Mission Focused Men for Christ

Episode Summary. This episode begins by noting that Genesis 3:17 tells us that God’s curse upon Adam for his rebellion in the Garden of Eden was not just for transgressing the command not to eat the fruit but for his reversal of God’s created order of roles. Man’s call to lead the home matters to God. This episode examines what leadership is and is not, providing a diagram for understanding the three functions of leadership. We then add flesh to this skeletal structure by shaping a 5-fold job description for men as they function as spiritual leaders of their homes.   For Further Prayerful ThoughtWhy do you thin God told Adam he was being punished for his role reversal as well as eating the forbidden fruit?What stood out to you in this episode about what leadership is not?How would use explain the three functions of leadership? (arrows in the diagram)What stood out to you about the job description of men being the spiritual leaders at home?Link to Leadership Diagram.Link to PDF about the Successful Spiritual Leadership at Home seriesFor 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.To make an online contribution to enable others to hear about the podcast: (Click link and scroll down to bottom left) 

Episode Summary. Mary, one of the godliest women who ever lived, agreed to bear God’s child and what does she receive? A sword to her soul. Few song writers I know have put Simeon’s promise that a sword would pierce Mary’s soul to music. It isn’t sung about by children’s choirs in Christmas pageants. But Luke's account of the true Christmas story ends on the ominous note of suffering caused by the opposition of the kingdom of darkness to Jesus’ kingship claim, just as Matthew’s Christmas story ends with the weeping of Bethlehem for the children slain by Herod’s fear of Jesus’ rule—reflecting this same opposition of the kingdom of darkness to Jesus’ kingship. This episode reminds us of the kingdom of darkness’s fierce opposition to the rule of the Prince of Peace and what to do about it.For Further Prayerful ThoughtWhat are the implications of these two facts: men love darkness because their deeds are evil, and we are called to be light to the world?Which two cultural lies do you hear most often? How best could you raise a question about whether that assumption is really true?How can you do a better job of defeating sin in your own life by using the spiritual armor and weapons Jesus has given us? NEXT WEEK NEW SERIES: Successful Spiritual Leaders at Home. Please let the men of your church know about this new series. You can print a PDF to give to others, download the PDF onto your computer and email it as an attachment, or just send an email with this link to the PDF, which explains what the series will cover. 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.To make an online contribution to enable others to hear about the podcast: (Click link and scroll down to bottom left)

Episode Summary. This agent of familiarity is hard at work this Christmas season, spreading layers of the poisonous dust of the ordinary over the manger in Bethlehem to deaden our senses to the staggering reality of what actually took place there. This episode seeks to blow off that dust to reveal with fresh clarity five ways the incarnation can evoke radical devotion to Jesus. May a fresh look at the incarnation fill us with fresh energy and passion to follow our Master well.For Further Prayerful ThoughtHow do we balance the truth that sin is so heinous and God so just that only he could pay for our sin—the truth that we must take sin seriously—with the truth of God’s grace towards us and call to treat others with grace?How can you better apply the truth that Jesus is your Great High Prist and Advocate, who fully understands every form of pain and injustice you experience?How does Jesus’ choice to be born into a manger instead of a palace impact your heart?In what way is the decision to become poor so that another becomes rich a definition of agape love? How can we better remember what it cost our Lord to redeem us?How can we better draw upon the power of the Holy Spirit to change our default, subtle focus from ourselves to others and how I can serve them?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.To make an online contribution to enable others to hear about the podcast: (Click link and scroll down to bottom left)

Episode Summary. Countless committed Christian men wrestling with sins like lust and masturbation have asked a legitimate question. If Christ has redeemed me from slavery to sin, why am I still regularly giving in to lust and masturbation? Didn’t Paul say the Christian’s old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for the one who has died is freed from sin and then repeat in verse 18 that Christians have been set free from sin. How can this be true when we default to lust, selfishness, resentment too easily and know that our heart attitudes are miles away from being like those of Jesus? This episode addresses the question, If Christ defeated sin at the cross, setting Adam’s kingdom free from its destructive slavery, why isn’t earth’s culture more sanctified and why am I, myself, not more sanctified?For Further Prayerful ThoughtWhat evidence would you point to from Scripture that proves that the oppressors the promised Messiah would overthrow always were Satan, sin, and death and not the political oppressors of Israel?How does the Already/Not Yet description of this period of redemptive history clarify things and muddy things?The Second Adam’s overthrow of the triumvirate, Satan, sin, and death and ascension to God’s right hand has positioned Him to spread his kingdom of righteousness and restoration over earth for 2000 years. Of the 6 ways that I mentioned its impact on culture, which ones stood out most to you?Which reason for Christians’ lack of sanctification stood out most to you?   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.To make an online contribution to enable others to hear about the podcast: (Click link and scroll down to bottom left)

Episode Summary. It is easy today for discerning Christians, who see the loss of biblical values taking place in our culture, to view this world as a sinking ship, going down to destruction through the weight of its own evil. But such despair can easily lead us to forget the very first commission God assigned us as humans—developing the potential of the creation God loves and shaping life in it to please him, life that is righteous. A “titanic worldview” of the culture ignores a very significant part of God’s nature: He is a delegator. His act of delegating the further creation and rule of Kingdom Earth is accomplished in the very first commission given to Adam and Eve. “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” This episode examines how God delegated to humans the process he started, i.e. creating and ruling the material order and why such an understanding gives everyday life great meaning.   For Further Prayerful ThoughtHow would you explain to someone the Genesis 1 teaching that God has delegated his royal rule over Kingdom Earth to mankind?In what sense would you say God has finished creation and in what sense would you say he has not finished his work of creating?When considering the Genesis 1:28 four-fold First Commission God gave to Adam and Eve, what is the significance of God starting out with the love-making process of husband and wife the first part of that commission? How can we uphold the value of the first human institution—the family—without  demeaning those who are single, divorced, or childless?If the goal of both The First Commission and the Great Commission is to spread the righteous rule of Christ over every sphere of human life (beginning with surrender to King Jesus in the human heart) why do we Christians spend so little effort being intentional abut thinking through how to impact those spheres of human life where we have influence? 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.To make an online contribution to enable others to hear about the podcast: (Click link and scroll down to bottom left)

