Mission Focused Men for Christ

Episode Summary. Rod Dreher, in his book, The Benedict Option, insists that currently the culture is shaping the next generation in dramatic ways—even shaping their faith, instead of their faith shaping their thinking about culture. Our agenda, therefore, for raising up the next generation must include intentionally countering the dominant misguided worldviews of the culture and helping them see the much more captivating, inviting, and logical worldviews of Scripture. This episode examines an approach to countering the world’s influence today that is failing, before we consider four aspects of a biblical approach to the “world” that we need to take with our loved ones walking beside us.For Further Prayerful Thought:In your own words, why is separation from secular culture the wrong approach to protect ourselves, as Christians, from being shaped by it?Which of the four biblical approaches most stood out to you?) (seeing your role against the backdrop of the 4-chapter gospel, understanding that we are saved to be a blessing to our culture, recognizing that God designed us for this cultural moment, 4) understanding that it is the battlefield of worldviews, which shape our culture upon which we must fight.What would you say to a youth group about the biblical worldview of sex?For the printed version of this message click here.For a summary of topics addressed by podcast series, click here.For FREE downloadable studies on men’s issues click here. 

Episode Summary. In Genesis 2:15, we are told that Adam was placed in the Garden to cultivate (AVAD) it and to protect (SHAMAR) it. Throughout history it has been a man’s responsibility to stand in the doorway of his home, spear or shotgun in hand to protect (SHAMAR) his wife and kids from marauding gangs who might steal their food, rape their wife, or harm their children. In the 21st century, men have the same protective responsibility; but the enemies to be resisted are not ravaging pirates or plundering thieves, but ideas that want to take our loved ones captive, ravage their faith, and ruin their lives. This battlefield of the mind is described by Paul, who writes, We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. This episode begins a series to equip men to protect their loved ones from strands of ungodly thinking in the fabric of today’s culture and guide them, instead, into biblical worldviews.For Further Prayerful Thought:  If God designed humans to shape the culture that is built as Adam and Eve’s descendants multiply and a differentiation of labor takes place, why does it make sense that the first command Paul would give those offering themselves to Christ would be to STOP LETTING the FALLEN COMPONENTS of CULTURE SHAPE THEM?What do you think is the most difficult part of recognizing the fallen worldviews that influential voices in our culture promote?How can we best impart to our loved ones the wonder of God’s design of male and female, instead of just loading their guns to shoot down the LGBTQ worldview? Why is this important? For the printed version of this message click here.For a summary of topics addressed by podcast series, click here.For FREE downloadable studies on men’s issues click here.

Episode Summary. What do you think of the statement, God never intended a Christian man to fight his spiritual battles alone? Could that statement be true? And if it is, could Satan be constantly defeating Christian men today because it is so hard to get them connected to a few brothers to help them fight their spiritual battles? Could the world around us see Christians today as not very different from everyone else, because Satan is neutralizing Christ’s power at work in men by isolating us, when men are supposed to be leading the way in spiritual battle? These are the questions this episode examines, as well as a strategy for getting men out of isolation that is working in thousands of men’s lives right now.For More Information About Gary's book, Got Your Back click here. For Further Prayerful Thought:  How would you explain to a new Christian Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 4:15-16 that Christ followers make a vertical commitment to Christ and a horizontal commitment to other Christians as we together function as Christ’s Body in the world?How is Ephesians 4:15-16 consistent with the biblical teaching that iron sharpens iron (Prov 27:17)?What do you think is the cost of isolation for Christian men?This week’s past highlight:  Building a Strategic Friendship: A Brother to Labor and Fight Beside S1 E #45 9/13/20. For the printed version of this message click here.For a summary of topics addressed by podcast series, click here.For FREE downloadable studies on men’s issues click here.

Episode Summary. Jesus had to wrestle with all the incessant demands that cried out for his energy and attention, just as we have to in the 21st century—but he stayed focused on his mission. This episode examines HOW he did that!For Further Prayerful Thought: Do you agree that one thing dumber than not having a game plan for the Super Bowls might be HAVING a game plan but NEVER LOOKING AT IT DURING THE GAME? How is this analogy for our efforts to implement Christ’s agenda in each sphere of our lives a fair analogy or unfair one.Why might Christians be impoverished by either ignoring the fourth commandment or by becoming legalistic about it? How would you present the fourth commandment as a blessing?How would you answer the argument, “I can’t imagine taking an hour just to sit and talk with Jesus each week when what I really need is more time spent with my wife and children?” Resource link: Today’s podcast mentions a tool to help guys formulate a game plan for their own lives, called, The Focus Notebook. This tool comes as an 8.5 X by 5 notebook, with access to a digital WordDoc of the material so the information can be uploaded to your Word compatible personal organization app for your phone. Here is the link.For the printed version of this message click here.For a summary of topics addressed by podcast series, click here.For FREE downloadable studies on men’s issues click here

