January 8, 2023
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Colossians 3:1-17
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discipleship
We all tend to think that if we could renovate our house, or our job, or our marriage, or our …, then we’d be happy, but the truth is that life is not lived from the outside – in, but from the inside – out. We live from our hearts. So what does it mean to let God renovate, to transform our hearts? It means to have the heart of Christ, the character of Christ formed in you.
Are you growing in Christ, becoming more like Him in character and behavior? Do you want to? Do have a desire to grow in Christ, having His life and character fully formed in you?
In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he instructed believers that since they had been raised to new life in Christ Jesus, God wanted to renovate their hearts, so that the character of Christ was formed in them. Having received Christ as Lord and Savior, we can actively yield our hearts to God, so that Christ is formed in us.
December 9, 2022
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ask the pastor, Belshazzar, discipleship, jesus, Messiah, Twelve Tribes
Pastor Gary Combs answers various Bible questions that have come to him via the church’s “Ask the Pastor.” This segment addresses questions like, “Will there be Levitical priests offering sacrifices again?” “Were the 12 disciples also members of the 12 tribes?” “Was Belshazzar the son of Nebuchadnezzar?”
July 10, 2022
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Acts 9:31
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discipleship
Over the past three weeks we’ve talked about being a church of people who are mobilized to live transformed lives wherever they live, learn, work, and play, collaborating with other believers to see that every man, woman, and child has repeated opportunities to see, hear, and respond to the Good News of Jesus.
Today, we’re going to be looking at the book of Acts. The book of Acts, or the Acts of the Apostles, is the record of how the first century church obeyed Christ’s command to make disciples and quickly multiplied from Jerusalem, to Judea, Samaria, and throughout the Roman world! In the book of Acts, Luke recorded the how the early believers obeyed Christ’s command to be a multiplying church.
June 26, 2022
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Romans 12:1-13
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discipleship
God wants His people to be more than attenders of church services and programs. For gospel saturation to begin to happen in our city, God’s people must be transformed by the power of His Spirit. Transformation cannot be programmed by any leader, no matter how gifted.
Has your life been transformed by faith in Jesus? Are you becoming more like Jesus in character and behavior? How has your life been changed by faith in Christ? And if it hasn’t changed, don’t you want it to change? Life Transformation happens when we make Jesus King and Lord over our lives! In the 12th chapter of the apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans, he appealed to the believers in Rome to give themselves fully to the Lord that He might transform their lives. We can give ourselves fully to the Lord that He might transform our lives.
June 19, 2022
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2 Timothy 4:1-5
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discipleship, evangelism, gospel
As the American population has increased to 335 million and counting, the church in America has declined, both in attendance and influence. We’re living in the greatest decline of Christianity in our nation and it’s happening on our watch! Why is the church losing ground in our nation? We could blame it on the devil, or the evil in our culture. We could blame it on Hollywood, social media, or the government. But maybe we should take a look in the mirror instead?
In order to reverse this trend, we need to make 4 shifts in priorities to saturate our communities with the gospel. In today’s sermon, we’re going to consider that first priority shift: “Mobilization over Collection.”
January 30, 2022
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2 Timothy 2:1-2
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discipleship, life on life discipleship
2000 years ago, the Lord Jesus told His disciples to “GO and MAKE DISCIPLES” and He has called His disciples, His church, to be on the move ever since. Because the church is not a place, it’s a people. The church is not a monument, it’s a movement! Today’s message will focus on what it means to become disciples that move to make disciples.
In the apostle Paul’s second letter to Timothy, reminded him of the importance of being a disciple who makes disciples of Jesus. We can be disciples who make disciples of Jesus Christ.
January 23, 2022
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2 Timothy 1:5-12
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discipleship, evangelism
2000 years ago, the Lord Jesus told His disciples to “GO and MAKE DISCIPLES” and He has called His disciples, His church, to be on the move ever since. Because the church is not a place, it’s a people. The church is not a monument, it’s a movement! Today, we want to focus on the “GO” part of Christ’s command. Because we can’t be part of a movement without going and moving with the gospel. That’s how the Good News moves from one generation to the next. We go and tell others.
In the apostle Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he encouraged him to have a fervent passion for sharing the gospel of Jesus. We can have a fervent passion for sharing the gospel of Jesus.
January 16, 2022
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Psalm 130:1-6
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devotions, discipleship
Last week, we learned how to be sure that we belong to this movement. This week, we’re going to focus on one of the chief behaviors, or spiritual disciplines, of those who are part of Christ’s disciple-making movement. What is this behavior or practice? It’s the habit of daily seeking to hear from God through prayer and through reading His Word.
I have heard some Christians say, “Why does God speak to others but not to me?” Some actually don’t think they are worthy for God to speak to them. Or they question whether God still speaks today. What do you believe? Do want to hear God speak to you? In the 130th Psalm, the psalmist described how he sought to hear from the Lord. We can hear from the Lord.
January 9, 2022
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1 John 5:11-15
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discipleship
2000 years ago, the Lord Jesus told His disciples to “GO and MAKE DISCIPLES” and He has called His disciples, His church, to be on the move ever since. So the church is not a place, it’s a people. The church is not a monument, it’s a movement!
If someone asks, where’s your church? Let’s learn to answer with another question, “When? Because it depends on the time and day of the week.” For the church gathers for strengthening and scatters for service. It gathers for worship and scatters for witness. It gathers in praise and scatters in power. The church gathers in fellowship and scatters in faith as the body of Christ in this world. The church is on the move. So, do you want to belong to this Jesus following, disciple-making movement?
October 22, 2021
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church, church attendance, discipleship, life change, transformation
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” – Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV) In the 12th chapter