Category: Miscellaneous

Five Ways to Invest in Disciple-Making Relationships

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn MiscellaneousLeave a comment

In my previous post, I contended that discipleship must take place in the context of relationships. But how do we create and invest in relationships with those whom we intend to disciple? Here are a few ideas:

1. Pray for them.

One of the most important things you can do in any disciple-making relationship is to pray for that person. It blesses the person as well as your relationship with them. As we take people before God in prayer, our hearts become invested in their spiritual well-being. We look for evidence of God’s work in their lives; we want to see it and be a part of it!

2. Pray with them.

Don’t just pray for the people you are discipling. Pray with them. As you do, you will be modeling what it looks like to pray. Remember, much more is caught than taught in disicipling relationships! Prayer will also unite your hearts as you spend time together in God’s presence.

3. Spend time together.

For any relationship to grow, you must spend time together. There will be times when you meet for “official” discipleship meetings, but don’t stop there. Invest in the relationship outside of set meeting times. Invite whoever you’re mentoring to join you in normal life activities: eating, running errands, playing with the kids, going to get ice cream, etc.

Recently, I needed to dig a hole for a new basketball goal, so I asked one of the guys in my discipleship group to come over one morning and help me dig the hole. After we finished, we sat in lawn chairs and admired our work as we talked about life. Another guy from my group came the next day and helped me mix concrete set the goal in place (it wasn’t easy, mind you, so we had to persevere together!). In each situation, I was able to spend quality time with these guys and strengthen our relationship.

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Discipleship Happens in Relationships

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Miscellaneous1 Comment

Discipleship is an integral part of the believer’s life and a necessary component of any local church’s ministry. However, discipleship can be easily misunderstood and become a sort of grey, ambiguous term, something that we all know we should be a part of but we aren’t sure how. We know that Jesus invites us to be disciples and commands us to make disciples, but we don’t really know what that looks like. So what does it look like? Relationships. Relationships with the purpose of growing in Christ.

Let me start by defining terms. Discipleship is the process of following Jesus. Disciple-making is the process of helping people follow Jesus. This is primarily done through relationships. Disciples are not made via online sermons, curriculum, or printed books. They are made through participation in the body of Christ, especially through participation in relationships.

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The Goodness of God

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I recently had the opportunity to speak on the goodness of God as a part of a series on God’s attributes. God’s goodness is an aspect of His character that we do not consider enough, even though we live in the presence of it every day. I thoroughly enjoyed studying for, writing, and delivering this message. As I considered all the biblical content regarding God and His goodness, I was able to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). I hope that this message helps you taste and see His goodness as well.

The Necessary Attitude of Sunday Expectancy

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What should our attitude be towards Sunday worship? I’ve been pondering this question as I prayer walk around our church campus this morning. Unfortunately, one of the attitudes I sense the most is one of reluctance. People don’t really want to be there, but they know other people expect them to be. They believe that good Christians should go to church, and so they go, doing the bare minimum while they’re there. This attitude often leads people to be there physically without being engaged spiritually.

Others may not have an attitude towards Sunday worship at all. They just go. It’s a habit. Like robots carrying out a programmed task, they wake up, go to church, shake some hands, maybe even give an offering, and return home. No negative attitude, but not necessarily a positive one, either. Status quo. Go with the flow. Whatever it may be, wrong attitudes (or lack of right ones) do not glorify God, lead to spiritual growth, or bless fellow believers. Therefore, we need to fight for the right attitude towards Sunday worship. I believe one of those attitudes to be an attitude of expectancy.

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How to be a Cheerful Giver

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Miscellaneous2 Comments

God tells us in His Word that He loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7).  Think about that for a second. God loves when we give cheerfully, rather than giving under compulsion or with reluctance. But how do we do that? Here are a few ideas.

1. Give in humility.

Humility enables us to realize that everything we have is a gift from God. Anything that we give to Him was already His in the first place. This includes our money, possessions, time, talents, and even our bodies. When we give to God, we are simply giving back what He has already given us for the purpose of helping others, building His kingdom, and glorifying Him.

