April 4th, 2011 
alandanielson I’ve been preaching a series called “$tressed” and yesterday I spoke about generosity. People often dream about what it would be like to strike it rich. They fantasize about what they’ll buy and what they’ll give away. They have lofty ideas about what charities to support and which of their family/friends they’ll help financially. After all, when you [...]
March 28th, 2011 alandanielson Every Sunday night I watch America’s Funniest Videos with my kids. It’s a weekly ritual and we love it! I’m always amazed at the embarrassing moments people send to ABC, hoping for their 15 seconds of fame and a chance to win $10,000. The fear of embarrassment seems to fade when there’s money on the [...]
March 23rd, 2011 alandanielson Originally posted 03-15-2010. Reposted 03-23-2011. —————————————————————— I only started working a lot with small groups 5 years ago. Since then I’ve learned a ton about small groups and I’ve been blessed with a large network of friends in the small group ministry world. I’ve learned there are tons of different approaches and models for small [...]
Posted in Small Groups, Spiritual Growth 
Tags: denominations, Discipleship, division, factions, Small Groups, Unity 
3 Comments » March 21st, 2011 alandanielson Originally posted 03-16-2010. Reposted 03-21-2011. ——————————————————————— Our culture is full of contradictions: Double cheeseburger meal with a diet soda. Fireplaces with gas logs. The belief that “There are no absolutes”. Absolutely? The belief that “All religions are equal” even though religions have conflicting ideals. Our culture is wrought with contradictions. Most people know that these [...]
Posted in Spiritual Growth Tags: Contradictions, love, Sacrifice, Selfishness, Selflessness No Comments » March 15th, 2011 alandanielson At New Life Bible Church we just launched a new discipleship tool called “One Step Further.” It’s a simple downloadable .pdf document that people can use each week to take the weekend message one step further. It’s a devotional/discussion guide that helps people explore Sunday’s message in more depth. You can see examples of this [...]
March 9th, 2011 alandanielson Originally Posted March 3, 2010. Reposted March 9, 2011. ———————————————————————— Craig Groeschel of LifeChurch.tv preached a great message about the book of Hosea and it reminded me of a short film called “Oversold”. A good friend of mine named David Cowan and his business partner Paul Morrell produced this incredible film which is a modern [...]
Posted in Spiritual Growth Tags: Bible Study, Curriculum, Hosea, pornography, Short Films No Comments » March 3rd, 2011 alandanielson This is God’s universe and He does things His way. You may think you’ve got a better way, but you don’t have a universe. We say, “I swear to God”. He says “I swear to me”. That ‘s awesome! Let all the world look to me for salvation! For I am God; there is no [...]
March 2nd, 2011 alandanielson You are Christ’s body—that’s who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your “part” mean anything. ~1 Cor 12:27 (MSG) When we read this passage, our typical response is to ask the granular question: “What is my part in the body?” We think about how [...]
March 1st, 2011 alandanielson Originally posted 02-25-2010. Reposted 03-01-2011. ——————————————————————- Waiting is a pain. No human has a natural tendency for enjoying waiting. Some people are better at it than others, but none of us truly likes it. Most of us would agree that the three hardest words in the English language are, “Wait and see”. Yup, waiting is [...]
February 24th, 2011 alandanielson Originally posted 02-01-2010. Reposted 02-24-2011. —————————————————————— No pastor or church leader would use a phrase like this blog post’s title to promote a discipleship curriculum or program. It sounds like a silly infomercial, not to mention it’s utterly unbiblical. Sadly though, the way we promote discipleship in our churches frequently and unintentionally sends this kind of message. [...]
Posted in Spiritual Growth Tags: classes, Curriculum, Discipleship, Leadership, Spiritual Formation, workshops 5 Comments »
