The 5 Minute Discipleship Podcast

Every day, you make decisions about whether you will stand for Christ or not. In how we live our lives, the choices we make, the attitudes we portray, and the words we say, we are telling others that we stand for Christ, or we are communicating that we do not stand with him. Main Points: 1. Jesus knew we would face a strong temptation to hide our light. When we are open and public about our testim...

As we serve the Lord in our various ministries, patience is required. Like a farmer, we till the soil, we plant the seed, and we water the seed. We get excited when we see a little shoot begin to appear. Yet, we must wait for the harvest. Main Points: 1. Let me remind you of an important principle about the work of God: The harvest belongs to God. You and I have no power over the harvest. We are c...

God has created us with a spiritual hunger that can only be satisfied by Himself. Everything else leaves us empty and unfulfilled.  Main Points: 1. In Psalm 34, David is telling us to taste and see that the Lord is good. He’s inviting us to experience God’s goodness. But we won’t experience his goodness unless we take a taste and unless we encounter God for ourselves. 2. Sadly, there are many peop...

We need to recognize that God knows about our anxiety. He is with us and He cares about how we feel. What can we do with our anxiety? The answer is to fight back. Anxiety is a form of fear.  Main Points: 1. Anxiety by other names: worry, apprehension, nervousness, concern, and fear. Questions anxiety asks: What will happen? Will will they think? Will I be accepted? Will I be okay? What if I look f...

I believe in the authority of the Word of God. The Bible is not just a book. It is an authoritative book. What makes it an authoritative book is the authority of the author.  Main Points: 1. The Word of God cannot change us unless we obey it. We will not obey it unless we believe it to be God’s very words. 2. This phrase “breathed out by God” means inspired. This doesn’t mean the Bible writers wok...

The most important question you will ever answer for yourself is: “Who is Jesus?” The question swirled on the streets of Galilee and Jerusalem. In the marketplace, in neighborhoods, and out in the fields, people were talking about Jesus. Who is this man and why has he come? After 2,000 years, the questions are still being asked. Main Points: 1. Once we understand who Jesus is, we begin to understa...

We have a temptation to think that if we are living in God’s will that we won’t suffer, but this isn’t always the case. Sometimes, God, in His sovereignty, allows us to go through hardship as a part of his greater purpose.  Main Points: 1. Sometimes hardship is part of the growth and development of our faith and spiritual growth. Other times hardship is a part of the testimony and ministry God wan...

Today it seems as if maybe we have forgotten our mission. Those who follow Christ, those who have been saved and forgiven have received a mission from their savior. We are told to “go and make disciples.” Have we forgotten this is our calling? Have we forgotten this is our individual responsibility? Main Points: 1. We have come to believe the church is something we attend, not something we are, bu...

Jesus left the glory of Heaven to come to earth and take on humanity. He came with one purpose that was to satisfy the justice of God. Jesus would come and die for us. He would become our substitute. We wouldn’t have to die for our sins because Jesus would die for us. He would shed his own life blood on the cross as payment for our sins. Main Points: 1. Sin must be atoned for by death. Why? Becaus...

The condition of your heart determines the direction of your life.  This is the consistent teaching of the Scriptures – as our hearts go, so do our actions. Main Points: 1. Satan uses all kinds of weapons to attack our hearts.  For me, these attacks often come in the form of some circumstance that leads to disappointment, discouragement, or even disillusionment.   2. Solomon’s words are a warning....

Gentleness is the demonstration of strength and self-control. Life and its stress and pressure can tempt us to react with frustration and anger. It’s easy to fly off the handle and say things we don’t mean. We can project a false sense of strength by being brash and outspoken. But true strength keeps our spirit under control. Main Points: 1. It’s possible that you and I could think of the characte...

We learn from James chapter one that we cannot blame God for our temptations. So, where do they come from? He answers that question. We are tempted by our own evil desires. We are tempted to sin because we have a sinful nature. Main Points: 1. All of us face temptations. There has never been a person alive who didn’t face temptation. The Bible says, even Jesus was tempted but was without sin. This...

