Teaching Practices
For hundreds of years disciples of Jesus have spoken of the “three enemies of the soul” – the world, the flesh, and the devil. But all three have dropped out of the conversation in the modern, western church. This is why we are launching our new teaching series, The Invisible War. Together, we will unlock a new sense of victory, freedom, and growth in our life as we learn how to fight against our invisible, yet real, spiritual enemies.
Week 1 | The Devil’s Strategy
There are three enemies of our soul and society: the world, the flesh, and the devil. When we think of fighting the devil, we often think of an exorcism, or an illness that comes at a strange time, or a bizarre event that wreaks havoc in our life. And for good reason. But when Jesus teaches on the devil, he (mostly) talks about truth and lies. For example, in John 8, Jesus has this to say of the devil: “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” For Jesus, the devil is real, his main agenda is murder, and the means by which he accomplishes murder is through lies. This means that our fight against the devil is about believing truth over lies. It’s about rewiring the mental maps in our mind to adjust to reality in order to better show up to reality.
Week 2 | how to silence satan
The devil’s primary strategy to ruin our soul and society isn’t what most of us expect. It’s lies. More specifically, it’s deceptive ideas that play to disordered desires that are normalized in a sinful society. In this week’s teaching, we learn the secret to standing firm, day in and day out, against the attacks of the devil.
Week 3 | footholds & strongholds
Are you unconsciously giving the devil influence in your life? The devil doesn’t overpower or coerce us with his lies, instead he utilizes the seductive allure of influence. The authors of the Scriptures call this “giving the devil a foothold.” This week, we’re looking at what it means for disciples of Jesus to navigate our life and relationships without opening ourselves to the pull of the enemy.
Week 4 | The Slavery of Freedom (Part 1)
According to society, if you want to be free you must throw off all restraints and restrictions, follow your heart and simply be true to yourself (desires and all). As good as this sounds, it does not lead to a life of freedom, but slavery. Fortunately, Jesus offers us a new way of being. In this week’s teaching, we will discover the true path to the freedom we are longing for.
Week 5 | The Slavery of Freedom (Part 2)
Every day we stand at a fork in the road. We are faced with a decision to either sow to the flesh, and reap slavery to sin and death, or the Spirit, and yield a character and destiny of life and freedom. This week we take an in-depth look at the importance of our small, daily, seemingly insignificant choices.
Week 6 | The way of the world
Are you being being shaped and conformed by the world?
Jesus and the writers of the Bible warn us about “the world” – a system of ideas, values, practices and social norms that are institutionalized into a culture that is organized around rebellion against God and the redefinition of good and evil.
With this in mind, how do we practice the way of Jesus and keep from getting conformed by the way of the world?