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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…
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Jesus: The Principle of Abiding in Christ
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The Big Idea: Meno is the one thing that will most lead to a vibrant relationship with Jesus. What is the one thing that will most lead to a vibrant relationship with Christ? Wow! Is it even possible to answer that question? Actually, it is. And you will feel a lot more confident about how…
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The Principle of the Power of the Holy Spirit
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The Big Idea: To walk in the power of the Holy Spirit is the one thing that will most accelerate the fulfillment of your mission. Do you sense God calling you to a great mission? If so, you’ve no doubt found yourself feeling compelled to act, yet not always sure about what comes next. Sometimes…
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The Principle of Discerning God’s Will
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The Big Idea: Don’t assume you’ve missed God’s will just because it’s hard. Do you have a major issue or decision that keeps you up at night? Maybe you know what to do. But what if you’re not so sure–even confused? Is there a way to be sure? There is. And that’s what we’re going…
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The Principle of Spiritual Growth
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The Big Idea: The spiritual disciplines are what differentiate men who are growing from those who are not. Every one of us wants to grow and become spiritually mature. So why do some men thrive while others become stagnant? And why do we often feel like an invisible force is trying to hold us back?…
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The Principle of Reproducing Yourself
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The Big Idea: Making disciples is God’s designated way to release the power of His gospel on every problem we face. Everyone knows we have a “men problem.” The collateral damage among women and children has been staggering–with no relief in sight. I know you care. Yet if you’re like most of us, you can’t…
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The Principle of Spiritual Maturity
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The Big Idea: You are closing in on spiritual maturity when you can say to another man, “Follow my example.” What does it mean to be “spiritually mature?” And why do many men find spiritual maturity such a struggle? In this lesson we’re going to answer those questions AND give you a practical tool that…
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The Principle of Success That Matters
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The Big Idea: Success that matters is to be a disciple: called to live “in” Christ, equipped to live “like” Christ, sent to live “for” Christ. All men want to be successful. And Jesus himself promised an “abundant” life. Yet a lot of us would say our lives are anything but abundant. So what exactly…
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Ezekiel: How God Makes Men So They Can Complete Their Mission
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The Big Idea: God will never give you a mission without also giving you everything you need to be faithful. We live in a broken generation because, for the most part, people have been doing what seems right in their own eyes. They have exchanged the truth of God for lies, and the glory of…
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How Jesus Looks At Generosity
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The Big Idea: You don’t have to give a large amount to give a lot. It’s pretty obvious that a $10,000 donation will pay for more charitable needs that a $100 donation. So does that make the $10,000 donor more generous, valuable, pleasing, or righteous in God’s eyes? You may be surprised–or not–to learn that…
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How Jesus Describes The End Times
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The Big Idea: Why be surprised that everything is happening just like Jesus said it would? Here’s a surprisingly relevant topic. Are we living in the last days? Can we know for sure? If so, then what should we expect to happen? When will the end come? And how should we live in the meantime?…
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Helping Men Climb Out Of Their Rut
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The Big Idea: If God puts a man in your path who is stuck, discipleship means finding out why and then helping him solve that problem. You can see them sitting next to you at any traffic light in America. The pace has numbed their senses. They don’t get enough rest. They’re always on the…
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What Does It Look Like To Be A Faithful Man Today?
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The Big Idea: God calls us to be faithful, not successful. Who doesn’t want to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” But what does it look like to be a faithful man in this day and age? Join us and find out why the “if you really love God, you need to prove it”…
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What Does It Look Like To Follow Jesus in Practice?
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The Big Idea: What does it say about us if we don’t help a person in need when it is in our power to act? Imagine how the world would respond if every Christian man fully lived out his faith in Jesus simultaneously for the next 30 days. The results would be nothing short of…
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Why There Is Still Hope For Every Judas
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The Big Idea: Once we have believed in Christ, we can never fall so far that God will not restore us. Judas. The man who betrayed Jesus. He had in his generation what Osama has in ours: the most despised name on earth. No parent today would ever name a son Judas. It just isn’t…
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The Extremes To Which Jesus Will Go To Bring Us To Our Senses
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The Big Idea: Right now Jesus is grieving and interceding over every person who doesn’t get it. Has Jesus lost his cool? In today’s passage he delivers such a scathing critique directed at religious leaders that we picture the veins in His neck sticking out. It’s the climax of a conflict that has been brewing…
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Becoming a Servant Leader
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The Big Idea: The purpose of servant leadership is to help others while expecting nothing in return. The world is full of people willing to tell you what needs to be done, but not willing to lift a finger to help. Those were the kind of people in leadership who Jesus critiqued in today’s passage.…
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How To Love The Way God Wants Us To Love
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The Big Idea: God will never ask you to do something that He will not also give you the power to do. We all know what God wants most is for us to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We are to love Him with no reserves–the totality of our being,…
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Helping People Who Are Mistaken About God
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The Big Idea: What’s your best way to help someone who is mistaken? All around us are co-workers, neighbors, family members, and friends who have mistaken ideas about God. Those ideas may be based on their feelings, something they read or heard, or bad teaching. For example, some Christians are not sure of their salvation.…
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The Dual Citizenship of a Christian
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The Big Idea: Precisely because we are Christians, we must become great citizens. Jesus said, “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and unto God what is God’s.” That’s poetic, but what does it mean as a practical matter? By what principle can we make secular decisions that also honor God? As Christians, we have a…
