Paul chooses to persevere in his life, knowing the suffering he’s experiencing now has a purpose and an ending.
Letter of Joy–Philippians 3:1–11(the Greater Purpose of Life)
What we gain through Jesus—a relationship with the living God, status as a member of God’s family, and hope in that resurrection comes after death—will always remain true
Letter of Joy–Philippians 2:12–30 (not perfect examples, but living examples)
We might never claim to be perfect examples of following Jesus, but we are living ones.
Letter of Joy–Philippians 1: 27-2:11 (Unity)
Stand in unity is not an idea or a belief but a response to the encouragement and comfort that they have in Christ. Unity confronts our motive, our pride, and our priorities.
Judas the Traitor
Judas had given his life to following Jesus. But he never gave Jesus his heart.
James the Son of Alphaeus
He was a small, young, quiet person who stayed mostly in the background. But he was one of the Twelve. The Lord selected him for a reason, trained and empowered him like the others, and sent him out as a witness—carry the gospel to the world of their day.
Judas, Son of James
The name Judas in and of itself is a fine name. It means “Jehovah leads.”
Simon the Zealot
As one of the Twelve, Simon also had to associate with Matthew, who was at the opposite end of the political spectrum, collecting taxes for the Roman government. In the end, they became spiritual brethren, working side by side for the same cause—the spread of the gospel—and worshiping the same Lord.
Letter of Joy-Philippians 1:12-26 (Know and Focus on What the Important Thing is)
The important thing is…and because of this I rejoice.
Letter of Joy – Philippians 1: 1-11 (Praying for One Another)
One of the most loving things we can do is pray for the Christians
Matthew
Once Matthew walked away, he could never go back. Nor did he ever regret his decision.
Thomas
But if that is what the Lord was determined to do, Thomas was determined to go and die with Him. Thomas did not want to live without Jesus. If Jesus was going to die, Thomas was prepared to die with Him.
Nathanael
Jesus wasn’t physically present to see Nathanael under the fig tree; Nathanael knew that. Suddenly he realized he was standing in the presence of Someone who could see into his very heart with an omniscient eye.
Philip
Philip, like the other disciples, was a man of limited ability. He was a man of weak faith. He was a man of imperfect understanding. But Jesus said, “He’s exactly what I’m looking for. My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Thankfully, the Lord uses people like Philip–lots of them.
John
Truth without love has no decency; it is just brutality. On the other hand, love without truth has no character; it is just hypocrisy.
James
James is the only apostle whose death is actually recorded in Scripture. Clearly, James was still a man of passion. His passion, now under the Holy Spirit’s control, had been so instrumental in the spread of the truth that it had aroused the wrath of Herod.
Andrew
Something in him seemed to understand that no gift is insignificant in the hands of Jesus. It is not the greatness of the gift that counts, but rather the greatness of the God to whom it is given.
Simon Peter
No one speaks as often as Peter, and no one is spoken to by the Lord as often as Peter. No disciple is so frequently rebuked by the Lord as Peter; no disciple ever rebukes the Lord except Peter.
Serving Our Children During and After COVID-19: Application of Shepherd Leadership at Home and School
https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/sltp/vol9/iss1/3/ Shepherding is one of humanity’s oldest known occupations, dating back thousands of years. Yet, within the way of a…
11. Righteous Praying
A strong commitment to prayer is a prerequisite to enduring suffering and affliction.
10. Riches, Trials, and Oaths
James 5:1-12 As noted throughout this study, Jame’s goal is to present various tests of genuine faith. James tells the…
9. Responding to the Will of God
Nothing more clearly summarizes the character of a genuine believer than a desire to do the will of God.
8. Friendship with the World
True joy, peace, happiness, meaning, hope, and fulfillment in life come only from God.
7. True Wisdom
Wisdom is not simply a matter of possessing factual knowledge but of properly and effectively applying truth to everyday life.
6. Taming the Tongue
A person’s speech is a reliable measure of his spiritual temperature
5. Dead Faith or Faith that Passes the Test
What we do reveals who we are.
4. Favoritism in the Church
Partiality refers to exalting someone strictly on a superficial, external basis such as appearance, race, wealth, rank or social status, without consideration of a person’s true merits, abilities, or character.
3. Belief That Behaves
It is one thing to make periodic repairs around the house; it is another to be a professional builder.
2. Understanding Temptation
Man’s basic problem is not with what is outside of him but with what is within him.