Episode Summary:  Never before in history have human beings trying to focus on a task in front of them that needs doing faced distractions as powerful as the beep or flash of our cell phones intruding into our consciousness. In the face of such constant distractions (often by good things), Christians all seem to be struggling to save any time or energy to devote to the most important goal of our lives—honoring Christ through the spiritual fruitfulness of our lives. We know that Jesus said, “By this is my father glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples,” and that God is honored when we accomplish the mission Christ has assigned to us. But we are also sobered by the truth that “bearing much fruit” does not happen accidentally, or randomly. This episode examines the question, “What will it take to be as fruitful as possible for Christ in the months ahead as life returns to the fall routine?”For Further Prayerful Thought Why is it that accomplishing nearly everything in life requires us to shape a plan, organize our efforts, make strategic decisions, and stay focused on the goal, but for some reason, we don’t do that when it comes to pleasing Christ?What would you say to someone who said, “Planning your spiritual growth is showing that you are depending on yourself. We are supposed to depend upon Christ?”What do you see as the parallel between budgeting your money so as to make kingdom investment a priority and budgeting your time to make kingdom advancement your priority. Is it fair to say that one of Satan’s strategies is to get us spend time carelessly leaving little for advancing Christ’s kingdom through prayer, or careful thought about building a deeper relationship with your neighbor. References for the different uses of the term kingdom of God by JesusMatthew, being one of the twelve, had also heard Jesus use the term, kingdom of God, in many seemingly different ways. The kingdom of God is a community in which the king exercises dominion with his followers on his left and right (Mt 20:21), in which the righteous shine and from which the wicked are cast out (Mt 13:43). It is a place where there is a certain perspective (Lk 9:62; Mk 12:34). The kingdom is also a gift from the Heavenly Father (Lk 12:32), which is being prepared by God for his people (Mt 20:23; 25:34). It is a condition of peace and happiness in which kingdom members will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Mt 8:11), and feast (Mt 26:29; Lk 14:15). In addition, the kingdom of God is a moral good to be pursued (Mt 6:33) and prayed for (Mt 6:10). Past Series Highlight:  Becoming More Like Jesus: (Beatitudes 1-6)The Foundational Requirement for Kingdom Living S1 E #8 12/29/19Cultivating a Heart Like Jesus Had S1 E #9 1/5/20A Widely Misunderstood Requirement of Christians S1 E #10 1/12/20The Right Kind of Ambition S1 E #11 1/19/20 Show the World Jesus by Exhibiting Mercy S 2 E #3 11/22/20Heart Transformed Living—The Pure in Heart S2 E #4 11/20/20For the printed version of this message click here.For a summary of topics addressed by podcast series, click here.For FREE downloadable studies on men’s issues click here.

Episode Summary. It is popularly thought today that human rights are the invention of modern secularism, which must protect these rights from oppressive forces like religion. But the facts of history tell us that the concept of human rights arose not from secularism, nor from Eastern religion, nor from the Enlightenment, but from Christendom. Until Christianity transformed it, the Greco-Roman worldview was that humans are born into a kind of natural hierarchy—that some men are born to command, others to obey, some to enslave, others to be enslaved.Into this oppressive patriarchy marched Christianity with the radical idea that every human being, no matter how weak, handicapped, or helpless had inherent value and worth, which justice required protecting. And nowhere was Christianity’s assignment of dignity to every human being more obvious than in Paul’s letter to those living in the capital city of the empire, Rome itself. This is especially true of the text we are studying in Romans 12 on the topic of spiritual gifts. Not only are vital spiritual gifts given to every individual in the Body of Christ, but the very nature of some of the gifts is to ensure that personal attention and care are given to every individual inside and outside the Body of Christ. These People Gifts are those we examine in today’s episode.For Further Prayerful Thought How we you defend the statemen, Christians should lead the way in shaping the culture surrounding them to value the individual rights and feelings of others?How does the egalitarian idea that we need help from those with other gifts, and that all have gifts to contribute, not just the strong, undermine a culture that believed the strong had a right to conquer the weak?Do the characteristics of the exhorter remind you of anyone? The mercy shower? Past Series Highlight:  Helping Our Daughters FlourishRequired Today for Raising Godly, Confident, Daughters S1 E#26 5/3/20The Harm of OVERVALUING or UNDERVALUING Motherhood S1 E #27 5/10/20Two Requirements of Dads for Daughters to Flourish S1 E #28 5/17/20 For the printed version of this message click here.For a summary of topics addressed by podcast series, click here.For FREE downloadable studies on men’s issues click here.

