word! What’s the first thing the Bible talks about? “In the beginning God.” What’s the second thing the Bible talked about? “In the beginning God created.” God is a worker, so if we are made in his image…
In March and April, our focus has circled around the subject of work. In our last time together, we closely examined Nehemiah’s ambition to take part in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. Nehemiah partnered with God to build a wall in order to provide protection for people in distress. Accompanying Nehemiah’s great ambition were great challenges. I thought you would benefit from reading this article from Desiring God about how Nehemiah successfully navigated his discouragements. This week, our focus will…
(Discussion Notes Below) The Lie: Ambition is the fuel for personal success The Truth: Ambition is a gift for Kingdom impact Ambition: a working definition, “A strong desire which leads to a willingness to overcome and fight through obstacles, to achieve a desired outcome.” Review: 1. Ambition is a good thing. God gives us ambitious assignments. Genesis 3 – we are called to rule and reign. Matthew 28 – we are called to go to the whole world and make…
(Discussion Notes Below) Today’s topic is ambition. The lie is that ambition is the fuel for personal success. The truth is that ambition is a gift for Kingdom impact. Ambition: a working definition – “A strong desire which leads to a willingness to overcome and fight through obstacles – to achieve a desired outcome.” Ambition is a good thing. God’s mandates are very ambitious! Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them…
The Apostle Peter, well known for shooting off his mouth much too quickly, writes this to us after some maturing took place in his life: “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” I Peter 3:15 Currently, we live in a “loud-mouth” culture which is what made me really appreciate this…
The lie is that I am a slave to my sexual desire. The truth is that faithfulness is a key to my formation. Lack of sexual control is not a new problem. Proverbs 7:21-27 and Proverbs 6:32 tell us this. We see this self-destruction in the Bible. David, the man after God’s own heart, self-destructs. In 1 Samuel 11, David was alone with no accountability. Then he saw Bathsheba, he inquired about her, he sent for her, he took her….