Category: Kingdom Community

Fellowship and koinonia

disciple saint francis

What Does a Maturing Disciple of Jesus Look Like?

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We agree that the mission of the church, and the mission of God in our lives, is to make (beautiful) disciples of Jesus. We also agree that discipling is a maturation process; believers are supposed to “become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).[2] Another way of saying this is that we are partnering with God to help people follow Jesus and join his mission. All our doctrines, practices, and congregational lives are anchored in these ideas. Renew.org recently published my article on this topic. You can read the full article here. Below is part of the article. But in order to pursue this discipling process, do we not need to know what a maturing disciple of Jesus looks like? How do we know if we are traveling on the road of maturity unless we know what the road looks like? In other words, Continue Reading →

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Ten Dangers Of Experiences Of The Holy Spirit – Part 2

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Do you ever face these temptations when you are trying to let the Spirit guide you or when you are having experiences of the Holy Spirit? Keeping ourselves open to the Spirit is essential to a complete Christian life, but it comes with temptations that can gradually derail us. This continues a list of temptations of experiences of the Holy Spirit that individuals and churches experience, which we began last week. We hope this list of dangers of experiences of the Holy Spirit will help you to avoid pitfalls in your own personal life as well as in your church. When we combine openness to the Spirit with wisdom we give God much permission to change our lives. Which dangers of experiences of the Holy Spirit have you personally observed or fallen into? God Will Deliver You – Weekly Words Of EncouragementOctober 19, 2026Are You Walking With The Spirit?October 16, 2026Ungodly Continue Reading →

fellowship group

It Is About Kingdom Community

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Colossians 3:1-17 is one of my favorite passages in the bible. It’s hard to think of other passages that describe what it means to be a disciple of Jesus so well. It reminds me of the Sermon on the Mount, and it is about kingdom community! Today we are looking at Col. 3:12-15: “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.” (NLT) In Col. 3:10 Paul directed Continue Reading →

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The Consequences Of Guilt And Condemnation

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The purpose and destiny of all we do is the community of love with God and His followers. This community is supposed to begin now, on earth, in our Christian fellowship. And one of the fundamental principles of Christian fellowship is the division we make between guilt and condemnation. This division gives us great freedom in relationships, even outside the body of Christ. As Christians we make a big distinction between guilt and condemnation. We know that we are guilty of sin, but we also know that God does not condemn us. Romans 8:1 states, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” There is no punishment for us except the natural consequences (e. g. jail for crimes). So, because of Jesus’ death there is a huge chasm between our guilt and condemnation. Normally, when someone is judged guilty of a crime then we say they Continue Reading →

honesty

Correcting Fellow Believers

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Bruce and Tom are spiritual friends and have edifying conversations on a regular basis. They encourage one another and each one feels stronger because of the friendship. Bruce starts to notice that Tom makes little joking putdowns of others in his conversations with people. Of course, this isn’t a cardinal sin but it is definitely not godly speech. What should Bruce do? Should Bruce be correcting fellow believers? Being a spiritual friend to someone is a huge blessing, for you as well as them. Believers are recognizing they need spiritual help, so life coaching and spiritual direction are more popular now than in the past. But how can we be a spiritual friend who actually makes a difference in someone’s life? How can we be God’s channel for transformation? One of the keys to being a good spiritual friend is saying the hard things that you don’t want to say. Continue Reading →