Run With Horses

Preparing Your Mind For Church!

Prepare your mind for church
 
Church = a diverse group of people at various stages along the way in their spiritual journey toward Christ-likeness.
 
We often have different ideas about what it means to get together with the church. Some of us just want to sing and lift our voice in praise. Others are hurting and just want God’s comfort. Some come just for the time to talk to other believers and share how God is working in their lives. There are as many reasons and ways to show up as there are people in the building!
 
You want to show up to fellowship with your church and focus your heart and mind on Christ as you worship Him. In reality, if you are a mature disciple of Jesus, committed to His church and the mission take the Gospel to all people, your church gathering is a time to use your gifts to encourage, build up and support your church family.
Worship? Absolutely! By humbly submitting ourselves to serving the people that Jesus died to save.
Worship? Absolutely? By submitting our needs to God and turning our thoughts to helping others who are wandering, hurting and needing a friend.
 
Our worship is not hindered by others but magnified as we have the opportunity to live out the truth we believe and practice the unity that the Holy Spirit gives.
 
Good questions to ask about your church family
1. Who are these people? Background, education, skills, struggles, family life, work and hobbies
How well do you know them?
2. Where are these people on the journey? Spiritual maturity, awareness and use of spiritual gifts, how well do they serve each other? How do they connect with the surrounding community and love their neighbors?
3. Is the church on Mission? How aware are they of the call to be and make disciples? Are most people involved in disciple making ministry? Is the church unified around Jesus and what He is doing to reconcile man with God? Is there an outward focus?
4. What is your role in this church? What are your spiritual gifts? How can you use them to build up this group of believers as they carry out the Great Commission? Who can you serve?
 
If you ask and answer these kinds of questions, you can now pray specifically about your unique fellowship with your church. You are called and equipped to serve HERE with these people. Pray about the details! Focus and what you can do to live out the life of Christ in this fellowship.

How Do You Go To Church?

How do you go to church?
Your attitude makes a difference!Many people go to church to be refreshed from the challenges of the week. For fellowship and encouragement, for a good bible challenge and inspiration to make it through another week. All good. 
But there is more to it than that. The church family is not about you. God uses it to change you and to carry out his mission of reconciliation with the world. He is at the center. He leads His church.
Humility is important. Part of having the mind of Christ.Give up trying to control God’s church and let Him lead it. Surrender your will to Him and pursue becoming the person He is making you. 
Humility is needed to prepare out heart to be changed by the Holy Spirit.From reading the NT is obvious that unity is important to God. The goal of the church is to have unity as we carry out the mission of Christ.
We should daily be approaching God and His Word with a desire to be changed. That means seeing ourselves as He does. Letting go of our wants and desires and submitting ourselves to His will. This is a life of denying yourself, taking up your cross and following Him. Not pursue your passion until you get what you want. Surrender your passion to Jesus and let Him change it to worship.  How do you go to church?Other people are there, surprise surprise! What do you do with that fact? How do you approach them? The church gathering IS NOT ABOUT YOU.It is foremost about God. Give Him first place on that day at that time along with every day and all your time.But people are there. Inconvenient I know. But what do you do with the fact that these are people God loves, Jesus died for and He has gifted you to serve?
Consider others better than yourselves. Phil 2:3
Genuinely strive to love the church. People are not always/usually easy to love. They have bad habits, many are immature, hypocrites abound – and that is just in the leadership of the church!But God calls you to love them and gifts you to serve them. 
Pray for a real desire to help your church family grow. Really consider how you can serve the people in your church. Prayer is great, always pray for them, but you need a real relationship and time with them to get to know them and their struggles. Care about them, care for them.
Real humility will allow you to get together with your church family and serve them as you worship God. Serving His family is PART of worshiping Him.
This week, examine your heart first. Approach God with humility and a desire to be like Him. Get together with His family joyfully, with a heart to serve and love these people God is changing to be like Jesus, one day at a time.And give thanks!

You CAN Lead A Bible Study

You CAN Lead A Bible Study - A small group of people studying and learning together provide encouragement and accountability.
How to?Pray. Specifically for yourself – humble, teachable, Spirit’s leading you, motives.Pray for wisdom for who to invite, what mix of people.Pray for the timing of when to start.Pray for the first passages you’ll study. (https://www.dbsguide.org/ for a guide and some recommended passages)Ask your church family, Christian friends to pray for you as you prepare.Pray about the length of time for this initial study. Goal is 6 months to a year.Pray about other leaders who will grasp the vision of every church member being a disciple-maker and leading Bible studies.
Pick a date to begin. Invite friend(s). Determine the location. Determine how often you’ll meet. Weekly or biweekly is best. Pick an easy spot to use based on who will be part of the study. 
If you’re more of an introvert, you’ll have different issues to deal with than if you’re an extrovert.(here is an overview of the DiSC profiles; https://www.discprofile.com/what-is-disc/disc-styles). Know yourself, your tendencies, and the value of engaging each person directly with God’s Word themselves.
Discovery Bible study gathering format
I. Welcome and Introductions – How are you and how was your week?Use questions like these to build relationship and get to know each other:    • What are you thankful for this week?     • What are you concerned or worried about?     • Who needs our help? How do we help them? II. Review Last Meeting    • Have someone retell the lesson from the previous meeting.     • What did you do differently because of this lesson?     • Who did you tell and how did they respond? III. Read & Re-tell the new passage    • Have one person reads the Bible passage out loud.     • Have someone else retell the passage by memory. Once they finish or get stuck others can help fill in the details. IV.. Look and Understand – What is God telling us here?    • Read the passage again.     • Discuss what this passage says about God, Jesus, or His work in the world. V. Look again and dig deeper.    • Read the passage once more.     • Discuss what this passage says about or to humans. VI. Respond    • According to this passage, what am I doing right?     • What do I need to change? VII. Who can I share this with?    • Who else needs to hear this lesson?     • How and when can I tell them?     • Who can I invite to study the Bible? A similar format along with recommended first Bible passages to start with can be found here:   Discovery Bible Study Guide - https://www.dbsguide.org/
You can do it!

