(Discussion Notes Below) How do you lead when things look impossible? God seems to specialize in taking men and teaching them how to swim by throwing them in the deep end of the pool…by putting them in impossible circumstances unless they overcome their fears and live by faith in God instead. Gideon’s faith wasn’t perfect but his “faith” did land him in the “Faith Hall of Fame” Hebrews 11: “By faith the walls of Jericho fell (Joshua)…And what more shall…
(Discussion Notes Below) Joshua’s leadership was the fulfillment of a 600 year old promise. Way back in Genesis 12, God promised to give Abraham land and make him into a great nation. Joshua is the fulfillment of that promise. Joshua follows the leadership of Moses and brings the rag-tag group of nomads (wandering in the desert for 40 years) into the Promise Land. Joshua – He is all in! Perhaps Joshua’s greatest character trait is, he’s all in! Joshua’s singular…
(Discussion Notes Below) There are so many excellent thoughts here. A few quotes: “I thought, ‘God will show up and save this…because my dream is so important to him and good for him’…and he didn’t. He stood back and let it fall apart.” “Most Americans believe they can save the world…” “I had made my work for God more important than my relationship with God.” “I had a dream and then I decided that it was the dream God has…
Pompeii was a popular tourist city in the Roman Empire – located on the west coast of Italy and home to 20,000 people. It was also located near the base of a massive volcano – Mount Vesuvius. In 79AC, Mt. Vesuvius exploded. When it exploded, scientists estimate that it ejected 1.5 million tons of ash and rock every second for 24 hours, spewing ash 12 miles into the atmosphere. The surrounding region, including the city of Pompeii, was covered with…
When we talked about Adam last time, I wished I had time to unpack the three questions God asked Adam after his sin of disobedience and the fall of mankind in Genesis 3. Where are you? Disconnected from God, Adam really had no idea where he was. Who told you? Whose voice were you listening to when you decided not to listen to mine? What voice or person is now controlling your behavior? Where did you take your hunger? What…
(Discussion notes below) Men can change rivers. Creation is waiting on men! Everything fell at the Fall of Man, all of creation is now waiting for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. Romans 8:19 What happens if wolves/men don’t know how to behave like wolves/men? If the wolves behave like bats, hanging out in the basement of their mother’s house, then the trophic cascade…
(Discussion notes below) In 1968, the country of Tanzania selected John Stephen Akhwari to represent them in the Mexico City Olympics. During the race, Akhwari stumbled and fell, severely injuring his knee and ankle. Long after the winner had crossed the finish line and with only a few thousand spectators left in the stadium, a police siren went off alerting everyone that one final competitor was entering the stadium – it was Akhwari. After he finished the race a reporter…
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…