To love others well means to serve them. But oftentimes, our own agendas and skewed priorities can get in the way of our putting others first and serving them with a happy and humble heart. What will it take for us to serve others like Jesus did?
God’s greatest commandments were to love God with all our heart and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. That kind of selfless love for others is a love that engages—one that meets others where they are and is intentional. But what might loving our neighbors, co-workers, and friends in this way really look like day-to-day?
It is often much easier to talk than to listen. Listening actively and engaging in other-centered communication can be a real challenge. However, Jesus showed us that listening is a key aspect to making people feel truly valued and loving them well. How could listening help you better love and care for the people around you?
There are people we encounter everyday, at work, in our neighborhoods, or even in our own home, that may seem happy or content. But many of the people around us suffer with a deep feeling of loneliness—a lack of connection that isn’t always readily detectable from the outside. God demonstrated a love that cared about such connections, and He wants us to continue to intentionally demonstrate that love. How can you show you truly care about those around you?
Conflict is an inevitable part of most any relationship. But often what brings about the conflict or what makes it worse is our tendency to easily see the wrongdoing of others and be blinded to our own. Unhealthy conflict and being overly critical of others can kill a relationship in a hurry. Having created each of us for human connection, does God also offer us a realistic way to save our relationships when we’ve wounded each other?
Relationships can involve a lot of risk. And for some of us, we’re not quite sure the risk is worth the reward. Couple our fear of vulnerability with society’s constant “keep it casual” messaging, and we end up with lots of people avoiding commitment. But could lack of commitment be even more risky than the alternative? What do God and relationship experts say about making our relational risks worthwhile?
Negative occurrences are inevitable in most any relationship. But often what brings about the negativity or what makes it worse is our tendency to easily see the wrongdoing of others and be blinded to our own. Dwelling on the negative and being overly critical of others can kill a relationship in a hurry. But how do we get past the negative habits that seem to come so easily to us?
It’s easy to get lots of mixed messages about love—from the media, pop culture, our families, and the like. But God says the goal of love is to change us to be more like Him. The belief that the purpose of love is self-satisfaction, that it’s about getting your way, can lead to disaster. But how can we avoid the common misstep of inflexibility in our relationships?
Having healthy relationships is a pretty common goal, but achieving that goal can be a real challenge. Why is that? Why is it so tough to have happy relationships and to make those relationships last? One of the most predictive indicators for how a relationship will go relies on communication. Do you listen? Do you feel understood? Is your communication with those around you improving or killing your relationships?
At some point, you will find yourself questioning it’s purpose and meaning. What’s your role in this crazy world? Look to Jesus. He explains our true purpose when He commands us to love God and love others, just as we try to love ourselves. As we experience love on each of those fronts, we discover that our joy and fulfillment skyrocket as we show love life by life with those around us. We find meaning in a boring job, an exhausting day caring for the kids, in difficult relationships, or even in...
What matters most to you in your life? Is it prestige, money, or something else that could be fleeting? What if we could live for something more? If we lived to love God and love people like He encouraged us to, maybe we’d find something truly worth living for. And maybe, together, we’d even change the world.
Voices - Hope After Sex Trafficking by Gateway Church Austin
Gateway’s own Justin Burke is tackling some of the biggest issues bombarding this social media saturated generation.
Work through the following questions and Scriptures on your own, and get together with your running partner, life group, or friends and family to talk through what you are learning.
Voices - Family Secrets by Gateway Church Austin
Jesus’ radical offer to follow Him and become His disciple was extended to people across every ethnic, social, religious, and economic spectrum, and 2000 years later, that amazing offer still stands for each of us today! But that offer has come at a great cost for many people; for some, the cost seems too high. Is it a price worth paying?
Life often feels heavy or empty as we try to manage all we have with all we want from life, others, and ourselves. Life is frequently referred to as the rat race, as we’re always trying to “get mine” and get ahead. Are you tired of trying to be the ruler of your own kingdom yet, always attempting to force things to go your way? Jesus offers another way, one of rest, peace, and true fulfillment. But first, He asks us, have we counted the cost?
What do you perceive as valuable—God, your family, your friends? The people around us, including our children, spouse, co-workers, friends, and other loved ones all often have a front row seat to see what we truly prioritize and what we’re willing to do in order to keep the things we value. Are God and His will among what you treasure most?
Prayer can be a powerful tool—for healing, for guarding against darkness, and for strengthening our relationships with God. But can just anyone be capable of powerful prayer? How can we experience the advantages of God’s authority by drawing closer to Him through prayer?
Prayer can be a great source of comfort and peace, but for many people—even dedicated Christ-followers—prayer can feel awkward and uncomfortable or become a task we simply look to check off our to-do list. How can we begin to pray in different ways that may reveal varied facets of God’s love for us and His will for our lives? Work through the following questions and Scriptures on your own, and get together with your running partner, life group, or friends and family to talk through what you are ...
Many people talk about prayer—this idea of talking to God, but for some it can be an elusive practice. What is prayer truly meant to look like? What is its purpose? If we begin to seek answers concerning what prayer is all about and what it can lead to in our lives, what might we find?
The Church isn’t a building or a program; it’s people. And surprisingly enough, it’s primarily run by volunteers. God gives us gifts, and we can use them in great ways, especially to serve others both inside and outside the church. As we serve others with others, we discover how the church is meant to work and how our service reveals deep and meaningful friendships forming as we make a difference in the world around us. How will you get involved?
n a time filled with celebrities and many negative voices affecting the world through their money, opinions, and inventions, it can seem like our sphere of influence is extremely small. But mothers and those that fill mother-like roles are raising the next generation that could have important effects on issues like racism, poverty, education, and the like. Whatever your sphere of influence, are you being intentional in the way you impact the people in your life?
Leadership resources abound and so do leadership clichés. We’ve all been told that, whatever our role or title, we have opportunities to lead (demonstrate influence) where we are. But often our circumstances, including our bosses, co-workers, and family members, convince us that we have little or nothing to offer. What does God say about our leadership potential?
Everyone is equipped with the ability to influence others. But we don’t all use our influencing ability for good, and many of us don’t use this ability at all. How will you take responsibility for the gifts God has given you? Will you be a leader or a follower when it matters most?
The way we respond to failure in our lives often reflects how our parents taught us to relate to it. Is failure a threat to your performance, a dent to your image, a reason to give up? Or is it possible to view failure as a chance to lean into God’s loving forgiveness and learn to rely more on His strength and wisdom?
We’ve all experienced unmet expectations in our lives that have led us to a deep sense of disappointment. Jesus’ early followers, the disciples, experienced this too, when Jesus was crucified on the cross. But God tells us that our hope is found in Him. How can we surrender our expectations to help free us from the pain of our disappointments?
What would it be like to have a life-changing encounter with Jesus? This sort of brush with greatness led to great things for people like Simon Peter of the Bible. And for each of us, although possibly challenging, having Jesus step into our ordinary lives could be the best experience we’ve ever had.
Are you a doubter? Do you struggle with believing things that seem too good to be true? Thomas, a follower of Jesus, struggled in the same way. But in the end, Thomas became a powerful messenger for Jesus, sharing His teachings wherever he went. How can we welcome doubt in a way that leads us to a deeper sense of faith?
When you consider the vastness of the universe – not to mention the seven billion people currently living on our planet – it’s easy to believe that our individual lives lack meaning, purpose and significance. Yet each of us seems hard-wired with a deep sense of hope in something more. Is there anything truly worthy of our hope?
