Teachings from the Vault

In our culture, weakness is often either kept hidden from others or it is used to garner sympathy--in both cases to feed one's ego. But Paul says our weaknesses are not only not a hindrance to God using us, but in fact are the key to us understanding how to bring God's power, and not our own, into our walk with God. Paul says that God has put His power in us, but releases it through the pressure o...

From 2011 servant team retreat, Ruth Welsh works through 1 Thessalonians 2 to make a theological case for why personal discipleship demands urgency — not just as a strategy, but because the people you invest in now will stand alongside you before Christ. If they're your crown of exaltation, the question becomes whether you're treating them like it. Speaker: Ruth Welsh

Responding to God and trusting Him leads to being able to partake in His rest. This rest lifts burdens from His people, but it can seem difficult to understand at first. Entering into God's rest involves ceasing from works, while making every effort to depend on God. This can only be understood and applied through grace and mercy, which are available through Christ. Speaker: Gary DeLashmutt

Leaders have been called to die to self. The way to accomplish this task is by being committed to the body of Christ. Within this commitment must come a fight for unity. It is the unity within the church that demonstrates the power of God. This type of commitment will bring upon suffering but God's love and His power are greater than any suffering that will come. Speaker: Ajith Fernando

Creating a committed ethos in a church involves theology, application of truth, expectation, and making judgment calls. Ultimately, the ethos is where your theology meets your value system. The elements needed for a committed ethos include: strongly held and clear convictions, clear points and counterpoints, being relational and practical, encouragement, and honesty. Against these, there are many...

In Paul's second letter to Timothy we get a glimpse into his intimate inner circle of friends and fellow co-workers for the Lord. It is there that we learn one cannot grow an enduring ministry without working in close relationships. To have advancement in ministry it is important to find people who display a desire to love God and have their character transformed. Once God has revealed these peopl...

The Gospel is not just the beginning of our faith, but it is the source and core of the rest of our Christian lives. There exists a biblical paradigm that illustrates the functional centrality of the Gospel. First, there is the Gospel itself, that Jesus died for our sins, which is theologically central. If we allow it, the truths of the gospel transform our thinking. Thus by believing these gospel...

Death is inevitable for all of us. We all will experience going through the grieving process of losing a loved one. Death has the ability to derail our faith or draw us closer to God. Through Jesus' resurrection of Lazarus we find God's perspective on death. God too is outraged and in anger over death. We also learn that death on this earth is not the end for those who have put their faith in Jesu...

In the Christian life and ministry there is a need for both toughness and tenderness, a paradox that we all face. We need toughness because Christian work is hard. We face attacks from Satan, failure, doubts, people walking away from God, criticism, and much more at times. In order to withstand this, we must learn how to draw near to God for strength. We do this so that we do not become hardened a...

Faithfulness in multiplication ministry is accomplished through four means: 1) regular strengthening by God's Word; 2) peer friendships; 3) appreciating your ministry role as a privilege of God's grace; 4) build a biblically-informed focus on your eternal destination. These four things need prioritized or they will not happen. Multiplication is difficult work that takes a long time. Cultivating th...