Derwin L. Gray's Blog, page 6

Live as an Adopted Child of God

In Christ, you are Beloved Child of God the Papa.

Delight in this Gospel and live.

The chart above was heavily influenced by World Harvest Mission.

Marinate on that,

Pastor Derwin

 

It’s Time To Celebrate

Baptism is a time of great celebration within the life of Transformation Church.  There’s nothing quite like seeing a person who’s life has been transformed by the matchless grace of Jesus publicly declare his or her faith.  This coming weekend we’re going to celebrate again and we can’t wait!  Take just a moment to catch a glimpse of what’s going to happen.  If you’re local and call TC 521 or TC RH “home” and haven’t yet been baptized, you can sign up here - http://www.transformationchurch.tc/newhere/nextsteps/baptism.php.

“The Key To Discipleship Is?”

The Key To Discipleship Is Faith Is?

Biblical, Jesus-empowered, Gospel-centered, grace-infused discipleship transforms a person’s mind and emotions. This beautiful, God the Holy Spirit-enabled act results in a life that progressively reflects Jesus.

I graduated Magnum Cum Laude with a Masters of Divinity Degree, with a concentration in Apologetics, from Southern Evangelical Seminary under Norm L. Geisler, Ph.D.

I am currently a doctoral student at Northern Seminary under Scott McKnight, Ph.D. My doctoral emphasis is the ‘New Testament in Context.’

I share this with you not impress you, but to you let you know that I value the life of the mind.

I am a full-fledged, card-carrying theology nerd. But I’m also a spiritual romantic in that being loved by and loving Jesus is my highest treasure.

But if all my theological, philosophical, apologetic learning is not integrated into my life by faith in Jesus to mature me holistically as a person, then I have wasted my time.

It’s possible to be a biblical literate and emotionally immature.

The overarching goal of discipleship is to partner with the Holy Spirit to produce communities of love:

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love.  Ephesians 3:16-17 NIV

I suggest that we have told me to read the bible, pray, join a small group, serve, and share your faith but we have and under-developed people in how to live by faith in the Indwelling Lord Jesus.

Spiritual disciplines are useless if we are not living by faith in the Indwelling Lord Jesus.

The Pharisee’s knew the Old Testament in its entirety by the age of 12, yet Jesus told them,

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.  John 5:39-40 ESV

Jesus doesn’t just want us to learn about Him.  Jesus wants to know, experience, and trust Him (John 17:3)!

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  John 15:5 NIV

Discipleship to the Apostle Paul was about cultivating emotionally-mature people because of their direct dependence and trust in Jesus:

Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.  Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.  Ephesians 4:31-32 NLT

Can you imagine a local church like this?  Jesus wants to fill our planet with local churches filled with people like this.

So, how do we fix our broken discipleship methods?  By teaching people to trust in, and live from, the Indwelling Life of the Lord Jesus.

 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 ESV

For more of my views on discipleship, check out my book, Limitless Life: You Are More Than Your Past When God Holds Your Future.

Marinate on that,

Pastor Derwin

God’s Mercy Compels Us To Live On Mission

Have you ever found yourself dwelling in the dark caves of shame, regret and striving to perform? It seems we’ve all been there at some point in our lives. Take just a few moments to watch this compelling video to see how one person’s experience with God’s grace and mercy compels her to live on mission!

Watch the sermon here! - http://transformationchurch.tc/sermons/?pray_strong/power_mercy_mission/

It’s Time To Rest

Take a deep breath; it’s time for you to rest.

It’s time to rest from people pleasing.

It’s time to rest from seeking approval, affirmation and acceptance.

It’s time to rest from feelings of inadequacy.

It’s time to rest from guilt.

It’s time to rest from stress and worry.

It’s time to rest from regret.

It’s time to rest from feelings of unforgiveness.

It’s time to rest from trying to be in control.

It’s time to rest.

HOW DO WE REST IN A HURRIED, EXHAUSTED WORLD?

Jesus said,

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.  Matthew 11:28-30 ESV.

You can rest because of Jesus’ glorious, God-the-Papa-exalting-sinless life; His sacrificial death on the cross; His resurrection, and exaltation to the right hand of God-the-Papa-finished work.

You can rest because Jesus worked on your behalf. 

This is called grace. It’s a gift. Unwrap it and rest. Stop trying and start receiving.

Precious beloved child of God, you can rest because you are “in Christ” and “Christ is in you.”  The Apostle Paul uses the phrase “in Christ,” “in Him” and other similar phrases 216 times.

UNION LIFE WITH CHRIST

To be in Christ means you have Union Life with Jesus. All that Jesus is, and all that He has wondrously accomplished has now been given to you as a gift.

Rest in Jesus, for He said,

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5 ESV

For more teaching on grace and connecting its life-transforming power to everyday life, check out my book Limitless Life: You Are More Than Your Past When God Holds Your Future.