Episode Summary. This is the third episode in the series, Helping Our Loved Ones Flourish Using Their Spiritual Gifts. Unleashing Kingdom Potential seems to be a great description of what happens when the members of Christ’s church understand and deploy their spiritual gifts. This episode explores the three gifts from Romans 12 that are the Get the Job Done gifts, LEADING, SERVING, and GIVING, illustrating the characteristics of each gift with biblical examples and identifying weaknesses that seem to accompany such gifts. The episode finishes with the true story of the impact one church is having in its community through releasing its members to deploy their spiritual gifts.For Further Prayerful Thought  What characteristic of LEADERS stood out most to you? Does anyone come to mind, who would appear to have this gift? What did you notice about the vulnerabilities of those who have this gift?What characteristic of SERVERS stood out most to you? Does anyone come to mind, who would appear to have this gift? What did you notice about the vulnerabilities of those who have this gift?What characteristic of GIVERS stood out most to you? Does anyone come to mind, who would appear to have this gift? What did you notice about the vulnerabilities of those who have this gift?Past Podcast Series Highlight Surrounding Our Loved Ones With the Belt of TruthKids and the SCIENCE DISPROVES GOD Argument S2 E #48 10/4/20Answering HOW COULD A GOOD GOD ALLOW SUFFERING? S2 E #49 10/11/20Answering THERE CAN’T BE JUST ONE TRUE RELIGION S2 E #50 10/18/20Answering YOU CAN’T TAKE THE BIBLE LITERALLY S2 E #51 10/25/20Shaping Culture In a World That Jesus Said Hates You  S2 E#52 11/1/20 For the printed version of this message click here.For a summary of topics addressed by podcast series, click here.For FREE downloadable studies on men’s issues click here.

Episode Summary. This episode begins a series, Helping Our Loved Ones Flourish Using Their Spiritual Gifts. Understanding and deploying our spiritual gifts is so central to the lives of Christians, that we cannot help our loved ones become all God wants them to be in Christ, without understanding what Paul teaches about spiritual gifts. The two gifts from the Romans 12 list of spiritual gifts that are still being given today covered in this episode can be confusing. Prophecy doesn’t mean foretelling the future but something far more important. Teaching doesn’t mean you are great in the classroom, but something even more important for today’s church. This episode helps identify these two gifts in yourself or your loved ones. For Further Prayerful Thought  Was there someone in whom you saw the characteristics of a prophet or teacher? Why might it be helpful to one you know who appears to have the gift of prophet or teacher to understand their gift?If you have neither the gift of prophecy nor teaching, can you understand why you might react certain ways to those who have that gift?Past Podcast Series Highlight Surrounding Our Loved Ones With the Belt of TruthKids and the SCIENCE DISPROVES GOD Argument S2 E #48 10/4/20Answering HOW COULD A GOOD GOD ALLOW SUFFERING? S2 E #49 10/11/20Answering THERE CAN’T BE JUST ONE TRUE RELIGION S2 E #50 10/18/20Answering YOU CAN’T TAKE THE BIBLE LITERALLY S2 E #51 10/25/20Shaping Culture In a World That Jesus Said Hates You  S2 E#52 11/1/20 For the printed version of this message click here.For a summary of topics addressed by podcast series, click here.For FREE downloadable studies on men’s issues click here.

Episode Description: Understanding and deploying our spiritual gifts is so central to the lives of Christians, that we cannot help our loved ones become all God wants them to be in Christ, without understanding what Paul teaches about spiritual gifts. Despite controversies about some spiritual gifts, all Christians agree that the seven gifts identified in Romans 12 are still being given by God to believers today. This episode begins a series, Helping Our Loved Ones Flourish Using Their Spiritual Gifts. For Further Prayerful Thought Which of the seven gifts from Romans 12 do you think might be yours?Christ is so awesome and so perfectly balances seemingly contradictory virtues, like justice and mercy, hatred of sin, but love for sinners--why does it make sense that it might take seven different gifts for the Body of Christ to accurately function like him and portray him?Can you think of examples of Christians disagreeing because they have different spiritual gifts?Past Podcast Highlight Kids Don't Have  It In Them to  Grow Themselves Up   S1 E #36 7/5/20For the printed version of this message  click here.For a summary of topics addressed by other podcast series, click here.For FREE downloadable studies on men's issues, click here.

Episode Summary: What if there were a fundamental part of the very Identity of Jesus that you almost never hear about, and many Christians miss? You might find this episode very enlightening as we dig into Jesus’ identity as a WARRIOR, and why joining him in his fight matters so much today.For Further Prayerful Thought Identify 3 or 4 reasons why we don’t usually default to Jesus’ nature as being that of a WARRIOR.What has this episode taught you about seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness?How might Satan use the idea that pursuing righteousness is trying to earn our salvation, a form of moralism, or legalistic, to stop Christ’s kingdom of righteousness from spreading over each sphere of our lives? Past Podcast Highlight Responding to the Argument that the Bible Teaches Patriarchy S1 E #33 6/21/20For the printed version of this message click here.For a summary of topics addressed by podcast series, click here.For FREE downloadable studies on men’s issues click here