Personal Development on Following Jesus

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To follow Jesus implies that we enter into a way of life that is given character and shape and direction by the one who calls us. To follow Jesus means picking up rhythms and ways of doing things that...

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Dallas Willard

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Our mistake is to think that following Jesus consists in loving our enemies, going the ‘second mile,’ turning the other cheek, suffering patiently and hopefully—while living the rest of our lives just...

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Bob Goff

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Our problem with following Jesus is we’re trying to be a better version of us, rather than a more accurate reflection of Him.

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Sisters and brothers no one can follow

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Cody Sandahl

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Sisters and brothers, no one can follow Jesus for you or me. That’s something we have to do for ourselves. But when we do, that’s when real life begins. So go out into the world this week, living real...

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The Real Scandal of Jesus’s Ministry

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Hans Küng

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Matthew 25:35-40, John 8:1-11, Luke 19:1-10, John 4:1-26, John 8:10-11, Luke 19:10

In these acts of love Jesus created a scandal for devout, religious Palestinian Jews. The absolutely unpardonable thing was not his concern for the sick, the cripples, the lepers, the possessed . . . ...

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Starting With the Boots

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R. Kent Hughes

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John 13:14-15, Philippians 2:5-7, Matthew 23:11, James 4:10, Mark 10:45, 1 Peter 5:5-6

In 1878, when William Booth’s Salvation Army was beginning to make its mark, men and women from all over the world began to enlist. One man, who had once dreamed of becoming a bishop, crossed the Atla...

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Following Jesus Requires Real Commitment

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Bradley Long

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Proverbs 3:5-8, Matthew 22:37, Romans 12:1-2, Luke 14:26-27, Deuteronomy 6:5, Luke 16:13, Mark 12:30, John 14:15, Matthew 16:24-26, Luke 9:59-62, Matthew 6:24, Hebrews 11:13-16, Hebrews 10:38-39, Matthew 6:33-34, Matthew 10:37-39

What are you willing to do for love? An instructor for the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course shared with a class the major hang-up he had to get over before asking his wife to ma...

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The Art of Followship

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Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Colossians 3:16, Philippians 2:5-7, John 13:34-35, Matthew 11:29, Mark 8:34-35, Luke 9:23

Editor’s Note: The following illustration came from one of my own (Stu’s) sermons, as I was trying to help the congregation make a paradigm shift from the church as a building, to the people of God: ...

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Christian Character Defined: John Stott

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Mark Labberton

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John 3:16, Isaiah 58:10-11, Colossians 2:9-10, Romans 8:38-39, Psalm 16:11, 2 Corinthians 9:8, Philippians 4:11-12

As a study assistant to the Anglican pastor and writer John Stott during my early years as a believer, I witnessed John’s faithfulness in public and private, as a highly visible speaker and as a nearl...

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Reaching the Unchurched

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Carl Medeiras

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Here is my grid for how I think of what to say when given the platform by a friend out of trust – a friend who is not following Jesus: I want to honor the friendship by doing exactly what he’s asked ...

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Eugene Peterson

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I often found myself preferring the company of people outside my congregation, men and women who did not follow Jesus. Or worse, preferring the company of my sovereign self. But soon I found that my p...

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The Christian Self-Actualization Plan

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Ashley Hales

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Galatians 5:13-14, Matthew 16:24-25, Romans 12:4-5, Philippians 2:3-4, Ephesians 2:8-10

In her excellent book on following Jesus in the suburbs, Ashley Hales describes one of the ways in which our discipleship has been influenced by modern secular trends such as the desire for self-actua...

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The Most Important Thing About Us

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John Mark Comer

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The twentieth-century writer A. W. Tozer made a stunning claim: “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Really? The most important thing? M...

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The Importance of Listening to God

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Alan Fadling

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Scripture

Ecclesiastes 5:1-2, John 10:4

Over the years, I have led hundreds of retreats that have at their center a few hours to be alone and quiet in listening prayer. At one such retreat, one participant shared a conversation she had wit...

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Identity and Achievement at L'Arche

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Henri J. M. Nouwen

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Galatians 1:10, Philippians 2:3-4, Matthew 23:1-12, 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, James 4:1-10, 1 Peter 5:1-11

All of us struggle with our own desires for accomplishment and ambition. Christians especially find it difficult to discern their own worldly ambitions vs. following Jesus’ comand to seek first the ki...

