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What Are The Questions For Which Christ Is The Answer?
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The core issues men face are not that different than they have ever been—finding significance and love, resolving loneliness and guilt, contemplating one’s own mortality, coping with the emptiness of material success or lack thereof, broken relationships, pride, fear, anger, lust, and sin—to mention some of the most obvious ones.. God inserted Jesus into human…
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The Indispensable Necessity of Connecting Men to Church
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The Big Idea: A real man invests in his church, then helps other men do so as well. Many men today consider church to be optional or a low-priority item on their list. But after you connect with a man who wants to grow in Christ, the reality is that it will be impossible for…
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Getting a Man to Say Yes
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The Big Idea: An intentional spiritual friendship is built over time. It’s a relationship, not a transaction. So how exactly do men develop relationships? We tend to bond in shared experiences (verses shared conversations), and there’s a definite progression. You can see it in the way that Jesus built a seemingly random group of strangers…
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The Ministry of Giving a Nudge
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The Big Idea: Just help a man go as far as he wants to go toward Jesus at that moment. We’ve been learning that reaching men is pretty much doing what we do every day, but with a view to building intentional spiritual friendships. So let’s say you’ve had that cup of coffee, helped a…
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How to Handle Disappointment
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The Big Idea: Jesus called us to go, not to wait and see if they come to us. In the previous two messages, we’ve been given several ways to get involved in a man’s life and help him move forward in his walk with Christ. But anyone who has ever tried to help another person knows…
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Next Step Triple Threat
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The Big Idea: Be a friend. Pray. Serve. Give. The challenge in the previous message, “How a Cup of Coffee Can Change the World”, was to begin the process of engaging another man in conversation and begin to get to know him. Great. Now what? Introducing the Next Step Triple Threat. Like the great “Read Option”…
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How One Cup of Coffee Can Change the World
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The Big Idea: Discipleship is one man caring enough about another man to help him build a relationship with God, a worldview that’s biblical, and a lifestyle worthy of Christ. Let’s presuppose that, like Peter, James, John, Paul, Timothy and others, you’re a true believer that making disciples is the main work of a Christian.…
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Why Knowing We Should Make Disciples Isn’t Enough
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The Big Idea: The more consciously you witness in the power of the Holy Spirit, the more consistently you will see lives change. In His final messages, Jesus told the disciples to carry on His mission—to go and make disciples. But Jesus apparently knew that wouldn’t be enough. I agree. In a career that spans…
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Guilt-Free Disciple Making
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The Big Idea: Our work for God (making disciples) will always be a reflection of our walk with God. Why do we feel so much pressure—and guilt— when we hear Christ’s command to “go and make disciples?” Actually, you’re probably already doing a lot more than you think! In today’s lesson we’ll explore what Jesus…
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Jesus, The Tender Warrior
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The Big Idea: Jesus wants to heal our most broken places so we can be completely His. Jesus fights for his friends. In John 21, Jesus renews and restores the disciples so they can live the great adventure he set before them. In this message, we’ll learn how He can do the same for us.…
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Jesus’ Faithfulness to His Friends
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The Big Idea: Jesus will keep on showing up. That’s what he does. Even after he died, Jesus just keeps on showing up. If the disciples thought they were sharing a hallucination, Jesus repeated appearances should convince them that he is really alive! Jesus always shows up – if you’re super emotional like Peter, a…
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First Things First: Restoring Confidence
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The Big Idea: Even if I die, God is still in control. We’ve all lost confidence in leaders because we think they let us down—whether a boss, pastor, or elected official. That’s to be expected. You may have even been the leader who went through, or is going through, such a crisis. But what if…
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But We Had Hoped…
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The Big Idea: In my greatest disappointment Jesus gives me the biggest surprises. After Jesus’ death, two of his followers left Jerusalem to go to a nearby town. Soon, a stranger joined them as they walked. They told him the story of the last few days, the death of their beloved rabbi and friend, and…
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Did Jesus Actually Rise From The Dead?
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The Big Idea: What changed their minds then is what will change our minds now. Long before we get to the “meaning” of the Resurrection, the bigger issue for most of us was, or is, “Did it actually happen?” It’s natural to have doubts. But whatever they are, they’re probably mild compared to the doubts,…
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The Empty Tomb: What (Else) Is Missing?
