Higher Aim With Dr. Curt Dodd

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.

In this message, I want us to take one more step in this perfect picture of the Messiah. This is, “A picture of partnership.” If you read Revelation 1:9-11, you will see that what John is describing is the perfect picture of partnership. More specifically, John wants us to understand that God calls us to be in partnership with three different entities: believers, the Lord, and the church.

In today’s key verse of Revelation 1:8, we see something that is very powerful. I would call it the perfect picture of the Messiah. And as we look over the next few weeks at how the perfect picture of Jesus is described, we will start with one thing, and that is that Jesus the Messiah is a picture of authority. There is so much we can learn about Jesus from this one verse, but all of that learning starts with understanding His authority in our lives and in our world.

As we continue our study of the book of Revelation, we are going to spend some more time looking at the perfect picture of God’s messenger, and that is John. In today’s key passage, John is still taken away with Christ alone even after all of the years of following Jesus. You can't read what he wrote (inspired by the Holy Spirit) without capturing his passion, love and worship of Jesus Christ. As we look at these words, I need to tell you that some of us have lost heart. How does that happen? How does someone lose the fire that was once in their heart to follow Christ? In the coming days, we will read about a church that lost its first love. But for now, I want us to become aware that we may have lost our fire. And when that happens, we need to know what to do to keep the fire alive in our hearts.

As we continue in our study of the book of Revelation, we are going to see the perfect picture of God's messenger that is described for us in verses four through seven. You see, the Book of Revelation was a letter. It was intended to be read as a letter, a letter that John intended for all Christians to read, then and now. More than likely, the book was written around 95 to 96 A.D. John describes that God gave him this book on the Island of Patmos. As the messenger, he was responsible for simply penning what he was seeing. He wants everyone to see what he was seeing. And so as we look at this picture from John, we are going to learn not only about the message he was giving us, but about the messenger himself.

Today, we are beginning a brand-new sermon series through the book of Revelation! In this verse-by-verse study, we are going to dive deep into this book that cause so many of us to be confused, lost, and frustrated as we try to understand it. But the Lord has packed so much information into this book that is pertinent for us to learn. So the goal for this series is to help guide you as you study the book of Revelation and aid you in your search for clarity in this amazing book of Scripture.

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.