Unfortunately, one of the characteristics of humanity, even followers of Christ, is that our strength is exhaustible.  We are not superhuman creatures.  Our strength runs out and we face the common problem of weariness. Main Points: 1. We’ve sometimes bought into a misunderstanding that in order for you and I to be strong we must have good conditions. However, it seems that most of our spiritual g...

All through the Scripture, we see that our God is a God of comfort! The comfort of God is available to us when we are experiencing different kinds of loss and grief. Main Points: 1. It’s okay to grieve. It’s okay to mourn. God created us with the ability to express these emotions. I’ve ministered to Christians who felt they weren’t supposed to mourn or that if they were grieving they were failing...

Work out your salvation. Put your salvation to work. Let it be evident in every area of your life. Allow your salvation to transform your thinking, your attitude, your words, and your behavior. Let Christ be exalted in every area. Main Points: 1. The forgiveness of our sins does not come through our own works and good deeds. In other words, we could never earn our salvation. 2. Works do not save u...

There is no place to stop, plateau, or think we have arrived in our spiritual lives. We are to never stop growing. There is always more we can learn, more we can experience, more steps of faith to take, and more character to be developed. Main Points: 1. Like an adopted child learns the behaviors and expectations of their new family. We are to learn the values, behavior, and lifestyle of the famil...

The love of money is a heart issue. It’s called greed. Greed is one of the enemies of our hearts.  Very quietly it slips in and begins to guide and direct our decisions.  The Bible calls greed sin because it can lead us to push God out of our lives.  Greed is dangerous because it blinds us to what is truly important. Main Points: 1. The problem with the love of money is that it is never satisfied....

The Bible uses the metaphor of a marathon to illustrate the perseverance of the Christian life. It’s a picture we can understand. Today, you and I are still in our race. We are on a journey of serving Jesus. We have not finished it yet. We must keep going until we reach the end. Main Points: 1. Let me encourage you today. Don’t let anything stop you from running this race. Don’t let anything trip...

We discover that God cares about the heart. God wants us to love Him, value Him, and esteem Him above all things. When we serve the Lord out of sincere hearts, wanting to please Him, and wanting to give Him the glory, he rewards us only a loving Heavenly Father can. Main Points: 1. In Jesus’ great Sermon on the Mount he speaks to the heart of what we do for God, not just what we do for God. We lea...

Our personal suffering can increase our personal testimony for Christ. Our hard times can elevate our witness. Our difficulties can give us a larger and more receptive audience to whom we can influence for Christ. Main Points: 1. Suffering, as a tool for advancing the gospel? No, I think I’ll pass. Yet, over and over again in Scripture, we see God redeeming suffering for His kingdom purposes. 2. P...

As we grow in our faith, we aspire to be Christians who know what we believe. Our beliefs have stood the test of time. These truths have become deep convictions in our hearts. We know them to be true because God has revealed them to us in His Word and by His Spirit. Others may choose to believe other things, but we live with the deep assurance of the truths of God. Main Points: 1. Let me ask you,...

We have an adversary, and enemy, the devil who wants to attack our faith, bring confusion and discouragement and cause us to falter in our relationship with God. He doesn’t want us to be strong spiritually. He wants to do everything he can to hinder the spiritual growth of our families. He wants us to be ineffective in our work for the Lord. Main Points: 1. It’s my experience that most Christians...

Here’s what I have come to believe. God has blessings planned for your future that you don’t even know about yet. God is actively initiating blessings. His blessings are not an afterthought. They are not the results of leftovers from someone else’s blessings. No God has designed plans to bless your life.  Main Points: 1. Have you ever experienced a blessing from God that you weren’t expecting? I’m...

We are being transformed, not just improved, not just reformed. The scripture says we are being transformed. We are being made new. We are being transformed into his image. In lifestyle and character, we are to be in the image of Jesus. This is why Ephesians 5:1 says we are to “imitate God in everything we do because we are his dear children.” Main Points: 1. Without realizing it, every day, we wh...

Here’s what I am learning: It’s easier to avoid temptation than it is to fight sin. If possible, we should avoid being in places where we know we will be tempted. But sometimes, temptation seems to come out of nowhere. What do we do?  Main Points: 1. We must deal with the temptation immediately. Don’t wait. Don’t linger. Don’t think about it. Don’t entertain the possibility. The longer you wait, t...