Marinate on that,

Pastor Derwin

Change The World – Love Your Enemies

Loving our enemies sounds like a noble concept, until we’re actually faced with doing it. Most of us believe that our hurts are too deep and our losses too great to actually follow through and love our offender.  Holding onto hate however, will make an enemy an idol.  Watch as Pastor Derwin explains.

View the sermon here- http://transformationchurch.tc/sermons/?sabotaged/proof_your_life/

 

Stop Making Discipleship So Complicated! Part II

I recently wrote a Part I of a blog entitled, “Stop Making Discipleship So Complicated!” http://www.derwinlgray.com/stop-making-discipleship-complicated/

A WORD OF CAUTION

Before I get into the substance of my blog, let me caution you:  Neither you, nor I, nor Dr. Tony Evans, nor Dr. Rick Warren can make a disciple out of someone one who doesn’t want to mature as a disciple of Jesus.

The heartbreak reality is that some disciples of Jesus are more enamored with idols (career, sex, spouse, hurts of the past, money) than Jesus; therefore, they miss out on all that the Indwelling Life of Jesus can produce in and through them for the glory of God.

THE 5 SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES OF SPIRITUAL FORMATION

At Transformation Church, we affectionately call our members “Transformers.” As a leadership team, we have identified 5 primary spiritual disciplines that the disciples of Jesus practiced.

 

These 5 spiritual disciplines of spiritual formation mean NOTHING if people don’t live by the Indwelling Life of Jesus through the Holy Spirit’s power. Jesus living in us and through us is foundational to our discipleship or spiritual formation (Galatians 2:20; Colossians 1:28-29).

WORSHIP

All of life is worship–from going to work to going to school and everything else in life. We want to have an awareness that God’s presence and power is with us in everything that we do, and all that we do, we do to honor Him. (Romans 12:1-2)

CONNECT

God has always used people to draw people to Himself. Community is important because we need each other. There is nothing more awesome than a community of people alive to God and one another. At Transformation Church, we provide for community through our Transformation Church Groups (TC Groups), where Transformers connect to do life together, study and interact with the sermon, eat, pray, and encourage each other to live out the vision of Transformation Church. (Acts 2:24-47)

While our TC Groups are multi-generational, we also connect our children to the love of God and people through our TC Teens and TC Kids ministries. We also connect through servant leadership in ministry within TC and on mission in the community.

SERVE

As we love God completely (Upward) and ourselves correctly (Inward), we’re then compelled to love our neighbors compassionately (Outward). You have a gift that God wants to unleash in ministry and out on mission in community. Every Christ-follower is a part of the body of Christ! Therefore, you have a place to serve to be the healthy hands and feet of Jesus! (Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 peter 4:10-11)

GIVE

We believe that a part of discipleship is what we do with the time, talent, and treasure (money and resources) that God has given to us. Disciples of Christ want to give because they realize how much God has given them. We’re generous because God generously gave us His Son, Jesus! As this truth transforms your heart, you’ll desire to give generously so that others can experience the life change that you’ve experienced. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

We believe the greater a disciple experiences Jesus’ grace the more radically generous they will become towards the local church, the poor, and charity.

INVITE

Through the power of Christ in us, we live an inviting life. Wherever we are, we realize that every human being matters to God, and we look for ways to invite people in our spheres of influence into relationship with Him, we invite unchurched people to worship with us on the weekend, and we invite them to out TC Groups.  (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:9; Matthew 4:19)

Transformation Church is a community of missionaries.

All of our systems, processes, and training facilitates our view of discipleship.

I hope this two-part blog series has helped you think more strategically about discipleship in your local church context.

For a more in-depth look at my view of discipleship check out my book, Limitless Life: You Are More Than Past When God Holds Your Future.

Marinate on that,

Pastor Derwin

Break Free From The Chains of Your Past

Do you struggle with the shame and guilt of your past?  For many of us , what we’ve done or said is like a chain that keeps pulling us back to the pain of disappointment and dispair.  If you can relate, there’s hope!  Take two minutes as Pastor Derwin explains!

Watch the sermon here- http://transformationchurch.tc/sermons/?sabotaged/by_our_past/

“You Can Be Anything You Want to Be!” Is A Lie

Most of us have heard the phrase at some point in our lives.  As a parent we may have even said it to our child, or used it to encourage a friend.   Regardless of the intention…it’s still a lie that can lead to vast disappointment.  Take a moment and watch as Pastor Derwin explains.

Watch the sermon here- http://transformationchurch.tc/sermons/?sabotaged/by_success/

Limitless – Celebrating 4 Years at Transformation Church

This past weekend we celebrated our 4 year anniversary at Transformation Church.  It was incredible looking back at 2013 and seeing all of the “eptastic” things our limitless God has done.  Take just a moment, watch this video and celebrate with us!

Watch the sermon here- http://transformationchurch.tc/sermons/