I serve God by serving others. Whereas the world defines greatness by how many others serve me, God defines greatness by how many people I serve. Rick Warren provides several ways I can discern if I have a servant’s heart: Some of God’s greatest servants are people we have never heard of. They are people…
Because today is Sunday, this is an abbreviated look at day thirty two of The Purpose Driven Life. Warren continues his discussion about finding my SHAPE. He gives several pointers to help in discovering this. First, I need to begin by assessing my gifts and abilities. One of the best ways of doing this is…
Today Rick Warren continues the discussion about my SHAPE. Yesterday he discussed Spiritual Gifts and Heart and today discusses Abilities, Personality and Experiences. Every person has some natural talents and abilities that have been given to us by God. Each of these abilities can be used either for or against Him and obviously God wants…
I was shaped to serve God. Just as every creature in the world was created to play a specific role in the world, so I was created to do a specific thing. I was created to fulfill a specific ministry. God gave me abilities, interests, talents, gifts, personality and life experiences so I could use…
Day twenty nine of The Purpose Driven Life begins the section on my fourth purpose which is serving God. I was put on this earth to make a contribution and to make a difference with my life. This purpose is my “ministry” or service. When we die God is going to compare how much time…
Having settled the rules, let’s move on to a discussion of why an understanding of Christianity is important. As I mentioned at the outset, I hope to answer the question “Why should I bother learning about Christianity?” As a person working in the computer industry, I am often told about wonderful new pieces of hardware…
Day twenty eight of The Purpose Driven Life is the final chapter devoted to my third purpose which is becoming like Christ. Warren closes this section with a discussion of the time it takes to mature in my faith. There are no shortcuts and no easy answers to reaching Christian maturity. It takes time and…
A Starting Place I have been asked by a few different visitors to this site to write a series about basic Christianity. At first I hesitated, thinking that surely there were many, many similar series on the Internet that I could direct people to. I was only partially correct. There are many courses available, but…
God will never allow me to face a temptation that is too much for me to bear. God provides me all I need to be able to stay strong through temptation. I can do my part by following four principles: When faced with temptation I need to have confidence in God – confidence that He…
Day twenty seven of The Purpose Driven Life deals with temptation and how every temptation is an opportunity to do good. A temptation is only a stumbling block if I react the wrong way. What Satan uses as his primary tool to destroy me is what God uses as a primary tool to develop my…
Because today is a very busy Sunday, this is an abbreviated look at day twenty five of The Purpose Driven Life God has a purpose behind every trouble. God uses circumstances to develop my character. God will often use tough times in life to test me and mold me into Christ’s likeness. Through the hard…
God’s truth transforms me. The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to make me like the Son of God. Unlike any other book in the world, the Bible is alive. It is the spiritual nourishment I need to grow spiritually. I need to not only read God’s Word, but abide in it. There…
God wants me to grow up. It is God’s will that I mature as a Christian, becoming more and more like Jesus. We see that in the Christian world many people never do grow up and much of the reason for this is that people do not dedicate themselves to spiritual growth. Growth is not…
Day Twenty Two of The Purpose Driven Life begins the examination of my third purpose – becoming like Christ. God’s plan for me from the very beginning was for me to become like Christ. The way to achieve Christ-likeness is through the transformation of my character. It is important to note that this does not…
It is my job to protect the unity of my church. Unity is a critical component of God’s plan for Christian community and I must do all I can to promote it. The Bible gives several pointers on how to protect the unity in my church. God blesses churches that are unified. It is the…
Day twenty of The Purpose Driven Life is devoted to restoring broken fellowships. Now that I have been shown the importance of community and the ways to cultivate community it seems logical that we would discuss those with whom we no longer have fellowship. Warren provides seven biblical steps to restoring broken fellowship: Bible Passages…
This is part five of our series studying the differences between Calvinism and Arminianism. Please note that this is only a brief overview of a vast topic. A thorough discussion of this topic can (and often has) filled many books. At the conclusion of the series I will provide a list of helpful resources should…
Having discussed the importance of a small group community, Warren now provides pointers on how to cultivate community. Warren suggest making a group covenant that will have each member of the group commit to the characteristics of biblical fellowship. Bible Passages Warren quotes the Bible twenty one times using seven translations and paraphrases. He generally…
I need to belong not only to a church but also to a small group within the church. Life is meant to be shared and it is best shared with a small group of dedicated friends with whom I can experience true fellowship. The ultimate model for a small group is Jesus’ twelve disciples. He…
God does not just call us to believe; He also calls us to belong to His family. The Bible shows that from the beginning of creation “it was not good for man to be alone.” We were formed to be part of a body of believers. The Bible speaks of a human body and shows…