How one ministry partners with churches to put the homeless back on their feet.
by Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra
Belinda Bowden couldn't believe she was homeless. The 41-year-old had been ascending the corporate ladder, making $50,000 a year as a Kmart assistant store manager, when one by one the rungs snapped.
Asked to lie about the store's stability to potential employees, Bowden quit her job. Her savings account depleted by credit-card debt and medical bills, Bowden couldn't pay her rent. Two months later, ...
Expecting God to work is most important piece of seeing him work.
by Life Together
In planning a small group ministry, you may wonder how much you can expect from your coaches, leaders and members. But one person you can expect great things from is yourselfthat is, if you expect God to use you.
Here's what Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church has to say about our expectations:
If He's going to use you, you need to expect Him to. There are many examples I could have used, ...
Follow these steps to lead people down the path of continued spiritual growth.
by Brett Eastman
Our small group, like most small groups, is comprised of people with varying degrees of Christian maturity. One lady arrived as a spiritual seeker. Within time, she committed her life to Christ and was baptized. The evening of her baptism was a special time for our small group, as we celebrated her decision and prayed with her. Both seasoned prayer warriors and new believers lifted up praises and ...
Transformation—the process of becoming holy—begins in your mind.
Transformation—the process of becoming holy—begins in your mind. We will see in this seven-session course, that the apostle Peter shows us how to begin to think differently, which will radically affect our behavior. We all make split-second decisions in any given moment to do right or wrong. To choose right, we must learn to be obedient to God, which will give us an appetite for being ...
This 12-session course challenges men to live lives of integrity through the examples laid out in the Bible.
In our desire to be men of integrity, we need to consider the journey of faith we are on, which will require that we be recklessly obedient to God. He wants to redeem our weaknesses, make our lives a blessing to others, and teach us to be strong, yet vulnerable. Christ will transform you by turning temptation into obedience and enable you to leave a lasting legacy of spiritual fortitude. Finally, ...
While our households often reflect popular television shows, God has a better plan for us.
Too often the lives of Christians look just like the rest of the world's, reflecting popular television shows like Desperate Housewives, Extreme Makeover, The Apprentice, and CSI. This four-part course will look at how we can live radically different lives that take time for meaningful relationships, reorient our ideas of success, make us an apprentice of Christ, and let us face our doubts.
Use this 13-session spiritual growth course to discuss how to pursue a intimate relationship with God.
Use this 13-session spiritual growth course to discuss how to pursue a intimate relationship with God. This course looks at how to repent, manage anger, imitate Christ, let go of guilt, and forgive others. It also covers topics such as grace and sin, spirituality today, and keys to spiritual growth.
Week 1
Spirituality for TodayModern spirituality begins and ends with the self; Christian spirituality, ...
This five-session course challenges people like you and me to join Jesus’ revolutionary mission.
A revolution invites a complete change in life. In the opening section of the letter to the Romans, Paul writes about having a transformed mind, which yields a transformed life. A transformed life is a radically different life, driven by different forces, motives, and hopes. Christ lives inside the believer and causes a fundamentally noticeable inner and outer transformation. Christ followers have ...
This course challenges and encourages men to live lives of integrity through the examples laid out in the Bible.
These six Bible studies challenge and encourage men to live lives of integrity through the examples laid out in the Bible by Abraham, Peter, Joseph, and others.
Session 1
Journey of Faith Abraham: A man who traveled in trust
Session 2
Reckless Obedience to God Joseph: Obeying God when we don't feel like it
Session 3
Redeeming Our Weaknesses Peter: A man who didn't let his failures define him
What can we learn from people who are down and out find a way to bring themselves, or have someone deliver them, back to glory?
Each of the stories in this Course shows how people who are down and out find a way to bring themselves, or have someone deliver them, back to glory. What can we learn from these powerful stories?
Session 1
Signs This thriller depicts one man's journey as he questions his faith and the providence of God.
Session 2
The Shawshank Redemption "Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free."