Can you Lead A Bible Study?

Can You Lead a Bible Study?
Hopefully most of you answer that question with a resounding YES!
It’s not that hard but it is extremely important.
Basic Bible study, for beginners.
What?What do we mean by a Bible study? What we don’t mean:-- You don’t have to have all the answers.-- You don’t have to go through a devotional book.-- You don’t have to be a seminary graduate or pro.-- You don’t have to have an extensive library of resources.-- It doesn’t mean guessing at the meaning of the Bible passage.
What we do mean:-- You have a group of friends you enjoy being around and are willing to have spiritual conversations with.-- You are reading your Bible and growing. You have learned something from the Bible that has helped you in the past.-- Willing to invest time and energy in other people with the Bible as the center. The Holy Spirit is the teacher.-- Basically, it’s reading the Bible with other people and talking together about what God has to say.-- Being willing to say, “I don’t know. Let’s look into that.”-- Accepting that God doesn’t give you every answer for every question you ask in as much detail as you might want.
Who?Everyone!Everyone who wants to grow in Christ-likeness. Everyone who has Christian friends who you want to see grow.Everyone who has unsaved friends who you’d like to meet Jesus.
How do you define a mature Christian? Certainly being able to talk about God’s Word to others would be a requirement.-- Example: How Dottie Hatfield passed the opportunity on to me, though I didn’t feel ready, was clueless.
Why?The church needs more mature Christians. Having more people to lead Bible studies means more people are actively growing from both sides, as teachers and as students. You grow more when you are the teacher than as a student. It helps you learn to put biblical truth into your own words.
Everyone will benefit from being part of a small group of people who are actively discussing the Word of God.
Often understanding the personal application requires some discussion and thought.

Are You Building a Biblical Foundation

Building a Biblical Foundation
 
If the Gospel is our foundation that we never leave and prayer is a foundational activity of a disciple maker, certainly biblical knowledge and pursuit of obedience to God’s Word is right up there in importance.
 
We know the Gospel from time in God’s Word
 
We Know about prayer, that we can and that we do through the name of Jesus because God has revealed it in His Word.
 
We know who God is
 
We know God’s love of us
 
We know God’s will for our lives. It’s not hidden!
 
Ephesians 5:15-20
 
2 Peter 3:9
 
1 Timothy 2:3-4
 
1 Thessalonians 5:18
 
1 Thessalonians 4:3
 
1 Peter 2:15
 
Hebrews 13:20-21
 
The Bible reveals God to us, as well as reveals God’s plan for us. He wants what is best for us. Trust Him and read His word to know what that will is.
 
He gives us a glimpse of the future in His presence, without suffering, without pain, in a relationship with the creator that we were intended to have with Him.
 
 

The Prayer of a Disciple Maker

The Prayer of a Disciple Maker
 
Personal
God help me grow.
Recognize how much I need you.
Be sensitive to the work you are doing in me.
Be sensitive to the work you are doing through me.
 
Outward Prayer.
 
The Church Family
That I will be an encourager.
That I will grow in my ability to live out the one another’s in my church family.
That I will be a servant to my local church and the universal church, wherever we connect.
 
The World.
That I will be salt and light.
That I will be sensitive and aware of those God is working in around me.
That I will bring glory to the name of Jesus by my life. Actions, Words, Relationships, and Attitudes.
That I will be a good ambassador for Jesus.
 
Pray for specific people.
Men in your church. Men in your community who are believers but part of other fellowships.
Men in your life who don’s yet know Jesus. At work, in your neighborhood, those you exercise with or enjoy your hobbies with.
 
Pray for specific things in their life.
Spiritual growth and maturity but what does that look like in their life? What is their next step? Look up the Engel’s scale. Consider each person in your life and prayerfully consider how you can help them make steps toward Christlikeness.
Pray for the salvation of the unbelievers in your life. Where are they in their understanding of who Jesus is? What is the conversation that they need to have next? Pray you are ready for it!
 
Pray that you will be ready and willing to do your part! Put feet on your prayers!
 

How is your Prayer Life? God wants to hear from you!