1. From Trouble to Triumph
The natural human response to trials is not to rejoice; therefore the believer must make a conscious commitment to face them with joy.
10. For Thine is the Kingdom and the Power, and the Glory for Ever. Amen
We are often so preoccupied with our petitions to our Father that we completely forget to praise Him for who He is and what He has done.
9. But Deliver Us From Evil
When we encounter evil, we need not feel apprehensive. Our confidence lies, not in ourselves, not in our ability to counteract evil, but rather in the character and strength of our Father who delivers us.
8. Lead Us Not Into Temptation
“Do you know where you are, Adam?” is really what God was asking. Do we know where we are when defeated?
7. Forgive Us Our Debts as We Forgive Our Debtors
The outstanding, eternal debt which all men of all time own their heavenly Father is a debt of gratitude and of love for the price paid for our forgiveness.
6. Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread
“You are what you eat.” If we feed our souls and spirits on God’s bread from heaven, it follows that is what we shall become.
5. In Earth as it is in Heaven
To love Him is to obey Him. To obey Him is to do His will. To do His will is to have a bit of heaven on earth!
4. Thy Kingdom Come Thy Will Be Done
When I say, “Thy kingdom come,” I am willing to relinquish the rule of my own life, to give up governing my own affairs, to abstain from making my own decisions in order to allow God, by His indwelling Spirit, to decide for me what I shall do.
3. Hallowed Be Thy Name
Father, Your reputation is at stake in me today. May I live in such a way as to do Your person great credit. Because of my behaviour, may men see You in me, and so honour Your name because of it.
2. Which Art in Heaven
Once God’s sovereignty has been established in any human heart, the establishment of an environment that resembles heaven follows within that life.
1. Our Father
No other religion in all the world carries such a happy contended concept of communion between God and man.
Servant Leadership, Optimal Experience, and Meaningful Life
When the cumulated works of a servant leader fit together into a unified optimal experience, he/she finds fulfillment and lives a meaningful life.
15. Family Matters
David succeeded everywhere except at home. And if you don’t succeed at home, do you succeed at all?
14. God Sends Nathan to David
God put away David’s sin. Rather than cover it up, God lifted it up and put it away.
13. Pride Comes Before Fall
Did David see Bathsheba, the human being? The wife of Uriah? The daughter of Israel? The creation of God? No. David had lost his vision. Don’t make his mistake.
12. Tough Promises
The king is kind, not because the boy is deserving, but because the promise is enduring.
11. Reverence, Obedience, and God-hungry Hearts
God comes on His own terms. He comes when commands are revered, hearts are clean, and confession is made.
10. Nevertheless
Turn a deaf ear to old voices. And, as you do, open your eyes to new choices.
9. Grief Takes Time and Permit Yourself Tears
Death amputates a limb of your life.
8: Weariness: It is Alright to Rest
Support systems don’t always support. Friends aren’t always friendly. When no one can help, we have to do what David does. He turns toward God.
7. Seeking Peace: The Strength of a Gentle Heart
Look more at the Mediator (Christ) and less at the troublemakers.
6. Forgiveness: Give Grace to the Grief-Givers
You can hate what someone did without letting hatred consume you.
5. The Cave of Adullam
Wilderness survivors find refuge in God’s presence.
4. Desperate Days
David stumbles in this story. Desperate souls always do. But at least he stumbles into the right place – into God’s sanctuary, where God meets and ministers to hopeless hearts.
3. What is Your Focus: the Malice of Your Monster or the Kindness of Your Christ
Your Saul took much, but Christ gave you more!
The Feast
There was no lamb on the table because the Lamb of God was at the table. Jesus was the main course.
1. What Matters to God: Samuel Anoints David
People look at the outside of a person, but the Lord looks at the heart.
2. Facing Your Giants: David and Goliath
Focus on giants – you stumble. Focus on God – your giants tumble.
Sign Language: Mark 7: 31-37
Jesus is doing all this not because he needs it but because the man needs it.
12. The Ransom
Now you do not need to help people, but you want to help them, to resemble the One who did so much for you, to bring him delight.
11. The Trap
If you want God to be your Saviour, you have to replace what you have already looking to as a saviour.
10. Just Repentant Helplessness to Access the Presence of God
faith in Jesus instead of in oneself
9. The Turn
I am a King, but a King going to a cross; and if you want to follow me, you have got to the cross too.
