The Word for Everyday Disciples with Dave DeSelm

The Lord begins His message for this flagship church by affirming them for three things.   The Lord Commends:  Deeds  This was an energetic, hard-working Church. Forty years earlier, the Apostle Paul planted this church and discipled them for three years. As a result, the Ephesians were solid in their spiritual disciplines. They worked hard to spread the gospel throughout Asia Minor. In fact, all...

At the beginning of the book of Revelation, we find the Apostle John living on the rocky island of Patmos, located 40 miles from the coast of modern-day Turkey. Great persecution was sweeping across the Roman Empire, and a now elderly John was sentenced to a life of exile. It happened on a Sunday. John was in prayer when he heard a voice “like a trumpet.” The voice said: “Write on a scroll what yo...

In our fallenness, walls can easily form between us and others. Brick by brick, hurt by hurt. If we are going to know the blessing of being a peacemaker, then we must deal with those bricks before the wall gets too high.    Jesus taught in Matthew 5 that when we become aware that someone has something against us, we are to go and be reconciled to them.    So, how do we take such steps in a way tha...

In this message we’re going to answer 5 basic questions about forgiveness: why, who, when, where, and how. Let’s begin with:    WHY should we forgive? It’s a matter of obedience if we do. You cannot disconnect your commitment to forgive from your discipleship.   It’s a matter of consequences if we don’t. There are spiritual, as well as emotional and physical implications to unforgiveness. Bottom l...

In his letter to the Colossians, the Apostle Paul tells us that “as God’s chosen people,” we are to “forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Col. 3:13) Having been forgiven by God, we are to extend forgiveness to others. Not only is forgiveness the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do. See…   Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself.    But forgiving can be a huge challenge. And one of the big...

Jesus’ approach to peacemaking is to pursue reconciliation. There are three steps in that process that are important for us to understand and practice. The first step is confession.   In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus used a word picture to get this point across when he asked, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Mt. 7:...

While conflicts take place on larger, collective scale, the bigger issue for most of us are the conflicts that take place on a smaller scale. Personal conflicts between work associates, friends, or even families.   As long as we have people, we will have differences.  As long as we have differences, we will have tension.  As long as we have tension, we will have collisions.  As long as we have col...

Relational breakdown is as old as the Bible, and none is more deeply ingrained as the animosity that exists between people of different races, religions, and ethnicities.    In Ephesians 2:11-19, Paul talks about the centuries-old hostility that divided Jews and Gentiles. The “circumcised” and the “uncircumcised”.     The Jews saw their selection as God’s people not as a platform from which to inv...

Perhaps the most daunting aspects of being a peacemaker is the challenge of peace-making in our own relational worlds. Our natural reaction to conflict is either fight or flight – punish or withdraw. The only way to get beyond this natural inclination is through a supernatural infusion. Our capacity to reconcile with others is rooted in our reconciliation with God.  Without vertical reconciliation...

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus describes two things:  what life in the Kingdom of God is like, and  what should characterize those who live in it.  Specifically, He says that Kingdom people will be characterized as peacemakers.    Those who are committed to becoming agents of peace will be called children of God.    The Kingdom of God is all about reconciliation – bringing that which was broken...

We all know that Christians are supposed to forgive.  Jesus said as much when He taught His disciples to pray, “Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Mt. 6:12)   What’s intriguing and, in no little way, disturbing, is how out of this entire prayer, Jesus only adds a commentary on the issue of forgiveness. He makes the point that to bask in your own forgiveness while withhold...

One of the trends happening increasingly in recent years is a reduction in church attendance. People say they believe in God, but they’re not committed to a local church. There are many reasons for this. For some, it’s just the busyness of life. But for others, church is boring. Irrelevant. Or bad memories, old wounds, and blatant hypocrisy make them want to steer clear of church.  When you stop t...

You might be surprised at how much the Bible has to say about sex. In fact, the very first commandment found in the Bible is about sex! God said to Adam and Eve, “Be fruitful and multiply…” (Gen. 1:28)   The special union they had was celebrated with sexual intimacy.  Scripture calls it, “becoming one flesh.”    All too many people take a glib approach to this act. “It’s only sex. It didn’t mean a...