Prayer
Jesus is the foundation for prayer.We talk to God and and heard and answered because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross. God wants to hear and answer the prayers of His children!
Prayer is talking to God. The Holy Spirit helps us prayer when we don’t know what or how to pray.Prayer is natural, just talking to God, but there is also the opportunity to practice and improve in our prayer life. Study the prayers of Paul and David!
We pray in His name.We are able to pray because He opened the way, tore the temple veil. We pray because He offers us help and comfort.We pray because He calls us friends.We pray because He offers us forgiveness.We pray because He offers us strength.We pray because He gives our lives meaning and purpose.We pray because often there is nothing else we can do!
Practical Tips:Keep a prayer journal.Write out key things you want to pray about before you start.Read a Psalm and pray along with it. Works with other passages too!Pray with a friend.Pray through the attributes of God.

Jesus IS our Firm Foundation!

 
Jesus IS Our Firm Foundation
 
Who Jesus IS matters most!
God!
Creator!
Savior!
Friend!
 
What Jesus has done in the past:
Creation.
Lived life as an example to all believers.
Called and trained disciples – gave us the priority and the method.
Taught biblical truth in the context of life.
Took our sins on Himself and died in our place, purchasing our freedom from sin!
He went to the grave and rose again 3 days later, proving once and for all that our Hope in Him is not in vain. He won the victory over death and the grave.
He sent His Spirit to be in us and live with us forever.
He gave us His righteousness.
He accepted us as His bride, the body of Christ, the church.
He gave us a purpose for life – joining Him on this fantastic work of reconciling people to God.
Blessed us in the heavenly places will all spiritual blessings, given us all we need for life and godliness.
 
 
What Jesus is doing in the present:
Interceding on our behalf.
Preparing a place for us for eternity.
Mediator between God and man
 
What Jesus will do in the future:
Come to take us home!
Reign over all the earth with us.
Be praised and exalted forever.
 
 

Have YouLeft Your Foundation?

The Gospel is Our Strong Foundation
 
What is the Gospel?
First, the Bad News… We are broken, separated from God and His design for our lives by sin.
 
The Good News!
God IS!
God is INTENTIONALLY working in the world.
He loves us!
Jesus lived as an example for us, died as a sacrifice for us, was buried in a grave and rose again – victorious over death and offering us LIFE and HOPE.
 
Why is it so important?
What makes this foundation, so foundational for a Christian?
It recognizes God’s work in our lives and in the world. It points the glory to God and gives us a purpose for our pain and trials. It gives our lives meaning and hope.
 
How do we maintain it?
A foundation needs to be maintained to prevent corrosion and decay.
Spiritual growth is a result of God’s work in our lives.
 
How do we build on it?
A foundation is meant to support a structure. In this case a life.
Practice. Follow Jesus in the little things to learn to follow Him in the big ones. The practice of obedience grows our faith.

Why Do We Resist Change?

Why Do We Resist Change?
 
Change is scary for most people. “Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me” carries the implied need for change. You have to make different choices. Denying yourself in anything is a big change for most of us. Choosing to serve in any way is another change. Following Jesus is giving the reigns of your life to someone else is a life of constant change. There are some good reasons why we make it more difficult than it has to be though. If you want to grow, to become the person God intends for you to be, you need to change. Here are some things to be aware of as you pursue the change that God is working in your life.
 
1. Too much too soon.
It is easy to see our failures and jump in to change everything at once. That usually doesn’t work.
It helps to prioritize the needs you see in your life and attack one at a time. At least commit to one and develop new routines or habits in one area before adding too many others. Don’t make it harder on yourself than you need to!
 
2. Not connecting related problems or not attacking the root issue.
If we make a change in an area that is influenced heavily by other decisions we make, we may find ourselves fighting a loosing battle to change something that is an uphill battle.
IE. trying to address your financial problems without addressing your spending habits.
 
3. All people tend to seek out the easy route naturally. That is usually the way we are familiar with already, no change or learning required.
You already know how to do things one way. Change means learning a new way and developing a new way of looking at life and responding to difficulties. Everyone prefers level ground, no one wants to run uphill. But the view is better from there!
 
4. Not sure why we need to change. If you don’t understand the goal clearly, or believe in it, you may find yourself lacking motivation when faced with a difficult change.
Why is this change important for you? If you can’t answer that you will struggle to make the change. Spend time thinking through and examining your life, identify meaningful change areas and make sure you understand why it is necessary before you begin.
 
5. Not having SMART goals.
Specific. Measurable. Actionable. Realistic. Time-specific.
Vague thoughts about doing better don’t usually work.
 
6. We often give up to soon. Deep, meaningful life change takes time and effort.
Anything worth doing will take time and effort. Don’t give up just because you don’t see results overnight. If you have thought through your WHY, stick with it when times get tough. There is a reason you are going through the trial.
 
7. We often try to change other people. That isn’t in your control.
Wouldn’t it be great if everyone did the right thing all the time? Sorry, we don't live in that world yet. Encourage people to change, help them when they will let you, but don’t let others inability to change keep you from being the person God intends for you to be!