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The Big Idea: Jesus defeated death and sets me free from my sin. The story of Jesus’ execution, burial, resurrection and bodily existence post-execution is a public narrative. Literally dozens of people saw him die and saw him alive again. In this message, Man in the Mirror vice president Brett Clemmer looks at the Bible’s…
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The Man Who Could No Longer Remain Silent
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The Big Idea: What stirs you so deeply that you can no longer remain silent? Our nation is falling apart morally. Few would disagree. But what can you do? No doubt the early disciples were thinking similar thoughts and asking similar questions at the murder of their Leader. Now we come to His burial. In…
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Why The “Happiness” Gospel is Letting You Down
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The Big Idea: Any gospel without suffering is a gospel without Christ. No one wants to suffer. You’d be nuts if you did. In fact, it’s normal to do everything humanly possible to seek the abundance promised by Jesus. But a gospel without suffering is a gospel without Jesus. In this lesson, we explore how the…
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What Can Happen When a Man Finally Gets It
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The Big Idea: Am I where I’m supposed to be? Am I doing what needs to be done? Is this where I can do the most good? What did a lifelong criminal dying on a cross next to Jesus see that was so powerful he felt compelled to plead, “Jesus, remember me when You come…
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Hope Amidst Despair
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The Big Idea: Suffering unjustly reminds us of Jesus’ pain & purpose. You might be feeling hopeless or desperate right now. Maybe your family is suffering, you’ve lost your job or a relationship you value is damaged inadvertently. Maybe there are things going on in the culture that are making you feel marginalized…or just plain…
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A Man Struggling To Do The Right Thing
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The Big Idea: Once a man is willing to compromise his integrity, anything can happen. We all get caught up in situations where we know the right thing to do, but we’re conflicted. That’s the situation in this lesson. Join us as we learn something about Jesus that we would otherwise never know. We’ll explore…
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What Jesus Wants Us To Know About His Kingdom
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The Big Idea: Every form of truth requires some form of faith. From his verbal exchange with Pilate, we learn something explicit about the nature of Christ’s kingdom we would otherwise not know. Join us as we delve into why some men are so conflicted about the truth, what we know that’s true about the…
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Betraying Jesus for Money
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The Big Idea: Everyone betrays Jesus for money, but it’s what we do next that counts. Not even an atheist would ever name his son Judas! Judas is synonymous with betraying Jesus for money. Yet at some point, haven’t we all betrayed Jesus for the same reason? So what’s the difference between Judas and us?…
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How Men Deny Jesus and What We Can Do About It
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The Big Idea: Men deny Jesus when they value something else more than they value knowing Him. Peter hit rock bottom after having perhaps the worst 24 hours in history. While we may not face the drama he did, all of us are tempted to deny Jesus in big and small ways. We may not…
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How To Get Back At The Jerks Who Mistreat You
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The Big Idea: Mistreatment is God teeing up opportunities to show the world there really is a difference. Unfair mistreatment is so pervasive. Between our relationships and transactions, most of us get mistreated all the time. We have quite an example for how to get back at those who mistreat us. No man was ever…
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What Should You Do When You’ve Been Betrayed?
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The Big Idea: If God allows you to be betrayed, how can you handle it so that Christ is glorified? King David expected his enemies to oppose him, but it really got to him when betrayed by his friends. He was devastated. For there to be a betrayal there must first be someone you thought…
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The Fully Surrendered Life
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The Big Idea: The key to embracing God’s will is to fully surrender any will of my own. Many soldiers and martyrs have gone fearlessly to their deaths. But in today’s passage, Jesus underwent a moment of unrivaled agony and suffering. What was happening that was so extraordinary? What does it mean to us? And…
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No One Thinks They’re Going To Fall Away
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The Big Idea: Let us learn to distrust any confidence that does not depend entirely on the Holy Spirit. No one ever thinks they’ll be the one who falls away, but could it happen to you? Or is it happening now, or already happened? When Jesus predicted that all the disciples would fall away, they…
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What Knowledge Will Bring You Sustainable Joy?
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The Big Idea: The more we grasp just how much Jesus really cares, the more robust will be our joy. Are you a basically unhappy man who occasionally experiences joy, or a basically joyful man who occasionally experiences sadness? We will all feel what C. S. Lewis called “stabs of joy” in our circumstances, but…
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Rock Solid Men – Becoming a Man of Courage [David Delk]
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The Big Idea: Courage comes from knowing Who is holding the end of the rope. What does it mean to have courage? Most of us as men lead rather mundane and ordinary lives, yet all of us eventually find ourselves in circumstances that require courage. It may be a disagreement with our spouse, a cancer…
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How To Experience Joy Even If You’re Hurting
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The Big Idea: Jesus promises that your grief will end in joy. Many men are hurting because their circumstances are filled with trouble, trouble, trouble. They wonder, “Where is the joy?” You may be one of them. But there are other men in similar, or worse, circumstances who appear to be genuinely at peace and…
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What Does the Holy Spirit Do, and How Does He Do It?
