The Word for Everyday Disciples with Dave DeSelm

Zacchaeus, the “wee little man” of children’s Sunday School songs, was a small man in a big man’s world. He was despised and hated as a cheat and a traitor. He had learned to be a survivor. But then he met Jesus, and everything changed. Maybe you know what it’s like to be bullied, abused, betrayed or abandoned. You had to grow up too fast, had to make your own way. Jesus sees you and if you’re wil...

When hardships happen in our lives, when difficult circumstances knock us down, the natural response for most of us is to pray that God would take them away. That He would resolve the conflict and remove the pain.  But how do you bounce back when God answers that prayer with…NO? That “thorn” is going to be part of your life. In this final episode of the series Resilience, Dave looks at the story o...

It does not surprise us that people suffer.  It does not surprise us that people are gracious and generous. It does surprise us when people who are suffering are gracious and generous.  Yet that’s exactly what we see in the example Paul gives in 2 Corinthians 8. A group of people who in their “severe trial” experienced “overflowing joy,” in their “extreme poverty” displayed “rich generosity.” As w...

Sometimes when life knocks us down, it actually serves as a wake-up call: an opportunity to open our eyes, pay attention, and make a change. In 2 Corinthians 7, the Apostle Paul describes what happened when he gave a wake-up call to a group of young Christians. Would they respond with godly sorrow that leads to repentance or with worldly sorrow that leads to death? In this message, Dave offers the...

One of the qualities that demonstrate maturity is the ability to bounce back when life knocks you down. We call that ability...resilience, and we need resilience in pretty much every area of our lives, don't we?! In this message, Dave talks about developing resilience in ministry - recovering from the disappointment and discouragement that so often comes when we pour ourselves into others. We...

Every one of us has…or will…experience pain, loss, disappointment, or betrayal. Such crushing pressures are part of life in a broken world. But God promises to comfort us if we will turn to Him in our troubles. His comfort enables us to bounce back, to build resilience. And as we receive God’s comfort, we can, in turn, comfort others with the comfort we have received.    Text: 2 Corinthians 1:1-9...

Let’s face it: life is hard.   And while most of the time you may be able to withstand its pressures, sooner or later every one of us will come close to a breaking point.  How do you survive those moments?  How do you bend but not break?  How can you get back up when life knocks you down?  It takes something known as RESILIENCE.  In this message, Pastor Dave looks at the painful, traumatic experie...

In this message, Pastor Dave wraps up his series on Elijah by focusing on the final mission of the prophet’s life – discipling his successor.  There is a lot we can learn about being and making disciples from the relationship between Elijah and his protégé. Lessons that can help us as we seek to fulfiill Jesus’ Great Commission to go and make disciples…who make disciples…who make disciples. Lesson...

Have you ever hit a point in your life where you’re so exhausted, so discouraged, so depressed you’re just ready to quit?  Maybe you’re there right now. If so, you’re not alone. In this message, we’re going to explore the darkest season of Elijah’s life. We’ll take a look at the pitfalls we need to look out for, such as the low that follows a high, the peril of physical and emotional exhaustion, a...

In this teaching, Pastor Dave explores one of the most dramatic moments in Scripture. Right up there with the parting of the Red Sea, David and Goliath, and Daniel in the lion’s den is this story…the showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel.  But this is more than simply an exciting story. It’s filled with challenges for each of us in the spiritual battles we face every day...

When you hear the word “idolatry” – what comes to your mind? Likely you think of pagan rituals and statues of wood or stone. Something that happened back in Old Testament days or maybe in undeveloped parts of the world.  But surely idolatry is not something WE struggle with today. I don’t have any idols in my life!  …or do I? In this episode of his series on the prophet Elijah, Pastor Dave takes u...

What do you do when the thing you’ve depended on to get you through a hard time dries up? Moreover, why would God allow that to happen to His child? In this teaching, we learn that sometimes God forces us to leave the comfort of the known in order to get us to the place He wants us to be. For Elijah, God took him down an illogical path to an illogical place where he encountered an illogical person...

For all the courage and commitment Elijah showed in confronting the evil king and queen, he wasn’t ready yet for the battle that was still to come. God needed to do something deep in the man before He could do something great through the man. Elijah had to go through a time of focused solitude, experience total dependence, and be challenged to unconditional obedience. Text: 1 Kings 17 Originally r...

Pastor Dave sets the stage for the story of one of the most remarkable characters in the Bible. What enabled this “man just like us” to have the courage to stand up to the most powerful, evil couple of his day?  He was convinced of the reality of Jehovah, that he was a representative of Jehovah, and had the resources of Jehovah. 1 Kings 16:29-17:1 Originally recorded February 9, 2014, at Fellowshi...