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N. T. Wright

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What are we hear for in the first place? The fundamental answer…is that we we’re “here for” is to become genuine human beings, reflecting the God in whose image we’re made, and doing so in worship on ...

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Road Trips: 2, Acts 9:1-19

Author

Allen Thompson

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Acts 9:1-19, Luke 10:30-37, John 14:6

Saul's Confident Error Last week, we considered Abram and the way that God may send us out on a journey, waiting to see his will without knowing the destination. Today we move forward to Saul on...

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Alan Fadling

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The practices of solitude, silence and listening to God started to slow me down and enabled me to focus my attention more and more on coming to Jesus and following him rather than talking about Jesus ...

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In the days of the early church,

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Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

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Matthew 7:21, Matthew 11:28-30, Romans 10:9, Philippians 2:10-11, Acts 4:12, John 14:6

In the days of the early church, believers affirmed their faith by saying, “Jesus is Lord.” We give lip-service to that same affirmation, but find it difficult to surrender control of our lives. Inste...

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The Forgotten French Soldier

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The Pastor's Workshop

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Psalm 142:4-5, Isaiah 49:15-16, Psalm 34:18, Hebrews 4:15, Matthew 28:20, John 14:18, Romans 8:38-39, Lamentations 3:21-23, Psalm 40:1-12

This story is probably apocryphal, but conveys a truth nonetheless. During the early 19th century, following the Napoleonic Wars, a French soldier was captured and imprisoned. He was thrown into a...

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The One Ring and the Failure of Willpower

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Ryan Bundrick

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John 8:34-36, Hebrews 12:1-2, 2 Corinthians 3:5, Romans 7:15-24, Proverbs 20:9, Numbers 21:

Nearly everybody knows of at least one sin habit in their life that they wish to leave behind them. Yet, no matter what they do, it seems impossible for them to be free of this habit, character flaw, ...

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The New Hunting Dog

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The Pastor's Workshop

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Luke 10:38-42, Matthew 14:28-31, Philippians 3:13-14, Proverbs 4:25-27, James 1:6-8, Hebrews 12:1-2, Matthew 24:13

As we travel through the New Testament, it becomes clear that Jesus’ disciples often get distracted, almost like they have a case of spiritual attention deficit disorder. They quickly lose focus and w...

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Cultivating a Spirit of Generosity: A Pastoral Call to Year-End Giving

Author

Aaron Schweizer

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Scripture

Proverbs 11:1, Philippians 4:18

As a five-year-old at Christmas I remember how excited I was to get my first bike. It was a yellow BMX Huffy, a mean machine for a kid in the late 70s. It is one of my fondest memories because I remem...

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Blessing College Students as They Leave for School

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Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

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Consider offering this blessing during worship the second Sunday in August. This is often the last Sunday college students are in worship before they return to school. This prayer could also be used d...

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Prayer for Young Persons

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God our Father, you see your children growing up in an unsteady and confusing world: Show them that your ways give more life than the ways of the world, and that following you is better than chasing a...

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The Banshees of Inisherin Movie Review

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Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Ephesians 4:null

Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or. what's a heaven for? " Robert Browning A part of our desire at The Pastor’s Workshop is to help pastors connect the stories in ...

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Excellence in Biblical Terms

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Jon Johnston

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Excellence

While written almost 30 years ago, this poll of Christian leaders provides some interesting fodder for how to define excellence from a Biblical perspective: What, then, does excellence—as it is descr...

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Working On Our Muscle Memory: Sermon Illustration Tuesday

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Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Change

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Luke 15:null

Editor’s Note: The following illustration came from one of my own sermons, as I was trying to help a congregation see itself not as a building, but the body of Christ. It has been adapted for TPW: No...

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A Watchman at the Gate

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Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Matthew 24:36-44

Editor’s Note: The following was an imagination exercise used while preaching on Matthew 24:36-44, I began by inviting the congregation to close their eyes. Imagine you are a watchmen (or woman) stan...

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A Rough Start to Ministry

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Craig Groeschel

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Pastor Craig Groeschel shares the true story of his “less than promising” career as a pastor. It should serve as a reminder that rejection and criticism are never final, unless we allow them to be: ...

personal development on Following Jesus

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