8. The Approach
Give me what I don’t deserve on the basis of your goodness
7. The Stain
Outside-in will never work, because most of what causes our problems works from the inside out.
6. The Waiting
Are you trying to hurry Jesus? Are you impatient with the waiting? Let him take you by the hand, let him do what he wants to do. He loves you completely. He knows what he is doing.
5. The Power
If you know that he did not abandon you in that ultimate storm, what makes you think he would abandon you in the much smaller storms you’re experiencing right now?
4. The Rest
When Jesus says, “I am the Lord of the Sabbath,” Jesus means that he is the Sabbath. He is the source of the deep rest we need.
3. The Healing
Almost always, when we first go to Jesus saying, “This is my deepest wish,” his response is that we need to go a lot deeper than that.
2. The Call
Religion is advice on how you must live to earn your way to God. The gospel is not advice. It is a gift that you receive by sheer grace.
1. The Dance
What he has enjoyed from all eternity, he has come to offer to us.
Keeping a Disagreement Under Control
Dale Carnegie shared nine key points on how to keep a disagreement from escalating into an argument: Welcome the disagreement. Thank…
6. The Heart of the Shepherd
What makes a shepherd a shepherd isn’t the staff or the rod; it is the heart.
5. The Staff of Direction & The Rod of Correction
The staff represents your responsibility to direct your people; the rod represents your responsibility to correct them.
4. Make Your Pasture a Safe Place
Make your pasture a safe place where your people can thrive!
3. Help Your Sheep Identify with You
Leadership isn’t just professional; it’s personal.
2. Discover the Shape of Your Sheep
Do not fit a square peg into a round role!
1. Know the Condition of Your Flock
Engage the people on a regular basis. Get to know your flock, one sheep at a time.
I will Dwell in the House of the Lord Forever
The sheep is so deeply satisfied with the flock to which it belongs, with the ownership of this particular shepherd, that it has no wish to change whatever.
Surely Goodness and Love Will Follow Me
Just as God’s goodness and mercy flow to us all the days of our life, so goodness and mercy should follow us, should be left behind us as a legacy to others wherever we may go.
You Anoint My Head with Oil; My Cup Overflows.
He is there with us in every storm.
You Prepare a Table Before Me
Predators can still attack, poisonous weeds can still grow, storms and gales can still come swirling up over the peaks. Yet in His care and concern for us, Christ still ensures that we shall have some gladness with our sadness, some delightful days as well as dark days, some sunshine as well as shadow.
Your Rod and Your Staff They Comfort Me
Just as the rod of God is emblematic of the Word of God, so the staff of God is symbolic of the Spirit of God.
Even Though I Walk Through the Valley
The basic question is not whether we have many or few valleys. It is not whether those valleys are dark or merely dim with shadows. The question is how do I react to them?
He Guides Me in Paths of Righteousness for His Name’s Sake
A Christian either “goes on” with God or at which point he “goes back” from following on.
He Restores My Soul
Often when we are most sure of ourselves we are the most prone to fall flat.
He Leads Me Beside Quiet Waters
Many of the places we may be led into will appear to us as dark, deep, dangerous, and somewhat disagreeable. But it simply must be remembered that He is there with us in it.
He Makes Me Lie Down in Green Pastures
It is significant that to be at rest there must be a definite sense of freedom from fear, tension, agitation, and hunger.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
Contentment is not having what we want, but wanting what we have.
Advent: Coming and Arrival
As the year is drawing to an end, may we say “no” to the things that distract us from Jesus and say “yes” to the gifts — hope, peace, joy, and love — that God wants us to experience.
The Common Denominator of Success
Become a master of yourself — your likes and dislikes — by surrendering to your purpose in life
Discipline: Urgent vs Important
The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule but to schedule your priorities.
Four Unique Human Gifts
Between stimulus and response, man has the freedom to choose.
Begin with the End in Mind
We are truly effective only when we begin with the end in mind.
Two Kinds of Wisdom
Jacob began his life relying on worldly wisdom and later on found Godly wisdom to be far superior.
Are you in or are you out?
The humble are in, and the proud are out.
Response-able
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
A Healthy Family
Father And Mother I Love You
God’s Character as revealed through His Names
The more I know Him, the richer our conversation would be.
Reasons for Establishing International Schools
Christian international schools have an excellent opportunity to be influential.