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Ten Advantages to Gathering Together as the Body

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn MiscellaneousLeave a comment

The term “gather” does not only include a Sunday morning worship service, but may also include life groups, small groups, socials, discipleship groups, etc. The following are some of the many advantages to gathering faithfully with other believers in the context of a local church. 

  1. You receive help and support in time of need.

In our walk with Jesus, we all struggle at times. We all have needs. We get discouraged. We are prone to drift. Our faith gets weak. We grow weary in well-doing. When such times arise, should we merely “strive harder” in our flesh? No. Instead, we should lean into the power of the Holy Spirit and allow ourselves to be vulnerable and honest with trusted friends. God wants our fellowship with others to be real, honest, and transparent. We should be able to say to others, “I am really struggling. Would you please pray for me? Do you have any advice from your experience?” Sometimes we might even need physical or financial help from the body of Christ. “And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need” (Acts 2:45). 

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Ten Reasons to Read God’s Word Regularly

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Every follower of Jesus should cultivate the habit of regular Bible reading. Here are ten reasons why.

  1. God’s Word leads us to salvation.

In 2 Timothy 3:15-17, Paul tells Timothy to continue in the “sacred writings” that He has known from birth. Paul is referring to the Scriptures, which he describes as being “able to give wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” The Scriptures lead us to Christ, in whom is our salvation. But the Scriptures also continually point us to Christ throughout our lives and remind us of the gospel. We need to be reminded of what God has done for us in Christ on a regular basis. That’s why Paul encourages Timothy to continue reading them- and why we should to!

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Romans 5:8- The Demonstration of God’s Love

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Miscellaneous5 Comments

Tonight I have the privilege of preaching at a homeless shelter in Atlanta that our church supports. As I have wrestled with what to share, I have settled on one of my favorite verses, Romans 5:8. My plan is to break this verse down and explain the gospel as clearly as possible. I’ve included a rough draft of what I plan to say below. If you have the chance to read, I hope that it is helpful to you, too!

Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrated his love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

This is one of my favorite verses in all of the Bible. Though its just one sentence, it captures the meaning of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. It contains the primary theme of God’s Word. It is the key to understanding every book of the Bible. Yet not only is it the key to understanding the Bible, but all of life itself. This one verse has in it the power of life. The power of hope. The power of eternity. Have I convinced you that its important? I hope so!

During my time tonight, I want to stick with this one verse. I want to consider it from every angle. Backwards and forwards. Every word, every phrase. And I want to apply its meaning to our lives. There is not a single person here who doesn’t need to hear what this verse is saying to us. So I ask you- please listen!

Let’s dive in.

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Seven Ways to Get More Out of Sunday Sermons

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For centuries, Christians have considered the preaching of God’s Word to be one of the primary means of grace.  In other words, it is one of the main things God uses not only to save, but to grow and sanctify His people. Does the way we view, prepare for, and listen to preaching reflect this truth? If we really believe that preaching is one of the primary tools God uses to fashion, guide, and grow us, what practices regarding sermon-listening should we develop? I’d like to offer seven.

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Partiality & The Gospel

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Miscellaneous1 Comment

We are currently preaching through the book of James on Sunday mornings at our church. Our text for this past week was James 2:1-13, where James encourages his readers to avoid the sin of partiality. The chapter begins with the following admonition,

My brothers and sisters, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.

James 2:1

This passage contains one of my favorite aspects of the Bible: God often calls us to simply imitate who He is and what He has done for us in the gospel. It makes sense, considering His call to “be holy as I am holy” (Lev. 19:2). Everything that He asks us to do compels us to be more like Him. And we become more like Him by imitating, as far as we are able, who He is and what He has done for us. Let me explain.

We are told throughout the scriptures that God does not show partiality (Rom. 2:11; Deut. 10:17; Job 34:19; Acts 10:33). He does not show favoritism. He treats everyone equally, regardless of nationality, physical appearance, talents, position, family, etc. Thus, if we want to imitate God and be holy as He is holy, we should refrain from showing partiality. But what does that look like?

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