Higher Aim With Dr. Curt Dodd

In today’s message, we are going to look at the definition of faith. And one of the greatest examples of faith in Scripture is the story of the Centurion in Luke chapter 7. The problem in this story was that the Centurion’s servant was sick and was about to die. Undoubtedly, he had sought out physicians, with no remedy or recourse. He heard that Jesus was in the area, and he knew what Jesus could do. Although he had never met Him personally face- to-face, he knew of His fame and power. Therefore, he sent another servant to ask Jesus for help. There is so much we can learn about faith from the Centurion, so let’s dive in.

Regardless of how old you are, God wants you to accomplish the dream that He placed within your heart. Otherwise, you will just sit and be seated, and get sour. That is not God's plan for your life! We need to understand how He has created us and what He wants to do in our lives. God has more for you than you could ever imagine. Don't go to sleep at the wheel. Instead, choose to boldly and confidently pursue the plan He has for your life!

From the moment you give your life to Christ, I wish that everything would come up roses, and everything would be better. Many people say that everything will be great as soon as you accept Christ. That is not what the New Testament teaches. Instead, it teaches a sobering concept of how to live this life regardless of what happens to you, even if it is suffering. As we wrap up this series, we’re going to use this message to talk about the different realities surrounding suffering in the life of the believer so that we can know how to honor God when we face seasons of suffering.

Last week, we talked about the importance of dwelling with a spiritual mindset. Specifically, we began to break down what it looks practically to have a spiritual mindset according to 1 Peter 5. We’re going to continue that discussion today and talk about three more steps you can take to be prepared to stand against the devil and stay strong in your faith.

God wants us to learn how to cast our anxiety on Him. We are a very anxious people. Some 46 million American adults deal with anxiety. Do you know that between the ages of 18 and 25, about 50 % deal with anxiety? For adults older than 25, roughly 32-38 % deal with anxiety. So, sadly this is a very common issue across humanity. It is not only true for our culture now, but it applies to every culture. That is why the words of Jesus in Matthew, as well as Simon Peter's admonition in today’s key passage, are so important. If we are going to answer the call to the right attitudes, as we are discussing in this mini-series, we need to pay close attention to what Jesus says about handling our anxiety.

In the last couple of verses of 1 Peter chapter 5, Simon Peter gives the people some guidance on how to develop proper attitudes. We need to have the right attitude in order to live the Christian life like God wants us to live it. Unless we get our attitudes right, it will be difficult to hit the ball down the middle of the fairway when it comes to our faith.

The last half of 1 Peter chapter 5 is great place to focus as we take this last lap in the book of 1 Peter. I have thoroughly enjoyed going through the verses in this book, pulling out the nuggets of wisdom for my life and yours. In these last several verses, we find several attitudes that are very important for us to have. Regardless of where we are in life and what we have experienced, we desperately need these right attitudes to be ours.

As we continue our study of 1 Peter, we are going to talk more about leadership. Chapter 5 of 1 Peter has so much to say about what it looks like to be a godly leader. Last week we talked about the first three characteristics of Christlike leadership, and today, we are going to talk about four more. Let’s dive in.

The Bible has a lot to say about leadership. More specifically, we can learn about how to lead people well by watching how Jesus led people. So over the next couple of weeks, we’re going to discuss several biblical truths surrounding leadership so that we can learn how to be godly leaders.

Many believers don't know what it means to live fearlessly. If there is anyone who has the encouragement and the right to live fearlessly, it is believers. But what does it look like to live fearlessly? That’s exactly what we’re going to look at in today’s message.

Jesus spoke more about money than anything else while He was here on earth. When you look at the words of Jesus, He continually talks about being a steward. You need to be a man or a woman who honors God with everything that flows through your hands. That’s what it means to be a good steward. The Lord allows some people to be stewards over a great deal. With others, He makes them stewards over a little. Regardless of how He blesses you, it is your job to honor Him through your giving. But in order to do that, we need to know the reason why we give. That is the conversation we are going to continue this week.

Have you ever wondered why we give? Why do you give? What really motivates you to give? Keep in mind I am not just talking about money and resources. I am also talking about your time, energy, and your heart. Why do you give what you have? What motivates you to give to others, if not to God? Have you wondered that about yourself? If so, get ready, because we’re going to be answering all of these questions over the next two weeks.

Today we are wrapping up our conversation on the 10 B’s of Godly Living. We’re going to conclude Peter’s list of ways to live a godly life by talking about the importance of being mindful, being insightful, and being joyful. Let’s dive in.

As we continue our conversation on the 10 B’s of godly living, we’re going to continue breaking down the list of things Peter outlines for us in 1 Peter 4 so that we might live a life that honors and glorifies God. This week, we’re specifically going to talk about serving, so let’s dive in.

The fourth chapter of 1 Peter gives us a wonderful picture of what God desires for us to do in godly living. As we continue our conversation on the 10 B’s of godly living, we’re going to dive deeper into this chapter of Scripture and learn more about how to live a life that honors the Lord and emulates Christ.

The word “Ekklesia” is the Koine ́ Greek word for church. It is a compound word, “ek” (the preposition, which means “out of”) and “kaleo” (to call). The word “ekklesia” literally means “called out of ones.” In other words, we, as God's children, have been called out of the world to live for Christ. This is interesting: 90% of the time that the word “ekklesia” is used in the New Testament, it refers to the local church. Only 10% of the time, it refers to the body of Christ worldwide, the spiritual body of Christ. We are going to take a look at this word more closely in today’s message as we understand the importance of fellowship and community in the local church, and we’ll answer the question “Why do we need brotherhood in the church?”

John wrote his three epistles so that you and I could know without a shadow of a doubt that we know Jesus, that we understand the gospel, and that we have a personal relationship with our Savior. If you read through first John, the author gives us seven questions to answer. The questions are there to challenge us but also to give us confidence that we really do belong to Christ as His followers.

There are a lot of people who have already given their life to Christ. They are suited up. Many Christians have been trained up, but there is a problem. Many believers today need to get up. I want you to feel a little uncomfortable if you are not getting up. I want to talk to you who have been benchwarmers. You know Christ and you have been following Him for some time. You know the plays, but you are sitting on the bench; and you are not completely engaged. I don't know what is happening in your life right now, but I know that God doesn't have any benchwarmers! He doesn't want us to be sitting on the bench on the sidelines, talking to each other. He wants us to be ready to go. He wants us to either be on the field, or He wants us to be ready to get onto the field the moment he sends us into the game.

Have you ever trained for something before? Maybe you trained to run a race, or to play a sport, or compete in an event. Whatever the case may be, the training most likely wasn’t easy. It was strenuous and difficult, possibly even painful. You had to push yourself further than you thought you could go for the sake of preparing your body and your mind for the upcoming challenge. As believers, we have training to do as well. We have to be prepared spiritually, mentally, and emotionally for all that we will face as we follow Christ. The Christian life is no cake walk. We will face difficulties and obstacles along the way, which is why we can’t skip out on training, learning, and becoming disciples if we want to walk out our faith well. There are several truths that apply to us as followers of Jesus when it comes to the tough times we will face in our lives, and I want us to look at a few of those today.