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The Big Idea: The Spirit will make Jesus known to you in every way you need to know Him. The Bible says, and Christians often encourage each other, “God will never leave you or forsake you.” But of course, the human Jesus did leave. So the Bible means that the personally indwelling Holy Spirit will…
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What Should You Expect If You Make Disciples?
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The Big Idea: Half the people in the world are not going to like you anyway, so it may as well be for the right reason. Every Christian man knows he’s supposed to share his faith and make disciples. Yet not many follow through. Why is that? It couldn’t possibly be a lack of knowing…
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Exactly How Much Does Jesus Love You, And So What?
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The Big Idea: Jesus wants a relationship with you that mirrors His relationship with the Father. We all know that Jesus loves the world. Awesome. But how does that love get split up? How much of it is set aside for you personally? You may find the answer surprising! Come see and experience for yourself…
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The Secret To Bearing a Lot of Fruit
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The Big Idea: Bearing a lot of fruit is easily sustainable by abiding in Christ. Who doesn’t want his life to count, to make a difference? Who doesn’t want to do something significant with his life? We all want to make a lasting contribution. That’s just how we’re wired! But some men appear to do…
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The Cure For a Troubled Heart
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The Big Idea: Notwithstanding the world is such a troubled place, we can experience the peace of Christ. t’s not just that peace eludes foreign nations, but peace eludes us too. Our walls are broken down. Our cities are struggling. Our neighborhoods are divided. Our homes hide secrets. It’s understandable why so many of us…
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7 Things Jesus Said About the Holy Spirit
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The Big Idea: The Holy Spirit is doing even more for us now than Jesus did for the disciples then. The Christian life is difficult, but not impossible. However, try to imagine what it would be like today if Jesus had called, equipped, and sent men to be disciples in their own strength. Disaster! But…
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How You Can Obey Jesus Without Becoming a Legalist
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The Big Idea: Obedience is the trademark of a biblical Christian. Who hasn’t heard a sad story from a man who grew up in a legalistic home or church where he always felt either a) the shame of never being good enough, or b) the pride of thinking he was better than everyone else because…
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What Are The Prayers That God Will Answer?
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The Big Idea: It’s 100% that Jesus will give you what you ask when it’s to do what He wants done. We’ve all asked for something in the name of Jesus that we did not receive–something important and precious, perhaps something for which we were desperate. But Jesus said, “Whatever you ask in My name,…
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What It Means To Really Know Jesus
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The Big Idea: Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God, all of God in a human body. By the time we arrive at today’s text, Jesus had spent 3 ½ years teaching his disciples about himself, his plan, and their mission. Yet after 3 ½ years there was still a lot of confusion.…
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Words of Comfort for Troubled Hearts
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The Big Idea: Telling a person about Jesus will help them a lot more than telling them how to fix themselves. When you’ve been knocked off balance, the last thing you need is for someone to explain why you got it wrong. When your faith is under attack, the last thing you need is for…
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Remembering and Proclaiming Jesus
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The Big Idea: Only Christians would think to find strength by meditating on the death of their leader. You’re having a tough month, or a tough year. You are starting to feel like God has abandoned you. You know in your heart that’s not true, right? But that’s sure not what it feels like, is…
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How To Roll Like Jesus
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The Big Idea: Figure out the equivalent of washing feet and do that. The more you’ve learned about Jesus, the more you’ve grown to love Him, right? And the more you’ve grown to love Him, the more you want to be like Him, right? So what does that look like in practice? How did Jesus…
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Do Something Great With Your Life
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The Big Idea: The first step to every great outcome is to imagine its possibility. All men are wired to want to do something great with their lives. Some of us may not think it was ever possible. Others that it is no longer possible. But every one of us longs for it. Greatness is…
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Joshua: The Principle of Mission Success
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The Big Idea: God will not give you a mission without also equipping you with everything you need succeed. If God has ever called you to a great (or small) mission, then you know the ecstasy of getting started and the astonishment of finding out how hard it is to follow through. You feel like…
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Daniel: The Principle of Uncompromising Character
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The Big Idea: Godly character doesn’t come from “obeying the rules,” but out of the overflow of a faith-filled heart. No man had a more uncompromising character than Daniel. What kind of character do you have? Are you, like Daniel, known for godly character? If so, how will you stay faithful? Or has your character…
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Jesus: The Principle of Building Relationships
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The Big Idea: The most powerful force in the world is a relationship. Men will do for love what they will do for no other reason. Jesus understood that the most powerful force in the world is a relationship. He made building unbreakable bonds with a few men the core of His strategy. It was…