When it comes to evangelism, we face pressure from our culture: “If you want to believe in Jesus, fine.  Just don’t try to force that on me.” We also face internal pressure: “I feel so inadequate when it comes to witnessing.”    These two pressures combine to create this gap between what we believe and how we behave in a lost world.     The book of Acts might be one of the best places to go to lea...

This message is for those who are rich. That’s who Paul directs his instructions to in 1 Timothy 6:17. “Command those who are rich in this present world…” Now, before you let yourself off the hook, consider this. Did you know that more than half the people in the world live on less than $2/day? If you make $24,000/year you are in the 90th percentile of the world’s wealth.  If you make at least $80...

Every one of us knows what it’s like to carry around a “sack of shame” – guilt over what we’ve done in the past.  What do you do with the contents of that sack? Our “can-do” culture has some suggestions:   Man’s Solution 1.      Talk it out.   But while it can help to talk to someone about your struggle, that counselor cannot offer absolution.   2.      Brush it off.  But being reminded that other...

A Christian Atheist is someone who says they believe in God yet lives as if He doesn’t exist. As Titus 1:16 describes them, “They profess to know God, but their behavior contradicts their profession” (PH).    Their faith is like “cafeteria Christianity.” They like the grace, the blessing, and the freedom. But they’ll pass on the obedience, sacrifice, and discipline. They want all of the benefits a...

One of the fallacies in our day is that all religions are pretty much the same. But the fact is, Christianity stands alone and apart. For one thing, no other major religion takes its stand and stakes its reputation on the bodily resurrection of its founder.   The resurrection of Jesus changed everything.    This is why the Apostle Paul gave his life to spreading the news, not only of the reality o...

It was probably about midnight when Jesus led His men down from the Upper Room and through the sleeping city.  Having shared the Last Supper together, Jesus and the Eleven left through the Fountain Gate, across the Kidron Valley running red with the blood of thousands of sacrificed Passover lambs. They ascended up the Mount of Olives to Gethsemane, a secluded gardenlike grove of olive trees.    Ge...

In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he tells this group of believers he had never met that he was agonizing in prayer for them. Why? What was he praying for so fervently? He was praying for their growth - their maturity in Christ.  In the opening verses of chapter 2, he lists some of the characteristics of the person who is growing and maturing in Christ.  These “Markers of Maturity” can serve as...

You would like to think that by the time we get to the end of his story, Jonah has changed. That after all he’d been through, he was a better person, a better servant of God than he was at the start of the story.   Sadly, by the time we get to chapter 4 of Jonah, we find that he is pretty much the same person he was in chapter 1: arrogant, opinionated, self-centered, and unsympathetic.    Jonah fi...

There are certain words the writer of the book of Jonah uses to emphasize important elements of the story. Words like “great” and “down.” But there’s another important word that is in fact, one of the most fundamental words in the Bible.  GO.   Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, and Esther – all were called by God to GO. To step out in faith. To take a risk. And because they obeyed, they changed the c...

“Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time…” (Jonah 3:1) To my way of thinking, this is arguably the most remarkable verse in the entire book of Jonah.   The first time word of the Lord came to Jonah, he consciously and stubbornly disobeyed. And yet, in a display of remarkable patience and loving discipline, God chased him down and brought him to the end of himself.  From the belly of...

In the journey of faith God not only frequently calls us to hard things but He will chase us down if we run from that call.  In fact, what we’ve seen is a pattern that God uses to correct His kids.     It starts with disobedience .       That disobedience typically results in God’s discipline .     This often creates a moment of distress. That’s when Jonah finally cried out to God.    It’s at this...

As we ended the last episode, after admitting that he is the cause of the ferocious storm battering their ship, our hero, Jonah, has been thrown overboard. As he sinks down into the sea, Jonah no doubt believes he is going to die.   But God has other plans.   The Bible says God “provided” a huge fish to swallow Jonah.    Now, many people hear this part of the story and react with great skepticism....