Discipleship is becoming like Jesus. Our goal as followers of Jesus is to become like Him in His life (character) and ministry (calling). For the next twelve weeks we will study the lives of David and of Jonah to learn and apply principles of Biblical calling – hearing God’s voice and taking steps to obey.
Easter Sunday – The Conquering King
Try to imagine what it was like for the disciples when they saw Jesus alive for the first time after his crucifixion. How did they feel? What were they thinking? What did they do? As Resurrection Sunday approaches, what is your response to the fact that Jesus is...
The Righteous One
Jesus’ trials before the Jewish council and the Roman governor teach one important truth - that Jesus was innocent. No two witnesses could agree on anything. There was no legitimate case against him. Over and over the righteousness of the rabbi was reinforced. Jesus’...
The Soil of the Heart
In our super busy and distracted culture, it’s rare for us to slow down enough to consider the condition of our hearts. More than the excuse of our culture is the scary fact of what we may find! In Matthew 13, in the Parable of the Soils, Jesus invites us to do a...
14. Humility
Humility is the 13th and final character perfection of our Lord Jesus. Though He literally deserved everything in terms of honor, love and service Jesus laid down all of His rights and served us to the ultimate degree. In the process He not only saved us from our sin...
13. Zeal
Zeal is an abiding passion for God that moves us to live for His kingdom. Jesus was perfectly aligned, with his internal zeal fueling his ministry priorities. By contrast, we tend to be apathetic about the things of God and zealous for this world. But God patiently...
12. The Practices of a United Church
Jesus is actively spreading the knowledge of His glory and goodness all over the world through the church. He is the head and we are His body, sharing His love and truth with those around us. Ephesians 4 shows us three essential steps to living as a church united: 1)...
The Beautiful Church
Pulpit Swap Sunday! Pastor Darin will be preaching at Living Faith Bible Fellowship this Sunday, and their pastor, Darryl Williamson, will preach at Oakwood. Darin and Darryl have been friends for several years, working together to help shape Tampa Bay 4 Christ as a...
11. Kindness
Matthew 9 documents nine people or groups having an encounter with Jesus and illustrates the depth and breadth of the kindness of our Lord. For sinful people, Jesus’ compassion for their eternal peril moves Him to be generous with grace. For religious people, Jesus’...
10. Gentleness
As we continue our series on the perfections of Christ, this Sunday we will study gentleness. What we learn in Matthew 11:28-30 is that Jesus is “gentle and lowly in heart.” No where else in Scripture does Jesus explicitly tell us what His heart is like except for...
9. Kingdom Habits
As we journey through the gospel of Matthew, studying the character of our Lord Jesus and seeking to grow up in Him, we will pause this week in chapter six. In the middle of a passage about giving, praying and fasting Jesus gives us the Lord’s Prayer along with...