The 5 Minute Discipleship Podcast

Often in Scripture, our relationship with God is described as a walk. Sometimes we’ll use the phrase “we are on a journey.” This idea goes back to the relationship Adam and Eve had with God in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3:8 - “God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day.”  Main Points: 1. When I preach funerals, I’ll often say, “The best gift you can give your family and friends is...

What brings us comfort is the recognition that we are not alone. Jesus said this comforter would “abide with you forever.” We don’t face the trials of life by ourselves. He is with us. What a blessing to have God in our lives. Every day we can feel his presence. Every day, regardless of our circumstances, we can rely on the strength and comfort He provides.  Main Points: 1. Jesus was preparing his...

 I’m fascinated with the idea that we are to love God with all of our minds. The Bible sees the mind as a place of our thoughts, judgment, and intention.  Our minds allow us to be rational, weigh evidence, make decisions about right and wrong, and to develop opinions.  Our minds allow us to worship, praise God, love, repent, and trust. Main Points: 1. Why is it important to consider loving God wit...

How is it possible to have all of our sins forgiven, to have the promise of eternal life, to daily live with a relationship with God, and not have joy? How is it possible? If we have experienced such amazing gifts from God, shouldn’t our lives radiate the joy of the Lord?  Main Points: 1. Joy in the Biblical context, is not an emotion.  Joy is an attitude of the heart.  It is not necessarily based...

I discovered that Jesus could offer me something that nothing or no one else could offer.  He could quench my spiritual thirst.  He offered me a relationship.  He offered me purpose for my life.  As I began to sincerely follow him, my life was filled with contentment.  I realized that Jesus could satisfy the thirst and the longing that I had inside. Main Points: 1. You and I have experienced physi...

Use the measure of faith God has given you. Cry out to Him… “I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief.” Once again trust our great God to meet you in your time of difficulty and to give you the faith you need. Main Points: 1. We want to believe, but sometimes faith is a struggle. When you have been through so much, when you are weary, and when it seems like options are few, it can be hard to bel...

Today God will give you an opportunity. I believe it happens every day. God gives you and me opportunities to serve Him through our witness, acts of kindness, words of encouragement, and steps of faith.  Main Points: 1. So often we miss these opportunities to serve God because they are small. We don’t recognize them as a chance to be a blessing to someone because, after all, it’s such a small thin...

Let us remember that nothing is a substitute for earnest prayer. Nothing can take its place. Today’s church does many important things, but we must make prayer a priority.  Main Points: 1. This is a remarkable story of God’s power and deliverance, but what stands out to me the most from this story is the commitment of the church to prayer. This miracle happened in the middle of the night. The chur...

If you have placed your faith in Jesus, you are a child of God. This is your God-given identity and purpose. You are to live for God and his glory. You are to fulfill His purpose for your life. There is no higher calling and no greater joy than to live for God. Main Points: 1. For the Christian, identity shouldn’t be an issue. The Bible makes it very clear. We have been created in the image of God...

Jealousy has been defined as “resenting God’s goodness in others’ lives and ignoring God’s goodness in my own life.  Jealousy is an enemy of our hearts because it causes a lack of contentment and gratitude toward God. Main Points: 1. Jealousy can lead us to become angry, bitter, and unforgiving. It can lead us to gossip, lie, or be malicious. Jealousy can lead us to steal, commit adultery, and eve...

This generation must believe God to move in power so they too, will have their own stories to tell. We cannot let the story of God’s power die with our generation. Main Points: 1. We must continue telling the next generation the stories of God’s faithfulness. Has God done a miracle in your life? Do you have a God story? Do you have a praise report and a testimony? You must tell your children and g...

My heart does not naturally follow after God. It does not naturally seek after Him. With intentionality, I must get back in tune with God.  Main Points: 1. We can ask, “Are my words out of tune with the Spirit of God? Have my words been negative, critical, crass, or even vulgar? Have my words been filled with complaint, gossip, criticism, or profanity?" We can tune our hearts and our words ba...

