DUDES DISCIPLESHIP & DAUGHTERS OF THE KING [1/18/12]
Last night [Wed] at 7pm a dynamic group of men and women gathered for the first discipleship meeting of 2012! Pastor Dennis and his wife Xu welcomed the group with an encouragement to "be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" [2 Tim 2:1] and a challenge to DTR: Define the Relationship, that you have with Christ. It was an exhortation to strive for growth and maturity, and to dig deep with JESUS.
A time of worship gave honor to the sweet presence of our Lord with these words:
"Give me one pure and holy passion; Give me one magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life; To know and follow hard after You"
The study for this semester is the book of 2nd Timothy. We use an inductive Bible study format which includes OIA: Observation, Interpretation and Application of God's Word. It's an exciting time and the men and women split up into smaller groups in separate classrooms to pour over the Word, gain understanding and share our hearts with one another.
This week, we studied 2 Timothy verses 1-7 with the major themes of faith, prayer, boldness, fear and the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote his final letter [from prison] to his close friend Timothy whom he had mentored and watched grow in faith.
The letter was an encouragement for Timothy to continue the Lord's work in Ephesus and to be let by the Holy Spirit to combat fear of any kind. Also, to "fan into flame the gift of God" [v.6] and to utilize his giftings to glorify the Lord. Paul demonstrates an eternal, Heavenly perspective and passion for Christ.
Our memory verse for this week is 2 Timothy 1:7!!
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind."
We couldn't leave until we all recited the verse in unison as a group and then word-for-word one at a time corporately. It was an awesome challenge and a neat way to memorize the scripture and have it written on our hearts. Thanks to the leadership at the Bridge we had an outstanding potluck full of deeeelicious food, drinks and snacks and had the chance to laugh and mingle with each other before and after the study.
Come join us!! We would love to meet you, hang with you and walk along side you as we look to God to direct our lives, change us inside and show us how to give Him the glory in all we do and say.