Episode Summary. In December 2004, a massive tsunami in the Indian Ocean killed more than 250,000 people. Over the following weeks, the news media were filled with articles asking, “Where is God?” One reporter wrote: “If God is God, he’s not good. If God is good, he’s not God. You can’t have it both ways, especially after the Indian Ocean catastrophe” Suffering nearly always creates doubts in the human mind about God’s goodness. And if God is not good, then his moral law is just his selfish restriction upon human pleasure, which was the reasoning Satan used to lure Eve into rebellion. This episode examines the massive implications of God’s perfect goodness, not just in resisting temptation, but in enduring suffering, and in shaping the way we interact with the fallen world.For Further Prayerful Thought How would you refute the argument: If God is all-powerful, he could end suffering and evil. If he were all-good, he would end evil and suffering. Evil and suffering exist. Therefore, either God is not all-powerful or not all-good. The Christian god does not exist?Summarize the three “goodness of God” truths that James tells his readers to cling to when facing trials. Which seems most helpful to you?How does the common grace doctrine that God has given gifts to the unredeemed to enable his world to be developed and enjoyed, impact the way believers should view unbelievers and secular culture?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.To make an online contribution to enable others to hear about the podcast: (Click link and scroll down to bottom left)

Episode Summary. Just as Lucy’s encounter with Aslan upon her second trip to Narnia caused her to realize that her prior view of Aslan was too small, Isaiah’s encounter with God in the temple of Jerusalem caused him to realize his view of the Lord of Hosts was too small. Isaiah was dwarfed by God’s majesty. His sin was laid bare by the radiance of God’s glory. And he was traumatized by God’s holiness. Although such holiness and the wrath against evil that goes with it are not usually our favorite attributes of God, we observed that God’s holiness is enormously beneficial to us and all creation. We further considered God’s responsibility as judge of his universe, noting that God would be immoral if he did not demand just punishment for evil and reward good.For Further Prayerful ThoughtWhat stood out most to you about Isaiah’s vision of the LORD in Isaiah 6?How would you explain God’s holiness to a child?What is most attractive to you about God’s holiness?What does it look like to abhor evil?How does a BIG view of God’s holiness take us through a process that leads to a BIG devotion to put our lives on the altar to Him? 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.To make an online contribution to enable others to hear about the podcast: (Click link and scroll down to bottom left)

Episode Summary. Jesus’ prayer to the Father saying, This is eternal life, that they know you, THE ONLY TRUE GOD, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent, points to the counter-cultural exclusivity of Christianity, which cultural elites say disqualifies it from being true. This episode examines this exclusivity, how we can teach our loved ones to winsomely respond to this accusation, and what are the implications of Jesus’ description of the Father as the only true God.For Further Prayerful ThoughtWhat is the difference between tolerance in relationships and tolerance regarding what is true? How do you see Scripture requiring us to tolerant of other people but intolerant of false ideas masquerading as truth?How would you answer a Christian you were discipling who asked, “Why are there so many religions?”What do you think of the statement, “God has too much dignity to accept adoration from worshippers who are not celebrating his true nature?” How does the second commandment relate to Jesus’ statement to the woman at the well in Samaria, “The Father desires worshippers to worship him in spirit and in truth?”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.To make an online contribution to enable others to hear about the podcast: (Click link and scroll down to bottom left)

Episode Summary. Although today’s church is seeing an unprecedented number of deconversions by kids raised in the church, often claiming that science disproves the existence of God, the fact is that the world of scientific observation provides evidence that is so compelling that it is unreasonable NOT to believe that a supernatural God exists. After looking at five scientific arguments to point to the reality of a supernatural God, we then examined five of these supernatural characteristics of the true God of Scripture and how they benefit us! For Further Prayerful ThoughtWhat evidence would you martial to support an argument that it is much more reasonable to believe in the existence of God than not to?Why do you think it might be important to help our rising young adults understand the biblical teaching that human sinful nature leads man to suppress the truth that creation proves there is a God?Look back to God’s supernatural attributes. Which ones most stood out to you? How can knowing these attributes help you delight in the Lord? 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.To make an online contribution to enable others to hear about the podcast: (Click link and scroll down to bottom left)

Episode Summary. In Jeremiah 9, God has some things to say to his Covenant people about boasting. But it is not, “Don’t brag.” Rather God chooses three assets needed for men to get any significant job done—wisdom, might, and riches—telling us not to place our confidence in them but instead to boast that we understand and know him. Practically speaking what is God saying to us and what does the rest of Scripture reveal about the benefit of growing in our knowledge of God? That is the topic of this episode.For Further Prayerful ThoughtWhat is your take-away from God’s command to the wise man not to boast in his wisdom, the mighty man not to boast in his might, the rich man not to boast in his riches but instead to boast of understanding and knowing him? What are your ideas about what this looks like?Which benefits of growing in the knowledge of God most stood out to you?How would you defend the idea that God and God alone is fit to take the universe’s throne? Which components of God’s character give you the most peace and confidence as you head into the future? 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.To make an online contribution to enable others to hear about the podcast: (Click link and scroll down to bottom left)