Remember this: our hope in God isn't just a wish or a dream, but sure confidence that what God says will happen. Every other hope will disappoint. Every other hope will come up short. God is the one who never fails, he never leaves us, and he never forsakes us. Main Points: 1. Today, I ask you to let the Word of God penetrate the dark place in your soul. Let the light of God’s truth illuminat...

If storms are inevitable, unpredictable, and impartial, then the issue really becomes “what is my response going to be to the storms that are inevitably going to happen in my life?” Where will you turn? Where will you go? What will you do? Main Points: 1. We can turn to Jesus during our storm. He is there. He is available. He cares. Don’t ride out the rough seas without turning to the one who can...

There is a very common type of fear identified in the Bible that is not talked about much. It is the fear of man. It’s a fear of people and it can include intimidation, peer pressure, social anxiety, isolation, and insecurity. The fear of man can lead us to make choices that aren’t right for us or avoid making decisions at all.  Main Points: 1. When we are filled with the fear of man we are no lon...

In my years of serving as a pastor, I’ve discovered that often people have an incomplete understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As we share the message of faith in Jesus, people are often ready to receive Jesus in their life. They certainly want forgiveness, they want God’s blessings, and they want the assurance of Heaven. But is that all there is to it? Why did Jesus come? Why did he have t...

Character is never built in a classroom. Character is built in the circumstances of life.  God builds character in our lives by allowing us to experience situations where we are tempted to do the exact opposite of the character quality. Character development always involves a choice. When we make the right choice, our character grows more like Christ.   Main Points: 1. We don’t know why tragic cir...

For those of us in the West, suffering, and persecution for our faith are minimal. It might be easy to forget that many of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world are suffering greatly as a result of the gospel. May we “remember their chains.” May we not forget them and may we pray for God’s strength, comfort, and help in their time of need. Main Points: 1. There are thousands of suffe...

When we recognize how great God’s love is for us, the only response is to love him in return. No one has done for us what God has done. No one has given to us what God has given. Jesus laid down his life as a sacrifice for our sins so that we could have forgiveness and eternal life. It is the greatest demonstration of love the world has ever seen. Main Points: 1. Loving God is our great motivation...

Sometimes we find ourselves impatient with God, especially about His return. We wonder, What can He be waiting on? The tragedies around us, the suffering of people we love, and even the stresses of daily life all seem bigger as time goes on. When will Jesus come back? Main Points: 1. As believers, we are to wait. We don’t like waiting, but as we wait we trust God’s timing. God alone knows when the...

In a world of mistrust, God can be trusted. He can be counted upon. He keeps his promises, he fulfills his word, and he does what he says he will do. God is worthy of your trust, your faith, and your confidence. Main Points: 1. The Bible teaches us that God is faithful. This means God is always reliable, all of the time.  He does not fail or forget.  He always keeps his word.  His character is con...

The children of God are peacemakers.  A peacemaker is someone who intentionally works to help people reconcile with God and others.  Anyone who does the hard work of peacemaking will be blessed by God. Main Points: 1. The word “peace” in Matthew 5:9 combines two Greek words.  Together they mean to bring about wholeness, to bring all the essential parts together in wholeness. 2. Peace-making requir...

Anyone can rejoice when life is good, but to rejoice when life is hard is a deliberate act of faith. You are deciding that your trust and confidence in God are not circumstantial. Your faith is rooted in the character of God. Main Points: 1. The word "rejoice" means to feel or show great joy or delight. In fact, the word “rejoice” is found in the Bible 154 times. That is a lot of rejoici...

You and I are going to struggle with our humanity.  Surrender doesn’t seem like a good idea to any of us. It feels like we are giving up and losing control, but when we surrender to God we lose things we don’t need to gain the things we really do. Main Points: 1. Everything you need is on the other side of surrendering your life to God. 2. Everything you need God can provide. Yet, often the provis...

In the biblical sense inspiration is unique.  God was the primary author of the Bible; He was the One who inspired the writers to speak truths.  He was the initiator.  God was the source, the writers were the recipients. Main Points: 1. The Bible is the product of God himself.  The ideas are not human thoughts but come from God’s will.  We also need to understand though, that the writers of the Bi...